[1] Composed in Cleveland in 1920, the work makes considerable demands of both technique and endurance from the violinist.
[1] Bloch himself described the sonata as a "tormented work",[2] and Roger Sessions described it as having a characteristic "mood of pessimism, irony and nostalgia".
[3] There are three movements: The first movement begins with driving, toccata-like idea which transitions to a characteristic Hebrew-inflected melody; these materials are extensively developed leading to a tormented, expressive coda.
The second movement begins gently, with a sustained cantilena for the violin over a quiet piano arpeggios, but introduces more agitated material as it proceeds.
[4] The work was premiered in New York City in February 1921 by Paul Kochanski and Arthur Rubinstein.