Chopin | Franck | Grieg: «Cello Sonatas»

The tree sonatas presented here were all written during a period of about 40 years (1845 until 1886), who centered around an imaginary focal point which is perceptible an immediate in each work: the dominate movement in the second half of the nineteenth century, Romanticism. The contributions to cello literature are exceptions, from a formal perspective, and above all judged by their content, as examples of a serious development within romantic bounds. All of these sonatas have something in common: they are, seen from within the entire œuvres of these composers, each individual works which are, at the same time, exemplary studies of remarkable uniqueness. There are only faint suggestions of a recognizably Romantic element in the Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65 composed by Frédérique Chopin in 1845/46. Enriched only minimally by any national color, this work, one of the composer's last numbered pieces, stands out in its classistic style. Instead of a presumed maturity, it contains some obvious flaws. Abrupt transitions and unpleasantries cloud the image of the genial composer, and reinforces his discomfort in the world of chamber music. The work, which at places is truly enchantingly intimate, recalls Chopin's long acquaintance with the french cellist Auguste Franchomme, to whom this piece is dedicated as a token of friendship. Edvard Grieg's Sonata in A minor, Op. 36, although very classical and austere, is filled with much national color. The sonata was composed in 1882/3 and dedicated to the Norwegian composer's brother John. This sweeping work anticipates the base tone of the classistic found in the Third Violin Sonata in C Minor, Op. 45. In the first movement of the cello sonata an atmosphere prevails which is reminiscent of Norwegian landscape impressions. It is punctuated with powerful accents and adorned with cadence-like interlude of string instrument. In the coda a quote from the first theme of the famous A Minor piano concerto appears, then disappears once more just as quickly without any possibility of development. A scandinavian, softer lyricism what one experiences in the widly ocillating exterior parts of the second movement, while the middle section comes across stormily and reveatls pure excitement. The solo cello opens the closing third movement. The folk dance thematic underlies the powerfully effective finale. While the masterly composed exposition with it richly contrasting developments of small folcloric details in the melody may be conspicious, it represents a totally unique situation of fullness and effect in Grieg's chamber music. The mid-point of the evolution within the romantic cello sonatas is reflected most clearly in the Sonata in A Mjor written in 1886 by the French musician Cesar Franck. This well-known work, which is commonaly arranged today for violin and piano, was originally composed to include the cello. In this work, which is filled on occasion with rhapsodic freedom, the cyclical principal - so beloved by the composers following Beethoven - appears as the linking element in the following three movements. An elegant, complementary lyric of typical French charm characterizes the first movement with its undulating main theme. The first movement's prologue-like nature is strongly reminiscent of Beethoven's Piano Sonata, Op. 101 in the same key, which may have served as model for the present work. Only the second movement, adorned with dramatic accents in the piano part, and whose style is very aggressive, reveals the sonata form occasionally. The third movement, entitled "Recitativo-Fantasia" shows greater freedom in manipulating the form and hides an oddly transfigured mood within it. The finale, with its notable exchanges between the cantabile and virtuoso sections, begins with a comtemplative stance and ends with an impulsive radiant close.

Walter Labhart (translated by M. Miller)