This piece, the Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 is beautiful, and it is very difficult both for the pianist and the violinist. It was enthusiastically received at its first performance in January 1877, and prompted a glowing review by Saint-Saëns in the Journal de Musique. It is probably Fauré’s best known chamber work. There are several famous recordings of this piece, but I like the one posted below.
Gabriel Fauré
May 12, 1845 – November 4, 1924
Fauré’s musical abilities became apparent at an early age. When the Swiss composer and teacher Louis Niedermeyer heard the boy, he immediately accepted him as a pupil. Fauré studied piano with Camille Saint-Saëns, who introduced him to the music of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. While still a student, Fauré published his first composition, a work for piano, Trois romances sans paroles (1863). In 1896 he was appointed church organist at the church of La Madeleine in Paris and professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory. In 1905 he succeeded Théodore Dubois as director of the conservatory, and he remained in office until ill health and deafness forced him to resign in 1920. Among his students were Maurice Ravel, Georges Enesco, and Nadia Boulanger.
Fauré excelled not only as a songwriter of great refinement and sensitivity but also as a composer in every branch of chamber music. He wrote more than 100 songs, including “Après un rêve” (c. 1865) and “Les Roses d’Ispahan” (1884), and song cycles that included La Bonne Chanson (1891–92) and L’Horizon chimérique (1922). He enriched the literature of the piano with a number of highly original and exquisitely wrought works, of which his 13 nocturnes, 13 barcaroles, and 5 impromptus are perhaps the most representative and best known. Fauré’s Ballade for piano and orchestra (1881; originally arranged for solo piano, 1877–79), two sonatas for violin and piano, and Berceuse for violin and piano (1880) are among other popular works. Élégie for cello and piano (1880; arranged for orchestra, 1896), and two sonatas for cello and piano, as well as chamber pieces, are frequently performed and recorded.
Fauré was not especially attracted to the theatre, but he wrote incidental music for several plays, including Maurice Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande (1898), as well as two lyric dramas, Prométhée (1900) and Pénélope (1913). Among his few works written for the orchestra alone is Masques et bergamasques (1919). The Messe de requiem for solo voices, chorus, orchestra, and organ (1887) did not gain immediate popularity, but it has since become one of Fauré’s most frequently performed works.
Although he had deep respect for the traditional forms of music, Fauré delighted in infusing those forms with a mélange of harmonic daring and a freshness of invention. One of the most striking features of his style was his fondness for daring harmonic progressions and sudden modulations, invariably carried out with supreme elegance and a deceptive air of simplicity. His quiet and unspectacular revolution prepared the way for more sensational innovations by the modern French school.
Mischa Elman
January 20, 1891 – April 5, 1967
Mischa Elman was a Russian-born American violin virtuoso in the Romantic tradition, one of the foremost violinists of the 20th century.
A celebrated child prodigy, Elman studied violin from age four. In 1902 he became a tuition-free pupil of the famed violinist and teacher Leopold Auer at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. His professional debut in 1904 in Berlin quickly established him as one of the leading European violinists. From 1908 he toured the United States frequently. Subsequent tours took him throughout Europe and to East Asia. A U.S. citizen from 1923, he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his debut in the United States with a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Elman’s tone was considered resonant and voluptuous. His repertoire was extensive. He composed several short violin pieces and arranged works by other composers for violin and piano.
Leopold Mittmann
September 16, 1904 – June 1976
Leopold Mittmann was a Russian-American pianist whose career reflects a highly adaptable, working musician of the early-to-mid 20th century, rather than a headline solo virtuoso. Trained in the European classical tradition, he built much of his reputation as a collaborative pianist, a role that demanded exceptional sensitivity, sight-reading ability, and stylistic flexibility. He frequently performed as an accompanist—most notably with prominent violinists such as Mischa Elman—interpreting core repertoire like Mozart and Romantic showpieces, where the pianist’s role is crucial but often under-recognized.
At the same time, Mittmann maintained what has been described as a “dual musical identity.” Alongside his classical work, he participated in the vibrant world of light music, salon repertoire, and radio entertainment, which were major parts of musical life between the 1920s and 1950s. He was a member of the ensemble ERKLA (Erstes Klavier-Quartett), a group of four pianists that blended technical classical precision with accessible, popular programming—helping bring piano music to wider audiences through recordings and broadcasts.
Mittmann’s career illustrates a broader historical pattern: many highly trained classical musicians of his era did not rely solely on concert hall fame but instead navigated multiple musical economies—concert performance, accompaniment, studio recording, and broadcast media. While he never achieved the international solo celebrity of figures like Vladimir Horowitz or Arthur Rubinstein, he represents the skilled professional class of musicians who sustained the classical music ecosystem. His legacy survives primarily through archival recordings and ensemble work, offering insight into the collaborative and cross-genre nature of musical careers in the 20th century.