The earlier of Saint-Saëns' two sonatas for violin and piano, in D minor, Op. 75, was written in 1885. Clearly modeled on the heroic Beethovenian ideal of sonata composition, the principal quality of this impressive work is, to quote William Livingstone, that it "embodies the Apollonian control and moderation that are highly prized in French arts."

Among several key attributes which the listener will readily associate with Beethoven's works in this genre is that the work is laid out on a vast, if not to say epic scale, having four substantial movements. The second, and equally tangible Beethovenian imprint concerns the power and urgency of the principal themes, especially those of the first and last movements, in which the element of heroic struggle is never deeply concealed, and indeed, made more vital by the choice of such a vehemently dramatic key. The work was dedicated to the great Belgian virtuoso and teacher Martin Marsick, with whom Saint-Saëns collaborated by playing the piano part himself at the first performance. The companion piece to this work, a Second Sonata in E flat, Op. 102, dates from 1896.

The huge opening movement (Allegro agitato), a taut, leonine construction built around Classical sonata-form lines, offers a gripping first subject heard at the very start, with no slow preamble. It conveys a sense of theatrical dialogue, powerfully underlined in complex exchanges between the two instruments. The second subject, somewhat more relaxed and lyrical, affords the required contrast, while the development section explores the potentiality of the two main subjects with great ingenuity. The slow movement (Adagio) is placed second, and again, the main melodies seem to draw heavily on the example of Beethoven, a composer whom Saint-Saëns greatly admired. The third movement (Allegretto moderato), is in fact a scherzo in all but name, and provides motifs of extreme clarity and translucence, perhaps reminiscent of Mendelssohn, while the brilliant finale (Allegro molto) places searching virtuoso demands on each of the players in more or less equal measure.

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