Russian Paganini of the Catharina the Great court. Why Ivan Yevstafyevich Khandoshkin was called:  ‘The finnest Russian violinist of 18th century'? Analysis of the Three Solo Sonatas op. 3.

Aleksandra Kwiatkowska

About this exposition

The Violin Solo Sonatas op. 3, composed approximately in the 1780s by the Russian composer Ivan Khandoshkin, take up an exceptional place in music history. In the last decades of the eighteenth century, Western European sonatas were mainly composed for fortepiano solo or fortepiano with an accompanying other instrument such as violin. Music of the sonata genre was featured by its simplicity and homophonic textures. Khandoshkin’s Sonatas, however, present us with rather unusual features for those times. This music for solo violin includes dominating polyphonic textures, double stops, many dissonances and improvisational moments. One could say that Khandoshkin stayed in the traditional, baroque style and did not follow revolutionary developments of the classical era. By analysing the Violin Solo Sonatas and studying the historical background of the composer’s life, I realized that Khandoshkin consciously chose not to follow the one dominating style of the Western music world. Instead, in the Solo Sonatas he successfully combined baroque, classical music features and therefore, created his unique style by inspiring his music on Russian sentimentalism. Moreover, in his sonatas, he expanded many violin techniques which were inspired by playing on Russian traditional instruments such us balalaika or gudok. These technical moments were unplayable for many violinists during these times and they are even challenging for violin players of today. By presenting this unknown music on my CD and sharing my knowledge of Khandoshkin’s Sonatas in my Master thesis, I hope to encourage other musicians to explore this unusual repertoire in greater depth.

type	research exposition
keywords	Khandoshkin, Russian music, Violin Solo Sonatas, Russian Virtuoso, Art of Interpretation
date	23/11/2020
published	07/06/2021
last modified	07/06/2021
status	limited publication
copyright	Aleksandra Kwiatkowska
license	All rights reserved
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1057061/1057062
published in	KC Research Portal
portal issue	1. Master Research Projects

name	I.Khandoshkin-Violin Solo Sonatas op.3-facsimile
copyright	Aleksandra Kwiatkowska
license	All rights reserved
usages	pdf

name	Sonata Marcia op. 3 in g-minor Maestoso, Allegro Assai
copyright	Aleksandra Kwiatkowska
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	Ivan Khandoshkin - Sonata Marcia op. 3 no 1 in g-minor
copyright	Aleksandra Kwiatkowska
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	Ivan Khandoshkin- Sonata op. 3 no 2 in E-flat major
copyright	Aleksandra Kwiatkowska
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	Ivan Khandoshkin - Sonata op. 3 no 3 in D-major
copyright	Aleksandra Kwiatkowska
license	All rights reserved
usages	video

name	Russian Paganini, Khandoshkin-THESIS
copyright	Aleksandra Kwiatkowska
license	All rights reserved
usages	pdf

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Russian Paganini of the Catharina the Great court. Why Ivan Yevstafyevich Khandoshkin was called: ‘The finnest Russian violinist of 18th century'? Analysis of the Three Solo Sonatas op. 3. (2021)

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