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Veracini, Giovanni Somis and Giuseppe Tartini, the latter being one of the
greatest masters of the eighteenth century. Other famous composers of
the Tartini school include Pietro Nardini, Pasqualino Bini, Giulio Mario
Lucchesi and Domenico Ferrari. In France distinguished composers of the
period were Jean Marie Leclair, Andrè Noël Pagin, Pierre Lahoussaye and
Pierre Gaviniés; in Germany Franz Benda, Friedrich Wilhelm Rust,
Johann Peter Salomon and Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, are worthy of mention.

Mozart's Sonatas for Piano and Violin.-- Among the earliest works in
which the violin and a keyboard instrument are apportioned equal musical
interest are the sonatas composed for harpsichord and piano by Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart; at this time the piano had not yet superseded the harpsi-
chord, and the former is not always an agreeable substitute for the latter
in these works. The greatly increased dynamic power of the piano pre-
sented entirely new problems in chamber music with which Mozart did
not have to cope; it must be borne in mind that the violin has not increased
in tone over a period of centuries while the tone of the piano is many times
louder than that of the harpsichord.

Mozart's sonatas for the combination of which we are speaking exemplify
some of the most important points in writing for the two instruments,
namely that doubling should not be done at the unison, that the violin may
occasionally take a pedal-point, and that double notes to complete the har-
monies are effective when properly distributed. The use of repeated double
stops in the violin part is illustrated in the Adagio of the Sonata in E flat
(No. 16 in the Peters Edition), while the occasional use of heavy chords
alternating with a similar treatment of the harpsichord was duplicated later
in works by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Beethoven's Sonatas for Piano and Violin.-- Turning to Beethoven, we
find the above mentioned use of repeated double stops not nearly so effec-
tive. Beethoven's employment of this device is somewhat disappointing.
On the other hand the Sonata, Op. 12, No. 3, in E flat major has much
breadth and power and is more forceful than any of the Mozart sonatas,
although it assigns too many passages to the violin which are better adapted
to the piano. In his later works Beethoven was more successful in his
treatment of the two instruments; the three sonatas, Op. 30, begin to draw
more upon the powers of the two players, both from a technical and an
interpretative standpoint. The first, in A major, is a vigorous and finely
developed work, the second, in C minor, is not so well designed but more
heavily fraught with emotion, while the third, in G major, is happy and
cheerful, and contains one of the master's most delightful movements, the
Minuet.

The Kreutzer Sonata, Op. 47, so-called from its dedication, is a noble
and imposing work, but its popularity is not entirely due to its musical
significance. It offers opportunities for display for the violin which are

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Publication Information: Book Title: The Piano: Its History, Makers, Players and Music. Contributors: Albert E. Wier - author. Publisher: Longmans, Green. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year: 1940. Page Number: 315.
    
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