About the creation

The Sonata consists of two movements. The first movement, written in sonata form, is full of vitality, giving expression to the exuberance of the adolescent rushing out into life to conquer it. The second movement is different from the first: it consists of variations on a hymn by J.S. Bach "Komm süsser Tod" expressing an old man's feelings. The variations are written in different canonic forms, one being a canon cancricans. In Variation No.5 the theme of the first movement appears in counterpoint to the Bach hymn. When inverting Variation No.7, the upper line in the G-Clef and the two others in the F-Clef show the Bach theme with accompaniment. The Sonata was written in 1955 and first performed in Jerusalem in 1956 by Lorand Fenyves (Vln) and Moshe Lustig (Pno). It was revised and shortened by the composer in 1965, and this present version was first performed in Israel in 1966 at the Rubin Academy of Music, Tel Aviv.