Benjamin britten s sonata in c for cello and piano, op. A bbc archive recording of rostropovich giving the premiere of britten s cello sonata is the centrepiece of this fine 1961 festival cd. List of compositions by benjamin britten wikipedia. Elliott carter sonata for cello and piano dane johansen, cello victor stanislavsky, piano recorded at nv studios sound engineer cory lee video editor ben roif. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were written in the 18th century by francesco geminiani and antonio vivaldi the following list contains cello sonatas with or without accompanying instruments. Sonata for cello and piano by mstislav rostropovich and benjamin britten on amazon music. Britten began work almost immediately on a cello sonata, which rostropovich premiered the next summer at the aldeburgh festival with britten playing the piano part. The sonatas of shostakovich and prokofjev have in common a combination of an almost conventional, tasty, juicy cello part with a remarkably unruly and drier piano part, the prokofjev and britten sonatas are written for rostropovich and therefore truly for the concert stage and finally the britten and shostakovich both have the qualities of a.
Rostropovich, britten, bridge, schubert arpeggione lp nm. The britten and prokofiev cello sonatas were both written for his electrifying artistry and bighearted personality, and, as the cd notes point out, the only reason shostakovich did not write his own sonata with rostropovich in mind was that the cellist was only a child of seven when it was completed in 1934. Gerhardt and osborne prove sympathetic partners in this emotional rollercoaster ride which deserves to be played more often in the recital hall. Thus britten, who had previously only composed for cello as part of ensembles, created this sonata specifically thinking of. Benjamin britten, however, was just as inspired by the great cellist mstislav rostropovichs rich, romantic playing of the bach suites as by the suites themselves. A cello sonata is usually a sonata written for solo cello with piano accompaniment.
Rostropovich mischa maisky lily maisky 20th century classics. Notes, publication date from hofmeisters verzeichnis. Britten s cello writing reveals the influence of bach in its skilful suggestion of a harmonic dimension by purely linear means, and in the fugues which appear in all three suites britten even shows himself able to create the illusion of several apparently independent contrapuntal parts by subtle displacements of a single melodic line. His cello muse rostropovich has encouraged britten to explore the dark and textured sounds of the modern cello. As the title suggests, throughout the work the soloist and orchestra are treated on equal terms, sharing all the important melodic material. The works title reflects the musics more even balance between soloist and orchestra than in the. Any composer who writes a suite for unaccompanied cello takes inspiration from johann sebastian bachs glorious models in some measure. Shostakovich, prokofiev, britten sonatas for cello and. Schubert, bridge, mstislav rostropovich, benjamin britten. These include cello solo works, cello sonatas, cello concertos, transcriptions and even chamber music pieces that feature the cello. The suites were the first original solo instrumental music that britten wrote for and dedicated to rostropovich, but britten had earlier composed a cadenza for joseph haydns cello concerto in c major, for rostropovich, in 1964. Britten s cello suites are definitely influenced by bachs cello suites, especially with regard to the structure of the works. Free free benjamin britten sheet music sheet music pieces to download from.
Cello sonatas by shostakovich, britten and prokofiev. This became britten s first of five major works written for rostropovich over the course of the next decade the others being the cello symphony and the three suites for solo cello. It has been asserted that britten s purely instrumental music suffers in comparison to his remarkable stage works that, while ingenious in craft, they lack both inspiration and expressive sweep. A revised version of the concerto appeared in the 1950s, including alterations of the solo violin. For a 70th birthday tribute to the distinguished swiss conductor paul sacher, mstislav rostropovich hit on the idea of inviting twelve of sachers friends to collaborate in writing a set a variations based on his name. Converted to black and white tif files, deskewed, resampled to 600dpi, and set uniform margins. Inspired by this gloriously uninhibited musician, britten agreed. The sonata is brief, about twenty minutes total, and divided into five movements. Benjamin britten is a renowned and prolific english composer, well known for. Mstislav rostropovich, the cellist to whom shostakovich had dedicated the concerto and the performer featured that evening, met with britten after the concert and asked the composer to write a cello sonata for him. Dialogo, scherzo, elegia, marcia, and moto perpetua. The accompanying sonata in c major for cello and piano, op. Britten himself seems to have succumbed to such criticism during the mid1940s and early 1950s, immediately after the widespread success of peter grimes 1944 45 and his first few chamber operas. Allegretto bridge, mstislav rostropovich with benjamin britten.
Beethovens last cello sonata presents us with a more traditional layout of three movements, widely contrasting both in compositional style and in mood. He dedicated the work to mstislav rostropovich, who gave the work its premiere in moscow with the composer and the moscow philharmonic orchestra on 12 march 1964. Sonata in c majorfor cello and piano johannes brahms. The title is taken from shakespeare, and the arrangement by britten is dedicated to bridge. Benjamin britten is a renowned and prolific english composer, well known for his operas. Britten cello sonata download free sheet music and scores scorser. Sonata for cello and piano, an album by benjamin britten, mstislav rostropovich on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. The cello symphony was britten s first orchestral work on the sonata principle for a period of over twenty years, and was to remain his only substantial piece of absolute symphonic music. Allegro moderato adagio non troppo allegro vivace e grazioso poco piu moderato tempo primo poco piu moderato tempo primo, ma poco piu. The britten cello suites part 1 by aron zelkowicz cellists have as much reason as anyone to celebrate the upcoming benjamin britten centenary, if not more so. The composer consented, and a year later produced the cello sonata, op. Cello, piano sheet music book by benjamin britten 191976. A friendship was being forged, and so was a whole catalogue of cello works for the russian.
Top a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z chart. A brisk and confident sonata form first movement is succeeded by a deeply lyrical slow movement, and the sonata ends with a fugue. Rostropovich, britten, bridge, schubert arpeggione lp nm london 1970 audiophile classical. Mstislav rostropovich cello britten schubert arpeggione. Original works, recordings and arrangements by this person cannot be uploaded here until january 1, 2027 without confirmed permission of the owner. A symphony for cello and orchestra followed, rostropovich playing the premiere in moscow in 1964, with britten. In 1960, britten attended the premiere of shostakovichs cello concerto in london. Work title, sonata in c major for cello and continuo. Britten s friendship with the great russian cellist mstslav rostropovich inspired him to write these masterpieces for the cello. Schubert, mstislav rostropovich with benjamin britten. This piece is benjamin britten s contibution to the work. The most famous romanticera cello sonatas are those written by johannes brahms and ludwig van beethoven. Benjamin britten, mstislav rostropovich cello suites 1.
Cello sonata fine, vivian movementssections movtssecs. The five major cello works he wrote for mstislav rostropovich the sonata, the symphony concerto, and the three solo suites have been taken up in short order as standard. The result was the sonata for cello and piano, of which they gave the first performance 50 years ago a new departure in. It was premiered in new york, on 29 march 1940 by the spanish violinist antonio brosa with the new york philharmonic conducted by john barbirolli. The sonata with britten at the piano is magnificent as well. The cello sonata was duly delivered, then recorded by rostropovich and britten in 1961. Cello sonata in c major picinetti, giovanni felice maria imslp. The symphony for cello and orchestra or cello symphony, op. Notes publication date from hofmeisters verzeichnis. Britten s correspondence with rostropovich reveals the composers humility in the. Doctor of musical arts performance, may 2009, 49 pp.
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