JAVS Spring 2019

listener’s attention to her entrance—and subsequently decorates the theme with double-stops. From here, the recapitulation proceeds mostly as expected, with a few exceptions. One such exception occurs in m. 173, where the viola’s rapidly ascending sixteenth notes (which first appeared in the development) begin to infiltrate. The intensity builds until m. 178, the corresponding location to the quasi-half cadence in m. 18. The imitative descent that follows is expanded, allowing the extra tension to dissolve before the start of the secondary theme. Another alteration occurs at the start of the secondary theme (m. 188), where the viola joins the piano for the initial statement of the fugue subject.

measures. The piano continues with an accompaniment exactly as in mm. 3–7—apart from the appearance in the recapitulation, this is the only time that the piano’s original inner voices and bass line have accompanied this theme. The viola’s primary theme is an octave lower than before, allowing for a warmer tone color. A change occurs in m. 238: rather than leaping up to the B-flat suddenly (like in m. 8), the viola continues the theme’s pattern with a step down and leap up. 11 As compared to the opening of the piece, here it seems as if the primary theme has broken free from its formal boundaries. The theme does not come to a cadence as before; instead it turns into a fantasia, foreshadowing the events of the third movement.

Coda

Movement II: Adagio Lamentoso

A section (mm. 1–14)

The end of the closing theme in the recapitulation leads seamlessly into a coda (m. 231) which begins with primary theme material. Just as in the recapitulation, the piano passes the primary theme to the viola after two

The piano establishes the mood of the second movement (ex. 6) with a two-bar introduction: a pulsing D-based

Example 6: Rochberg, Sonata for Viola and Piano, II, mm. 1–12

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 35, No. 1, Spring 2019