Hans Werner Henze – Solo Sonata ‘Tirsi-Mopso-Aristeo’1978/Revised 1994

Montepulciano Summer 1990

Henze’s solo sonata was directly inspired by a folk version of the Commedia dell’Arte particular to Montepulciano, where I worked with him whilst I was a student. It’sperhaps one of the most interesting dramatic challenges for solo violinist, demanding that the player present, quite literally, three complete acts of an imaginary drama, whilst the music makes allusion to (as Henze reminded me) Haydn and Montiverdi. Here’s a corner of a building in the old centre of the town, drawn in the summer of 1990.

Henze-Solo Sonata ‘Tirsi’ First Page