Though composed in 1924, by which point Paul Hindemith had established himself as one of the most brilliant and brash composers of Weimar, the Sonata for Violin Solo No. 2, Op. 31, contains not only the sort of blocky, angular writing for which Hindemith is well known, but also demonstrates the composer's lyrical and expressive side. Like the Sonata No. 1 from the same opus, this work was written for a violinist in the Amar Quartet, the group whose performance of Hindemith's String Quartet No. 2 at the 1921 Donaueschingen Festival had helped launch his career. In the first movement melodic materials unfold in such a fluid fashion as to draw attention from the piece's symmetry and repetition. A recurring motive begins in the upper range and leisurely descends through a series of steps and small leaps before rising again in a kind of slow, tidal fashion. For a brief moment in the middle, this tranquil atmosphere is interrupted by rhythmic double stops, but the tidal motion then resumes, inflected with chromatic alterations and mysterious whole-tone scales. The second movement proceeds at a careful pace as well, but frequent dissonant double stops, a more angular melodic contour, and ventures into the extremities of the instrument's upper range lend it a more uneasy and dramatic mood. The third movement provides a stark contrast to the restrained pace and texture of the first two. It is entirely rendered in pizzicato, with cleverly stratified layers of melody and accompaniment and carefully crafted counterpoint that testify to Hindemith's familiarity with the physical possibilities of the instrument itself (he was an expert violinist and violist himself). His broad harmonic palette is apparent as well, the march-like interplay between "bass" notes and offbeat chords lending order to intractable chordal trajectories that skirt the edge of tonality. The fourth and final movement is constructed as a series of variations on a theme by Mozart. The tune, "Komm, lieber Mai" ("Come, beloved May"), seems to suggest that the work was inspired in part by the spring day it was conceived; indeed, at the top of Hindemith's original manuscript from 1924 appears a note in the composer's hand: "What lovely weather outside..." Despite the metrically and melodically square presentation of Mozart's theme, the movement turns out to be the most substantial of the entire sonata. Immediately with the first variation, Hindemith takes considerable license in recasting the original melody, the presence of which, at times, can hardly be detected. Here, Hindemith grants the performer opportunities for virtuosic display, with far-flung figurations and fingerboard acrobatics; at the end of the piece these are suddenly reined in, however, with an unexpected deceleration and the appearance of a serene and unambiguous cadence.

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