It is well known that Chopin almost exclusively wrote works for solo piano. Only for the cello did he make some exceptions: two works – a Polonaise brillante and the Duo Concertant (HN 788) were written for cello and piano, and he also let the cello express itself in his Piano Trio op. 8 (HN 1068). Finally, towards the end of his life, he honored the low-stringed instrument with a grand, four-movement Sonata in g minor. Proof that it was anything but child’s play is provided by the extensive sketch material. Chopin himself claimed: “With my cello sonata I am now satisfied and now dissatisfied. I toss it into the corner, then pick it up again.” Today we only have an inkling about this struggle. The sonata, with its famous melodic Largo movement, is now firmly embedded in the canon of cello literature.
Content/Details
- Violoncello Sonata g minor op. 65
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Preface
Besides a sensitive ear to the sound of the piano, Chopin also developed a distinct predilection for the violoncello. It is therefore all the more astonishing that the instrument appears so rarely in the scoring of his works. After his early Introduction and Polonaise for piano and cello, op. 3 (1829–30), the Piano Trio, op. 8 (1828–29), and the Grand Duo Concertant in E … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer

Frédéric Chopin
Pianist and composer. His work is concentrated around piano music that enjoys extraordinary popularity and has become an integral part of the concert repertoire. His music influenced subsequent generations in France (Franck, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Debussy) as well as Smetana, Dvořák, Balakirev, Grieg, Albéniz.
1810 | Born in Żelazowa Wola near Warsaw on March 1. First compositions at age seven, his first public performance at eight. |
1822 | Private instruction in composition. |
1825 | Rondo in C minor, Op. 1, his first published work. |
1826–29 | Studies at the Institute of Music in Warsaw. |
1829 | “Fantaisie sur des airs nationaux polonaise” in A major, Op. 13; Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 8. Travels to Vienna, where he gives two concerts of his compositions and improvisations. |
1829–33 and 1835–37 | Etudes, Opp. 10 and 25 -- a new type of virtuosic etude that also makes aesthetic demands. |
1830 | Premieres in Warsaw of his two piano concerti, Op. 21 in F minor and Op. 11 in E minor. |
1831 | Unable to return to Warsaw due to the Polish uprising, he goes to Paris, where he will remain until the end of his life. |
1832 | Debut concert in Paris to great acclaim. |
1835/38 | “Trois valses brillantes,” Op. 34. |
1836/39 | “24 Preludes,” Op. 28, in a cyclic succession: compactly-designed short pieces. |
1835/39 | Piano Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35, with the funeral march. |
1842/43 | Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52; “Grande Polonaise brillante” in A-flat major, Op. 53; Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54. |
1844 | Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 |
1849 | Completion of the mazurkas in G minor and F minor. Death in Paris on October 17. |
About the authors
Für den fortgeschrittenen Laiencellisten ist die Sonate durchaus spielbar...
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