That's it done at last, this blasted sonata! Will it please or not? That is the question.' So wrote Saint-Saëns, not without
humour, of his second 'quadruped' for cello and piano. He adored the cello, as is shown by much more than the famous
Swan. He wrote three sonatas for it, but unfortunately the last two movements of the Third Sonata have been lost and what is
left survives only in manuscript. Emmanuelle Bertrand and Pascal Amoyel play it here with emotion and total respect. The
Concerto also included here is today one of the 'musts' of the concertante repertory for cello.
Camille Saint-Saëns
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33
1 I. Allegro non troppo 5'41
2 II. Allegretto con moto 6'09
3 III. Molto allegro 7'42
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 123
4 I. Maestoso, largamente 8'52
5 II. Scherzo con Variazioni. Allegro animato 8'46
6 III. Romanza. Poco adagio - Agitato 8'21
7 IV. Allegro non troppo grazioso 6'48
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 in D Major, Op. posth., unfinished
8 I. Allegro animato 9'27
9 II. Andante sostenuto 4'57 |
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