Dorian Le Gallienne: Sonata (1950-51) - 3. Molto lento

Abstract

"Dorian Le Gallienne (1915-1963) was an influential teacher in Melbourne, and was spoken of very highly and with great affection by all who worked with him, including Don Banks, Keith Humble, James Penberthy and Helen Gifford. The composer Robert Hughes supplied this note for Sonata in the copy produced for the Australian Music Fund: The three movements of Sonata were composed during the latter part of 1950 and early in 1951. Although the composer had not written a finale, he permitted public performance of the completed movements as an unfinished sonata. It was played by David Fox at a concert of Le Gallienne's music in Melbourne on 9 July 1951. At that time, there was no doubt that he had planned a work in four movements, but there is no evidence that it was ever completed. No sketches for a finale could be found among the manuscripts collected after his death in 1963. Le Gallienne wasn't a pianist, and it-is - quite possible that he simply ran out of compositional steam while writing for an instrument with which he perhaps shared no strong affinity. The work functions surprisingly well in its incomplete state and lends a rather sombre air to the overall effect. The other factor might have been the substantial weight and nature of the second movement, intended originally as a scherzo, and which might have stolen the thunder from the intended finale. The writing is clean, linear and evocative of an orchestral palette, while the implied doublings and colouristic essays suggest that the composer's inner ear was active when composing this piece." -- Larry Sitsky Show more