VIVALDI – SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND CONTINUO IN A MAJOR RV 205/2 (PDF)

Vivaldi – Violin sonata RV 205/2 in A major

The year 2015 brought the discovery of two new works by Vivaldi: The Trio sonata for violin and cello in G major, independently identified as a genuine Vivaldian work by Mr. Federico Maria Sardelli and Mr. Javier Lupiáñez in 2014 and catalogued at the beginning of 2015 as RV 820, and the Sonata for violin in A major, identified by Lupiáñez in 2015 and to be included in RISM as RV 205/2.

Both pieces are part of Pisendel’s collection in Dresden. Dresden is, in fact, one of the major archives of Vivaldi’s music. During the first part of the 18^th century, the concertmaster of the Dresden court orchestra, Georg Pisendel, compiled a great amount of chamber music, and especially music by Italian composers and Vivaldi. Pisendel was a great friend of Vivaldi and his pupil .

One of the main reasons to attribute these works to Vivaldi is the significant amount of concordances and links with Vivaldi’s known pieces. To name a few of these similarities, the first movement of the Sonata in A major is a re-utilization of the second movement of Vivaldi’s concerto RV 205. In addition, we find more than fifty references in this sonata to other Vivaldian works and some formal structures that have been described as uniquely Vivaldian. This Vivaldian discovery had been included in the RISM as RV 205/2.

The Cabinet II Project

Vivaldi – Violin sonata RV 205/2 in A major recorded by Scaramuccia Ensemble: