Sonata for Violin, Piano and Drums no. 2, W.131
Modern Sonata Violin and Piano
In brief

This sonata feels angular and percussive, built from short, motoric gestures where abrupt accents and the violin‑piano‑drum interplay produce a nervous, forward motion rather than sustained lyrical warmth. Practically, you will need to focus on Phrasing (3.6/5): here that means shaping very short breaths, coordinating bow attacks with rhythmic accents so compact motifs remain clear through syncopation; and Vibrato (3.6/5) requires tight, controlled use, often narrow and coloristic, to adjust pitch without weighing down the line. From the modern period, the piece belongs to the composer's experimental chamber output that foregrounds unusual percussion treatment alongside traditional duo forces.

Formation

Violin and piano · 2 performers

Required forces
Violin 1 performers
Piano 1 performers
Playable parts
Violin Piano
MusicCoach difficulty
77/100
Advanced
Likely range : 65–89/100
Confidence : 32% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 8

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

Does this rating look right to you?

This rating is computed automatically from heterogeneous sources. It gets things wrong, sometimes badly. If you know this work, your answer is worth more than our computation: it tells us which ratings to review.

Add a note (optional)

Your note is not published on the site: it is read in review.

Relative difficulty
85%
Among George Antheil
86%
Era Modern
92%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Technique
Bow legato
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Tone
Vibrato
1
Style
Modern and contemporary style
1
Rhythm
Polyrhythm 2 against 3
3
Technique
Double notes
1
Technique
Fast passages
1
Rhythm
Complex bowing rhythm
1
Rhythm
General rhythm
1
Technique
General technique
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

See the whole progression