Béla Bartók's Sonata for Solo Violin, Sz. 117, was commissioned by the renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin in 1943 and completed by the composer in 1944. Bartók was quite ill with leukemia at the time its composition, and was nearing the end of his life. Appropriately to Mr. Menuhin's skill and tastes, the sonata is extremely difficult, and contains a range of advanced violin techniques, including double-, triple-, and quadruple-stops; left-hand pizzicato; and artificial harmonics. This four-movement work has become one of Bartók's most popular pieces for violin.