Appeal to the Masses

I would have your student check out www.NewMusicJukeBox.com under advanced search you can search by instrumentation. I came up with 661 records for violin and piano. There are both well known and unknown works on the list, depending on how interesting the programme. Some works even have the score available online.

It's for two violins and it was written in 1990, so it doesn't quite meet your criteria, but Scott Lindroth's "Duo for Violins" is phenomenal. There's a recording here: http://www.duke.edu/~scott1/soundfiles/duo.mov

David Rakowski isn't postclassical, but he rocks nonetheless. I don't know and thus can't vouch for these specific pieces, but he's got:
PIED-À-TERRE (1999, 10') for violin and piano. C.F. Peters, Edition 67943.
WHEN THE BOW BREAKS (2000, 13') for violin solo. C.F. Peters, Edition 67871.
ROWELL COME BACK NOW (1997, 98, 18') for electric violin solo. C.F. Peters, Edition 67844.

Jon Appleton's "Nihon No Omide" (1996) is good.

Is there enough time between now and this student's recital that he or she could ask somebody to write a piece for the occasion? It sounds like there's a repertoire shortage that should be remedied.

What about Charles Dodge's Etudes for Violin and Tape? I think those are just post-1992.

I think the dates are right: there's another Dresher, Elapsed Time written in 1997, and John Adams' Road Movies from 1995. Both are for violin and piano.

Walter Zimmermann: Die Sorge geht über den Fluß für Violine Solo Teil 1 (1989/90/91) Teil 2 (2001)

Jo Kondo: Ilex (2003) for violin and piano

Richard Barrett: Air (1994) violin solo

Wolfgang von Schweinitz: Plainsound Etudes (2004-) violin solo

Boudewijn Buckinx: Promenade in Peccadië (1997) solo violin, Begegnung in Wien (2003), violin and piano

Christopher Fox: Iridescence (2004) solo violin

Somewhat older, but very worthwhile:

Zimmermann: The Ecchoing Green für Violine und Klavier (1989)

Buckinx: 1001 Sontatas for violin and piano (1988; 24 hours long)

Composer/violinist Jim Altieri has written some gorgeous solo violin pieces in just intonation. Jim's website is www.tweeg.net

I'm probably not the only one to jump at this clear invitation to plug his works, but I'd like to bring to attention a seven minute piece called "2 Suites" for violin and piano which is among my works probably my own favorite. It requires a high level of control, especially from the violinist.

I'll take the invitation too, and suggest something of mine:

http://thematiccatalog.blogspot.com/2007/06/four-movements-for-violin-and-piano.html

Esa-Pekka Salonen's 'Lachen Verlernt.' Unfortunately, it's pretty solidly "midtown." But fortunately, it's pretty solidly awesome.

I'd suggest checking out the pieces for Violin Futura to start:

http://www.violinfutura.com/4.html

Lots of good short solo violin pieces. And my 2nd violin sonata does, in fact, rock.

http://www.parnasse.com/jh/blog/archives/000461.html

I just heard Todd Reynolds play a piece involving midi triggering in MAX. Stunningly beautiful, its called "September Cannons" by Ingram Marshall (2003)

http://www.newalbion.com/artists/marshalli/
Ingram Marshall

A pretty user-friendly way to search for a given instrumentation:

http://www.bmic.co.uk/collection/searchform.asp

Only British composers, but you can set date specifics. A couple of Tim Parkinson's for vn & pf looked interesting, IMHO.

Ronald Bruce Smith
-- Tombeau (2006) for Violin and Piano

It was played at our last Other Minds Seance.

Also, his Trois regards (1988-89) can be heard here: http://radiom.org/detail.php?et=music&omid=NMS.2005.12.03.3.A
It's in part 4 of the concert.

Can your student sing? And sing well? It's a tall order, I know, but one of the most exciting new pieces I've heard in the last couple of years is Lisa Bielawa's "Kafka Songs", for one singing violinist.

"I just heard Todd Reynolds play..."

Todd has generated a whole body of new works for Violin and Electronics, including a series of looping etudes by Phil Kline and some mad MAX stuff by Neil Rolnick.

KG replies: Todd's a great resource, and this student has met him, but he was just looking for some conventiontal-instrument repertoire to audition with.

Boulez's Anthemes 1.

Try "Room of the Saints" by Gerard Brophy (1995). It's a short, Indian-inspired work for violin and darabuka - very mesmerizing.

www.amcoz.com.au/composers/composer.asp?id=195

As the student whose query to Kyle prompted this thread, I just want to thank everyone who's so far responded for the range of suggestions. As Kyle said, I need something to play at an audition (though not for about 7 months), which probably rules out pieces involving electronics. (Nor will my singing impress anybody, so unfortunately there goes the cool suggestion of "Kafka Songs").

Just browsing through the entries at NewMusicJukeBox has already proved a bit overwhelming. Should I wind up working on something by a composer here, btw, I'll definitely get in touch with him or her. Anyway, again, thanks all. (Of course, I'll continue to appreciate further suggestions).

Right now I'm listening to Lowell Liebermann's Sonata No. 1 for vln and pno (op. 46). Lyrical and energetic, in two movements, totaling 15 minutes.

I like it.

[1] Student auditions using Altieri's JI violin pieces.

[2] Audition committee tells him "too many wrong notes, sorry."

[3] Student tries to explain it's supposed to sound that way...

Yehudi Wyner wrote
Concert duo for violin and piano (1956). That is conventional format, an early work of his. The first movement has a lot of independence between piano and violin, and the second movement is sonorous and dramatic, perhaps good for an audition. It is published by Shirmer.

KG replies: Todd's a great resource, and this student has met him, but he was just looking for some conventiontal-instrument repertoire to audition with.

This changes everything, alas.

Two suggestions:

1)a very nice unaccompanied violin solo by Christopher Theofanidis entitled Flow, My Tears,

2)I've had good luck with my solo violin work "...I to my Friends" which got several performances last year in Austin, Texas and Edinburgh, Scotland.

I am amazed that I actually have the carefree wherewithall and audacity (today) to invite both rejection and self-serving accusations...- and which I am sure I am soon to regret....so here it is: probably one of the worst things ever written for violin... as I am essentially a keyboardist, but...could be fun maybe... I was in New Hampshire rehearsing for a local production of The Death of Don Juan, and I ended up spending a lot of time waiting around in a quaint but strange and isolated bed-and-breakfast, so I started writing this piece to kill some time. A couple of months later it turned out to be about a hundred variations on a one-bar, 5-beat melody led by the violin (some versions are 100 and some are 108), some for full orchestra, for small orchestra, it could even be done solo. I didn't do much with it - but even though I couldn't stand the violin sound on my computer, I spent quite a bit of time working on it. Would anyone like to rescue this piece from the garbage can? email: elauten@yahoo.com .One solid thing: date is 2005.

I believe that Jennifer Walshe's five minute piece THIS IS WHY PEOPLE O.D. ON PILLS/AND JUMP FROM THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE can be played by any solo instrument (originally written for cellist Anton Lukoszevieze). Her pseudo-corporate website can be a bit confusing, but here it is anyway: Milker Corporation.

How post-classic is that?

Hello from Holland. There is a recent collection of 24 Dutch capriccios for solo violin published by Donemus (including a work of mine). Here is a link to the Donemus site, where the pieces can be heard (at least in part)and ordered:
http://www.donemus.nl/cd_detail.php?id=182&lang=EN . Many violinists find it a helpful resource, as the styles of the pieces are quite varied.

You may want to look at some of Marc Sabat's violin works:
www.plainsound.org
Very nice.

Belinda Reynolds has a good piece for violin and piano. EIther she or Kate Stenberg from Del Sol played me a recording of it though I can't recall its name. http://belindareynolds.com might provide a title. She also has a killer duo for 2 violins from way back in 1990.

ron

And while I am at it, there is:
"Moi Qui Tremblais" by Linda Catlin Smith, though it is for violin, piano and percussion. See http://www.vex.net/~rixax/LCSmith.html and go to 'works' to find an mp3.

cheers