Mátyás Seiber - Violin Sonata (1960)

Mátyás György Seiber (sometimes given as Matthis Seyber; 4 May 1905 – 24 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, from the Hungarian tradition of Bartók and Kodály, to Schoenberg and serial music, to jazz, folk song, and lighter music.

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Violin Sonata (1960)
Dedication: André Gertler (1907–1998)

1. Appassionato e rapsodico (0:00)
2. Grazioso, danzato (6:41)
3. Lento e rubato (11:07)

Nina Karmon, violin and Oliver Triendl, piano

The Violin Sonata (1960) by Mátyás Seiber is his final chamber work, commissioned by the BBC for the 1960 Cheltenham Festival, and first performed on 7 July 1960 by Tibor Varga (violin) and Hilde Findeisen (piano).

The work reflects his late‑style blend of Romantic expressiveness with modernist rhythmic and harmonic elements, consistent with his mid‑20th‑century output.

The dedicatee was André Gertler (26 July 1907 – 23 July 1998) who was a Hungarian classical violinist and teacher. Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (1940–1977), Professor at the Cologne Academy of Music (1954–1957), Professor at the College of Music in Hannover (1964), founder and leader of the Gertler Quartet.

Gertler was a student of Jenő Hubay, Leo Weiner (chamber music), and Zoltán Kodály (composition). One of Gertler's most famous students is André Rieu.