Lili's enchanting violin works
The few works for violin and piano by Lili Boulanger have been newly published.
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), who was gifted at an early age but suffered from chronic lung disease, was able to study composition with the help of her older sister Nadia (1887-1979) and was supported by important composers. She won the Prix de Rome at the age of 23. Her 50 surviving works include secular and sacred choral cantatas and even an unfinished opera. Nadia, who was a famous composer (Copland, Piazzolla, Glass, Bacewicz ...) and piano teacher (Lipati) until old age, took care of the dissemination of the works after Lili's death.
Four pieces for violin and piano by Lili Boulanger have come down to us: D'un matin de printemps (1917/1918), Nocturne (1911), Introduction - Cortège (1914) and Pièce (1910). The editors used the first editions as models for the new edition. Autographs and alternative versions were only used to clarify editorial questions.
Pièce of the seventeen-year-old has only survived in manuscript form and is reproduced here as faithfully as possible. This mystical, slow piece with its undulating piano accompaniment contains surprising chromatic harmonic progressions, enharmonic reinterpretations and colorful dissonances. The racy first, the tender second and the flamenco-like third pieces also enchanted us as we played them. They were premiered by Yehudi Menuhin in 1972.
Lili Boulanger: Die Violinwerke, for violin and piano, edited by Edmund Wächter and Elisabeth Weinzierl, VLB 232, € 19.50, Schott, Mainz
