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Sergei Prokofiev composed hisSonata for Two Violins in C major, Op. 56, in 1932 during his vacation nearSt. Tropez as a commission piece to conclude the inaugural concert ofTriton, a Paris-based society dedicated to presenting new chamber music. That concert was held on 16 December 1932.

However, with the composer's permission, the sonata was performed for the first time three weeks earlier inMoscow, on 27 November 1932 by Dmitry Tsyganov and Vassily Shirinsky, both members of theBeethoven Quartet. The performance at the Triton concert was the "Western premiere". The performers on that occasion wereRobert Soetens - for whom Prokofiev would compose hissecond violin concerto in 1935 - andSamuel Dushkin, for whomStravinsky composed hisviolin concerto a few months earlier.^[1] The work was published in 1932 inBerlin byÉditions Russes de Musique.

In his 1941 autobiography, Prokofiev wrote about the origin of the work:

Listening to bad music sometimes inspires good ideas... After once hearing an unsuccessful piece [unspecified] for two violins without piano accompaniment, it struck me that in spite of the apparent limitations of such a duet one could make it interesting enough to listen to for ten or fifteen minutes....^[1]

Regarding the Paris premiere, Prokofiev further adds:

[My] Sonata was presented at the official opening of Triton, which chanced to coincide with the premiere of my balletOn the Dnieper. Fortunately the ballet began half an hour after the end of the concert, and so immediately after the Sonata we dashed over to the Grand Opéra – musicians, critics, composer all together.^[1]

The sonata is structured in the form of asonata da chiesa from theBaroque period, in a slow-fast-slow-fast sequence, with a two-partcounterpoint:

1. Andante cantabile
2. Allegro
3. Commodo (quasi allegretto)
4. Allegro con brio

A typical performance lasts for about 14 minutes.

• Sonata for 2 Violins, Op. 56: Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project

• Violin sonatas by Sergei Prokofiev
• 1932 compositions
• Compositions in C major
• Compositions for two violins

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