Sikorski
Lera Auerbach: Twenty-Four Preludes for Violin and Piano Op. 46
Twenty-Four Preludes for Violin and Piano were written by a 25-year-old composer in the summer of 1999. The piece is dedicated to its first performers – Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe. The work was commissioned by Herbert and Beverly Gelfand of Los Angeles.
Lera Auerbach writes about the 24 Preludes:
“Twenty-four Preludes for Violin and Piano is one of three cycles of preludes - the other two are for violoncello and piano and for piano solo. Re-establishing the value and expressive possibilities of all major and minor tonalities is as valid at the beginning of the twenty-first century as it was during Bach's time, especially if we consider the esthetics of Western music and its travels in regard – or disregard - to tonality during the last century. The 24 Preludes follow the circle of fifths thus covering the entire tonal spectrum.
In writing this work I wished to create a continuum that would allow these short pieces to be united as one single composition. The challenge was not only to write a meaningful and complete prelude that may be only a minute long, but also for this short piece to be an organic part of a larger composition with its own form. Looking at something familiar yet from an unexpected perspective is one of the peculiar characteristics of these pieces - they are often not what they appear to be at first glance. The context and order of preludes is important for their understanding. All twenty-four tonalities are combined in a brief moment during the last prelude.”