Does anyone know the late Cello Sonata No.3 by Carl Reinecke? It's a passionate, often stormy work dedicated to the memory of Brahms and, IMHO, fully worthy of comparison with the latter's two great cello sonatas. Does anyone else know this superb piece - or have any other candidates for entry into the pantheon?
I don't know Reinecke Third Cello Sonata.
For me a candidate could be Gustav Uwe Jenner Cello Sonata in D major (1901).
It can be listened to on a very Brahms-centred record by Divox, CDK-29106 (1993 release).
The sonata for cello and piano is one of my favorite genres ever since the first time I heard the Rachmaninoff sonata (which turned me on to chamber music......). I have and like both the Reinecke and Jenner sonatas (along with over 200 others which making choosing favorites difficult at best). Of the more recently released recordings, I do like Camillo Schumann's two sonatas.
Jerry
I have the cpo cd of Ries' cello sonatas and I think they are very, very beautiful. I do recommend them!
I do also recommend the wonderful Cello Sonata by Felix Draeseke. You can hear excerpts here:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/14b4acb310a945e850299f20f7bd5e58/classic/detail/-/art/Felix-Draeseke-1835-1913-Werke-f%FCr-Cello-Klavier/hnum/1618903 (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/14b4acb310a945e850299f20f7bd5e58/classic/detail/-/art/Felix-Draeseke-1835-1913-Werke-f%FCr-Cello-Klavier/hnum/1618903)
The Reinecke (no.3 or maybe all 3 at that...), Draeseke, Raff and Myaskovsky (Romantic-style though late for the era) (both) - and at least one but perhaps both of the Fuchs (no longer available in either of their recordings, I think? there may be a new recording of one of them actually. no.2 also maybe a bit late in time...) - would be high on my list ... if I remember it right so would the Biarent, and some others. The combination seems to bring out good things in composers, I agree. (Haven't heard the three by Herzogenberg- on a cpo CD- I think, but I expect I will enjoy them too.)
I am very fond of chamber music (more so than orchestral or piano, typically). Cello Sonatas I've appreciated (not counting sungs like Prokofiev, etc.) include:
masterworks:
Röntgen (Bb, a, g, c, b, D, f#, d, e, c, d, a, c#, C), particularly 2, 5, and 7
Thuille (d)
Reinecke (a, D, G)
Novak (g)
Myaskovsky (D, a)
Magnard (A)
Lekeu (f)
Grechaninov (e)
Franck, Eduard (D, F)
Foerster (f, c) - I have the f minor, but not the c minor (yet)
Alkan (E)
Other good, (generally) tonal sonatas:
Zemlinsky (a)
Weinberg (C, g)
Stanford (A, d)
Schumann, Camillo (g, c)
Scharwenka, Franz (e)
Scharwenka, Phillip (g)
Rubinstein (D, G)
Ries (C, A, g, ?), I only have 2 and 3, I'm fond of 3
Reger (meh) (f, g, F, a)
Rawsthorne
Pfitzner (f#)
Moscheles (I have No. 2 in E, Op. 121, but I can'/t find reference for "No. 1")
Kodaly (op. 4)
Kabalevsky (Bb)
Ireland (g)
Hummel (A)
Hindemith (op. 11/3, E)
Herzogenberg (a, D, Eb)
Henselt (b)
Goldmark (F)
Goens (no sonatas, but lots of cello and piano miniatures)
Fuchs (d, eb)
Franck, Richard (D, eb)
Enescu (f, C)
Dohnanyi (bb)
Delius (1916)
Bridge (d)
Bowen (A)
Biarent (f#)
Berwald (Bb)
Bennett (A)
Barber (Op. 6)
Atterberg (b)
Sonatas I would like to hear
Ropartz (g, a)
Raff (op. 183)
Parry (A)
Onslow (Op. 16)
Lachner, Franz (A)
Juon (op. 4, 54)
Jongen (op. 39)
Jenner (D)
Gernsheim (d, e)
Draeseke (D)
d'Indy (D)
Brull (d)
Bortkiewicz (op. 36)
Bax (Eb, D, f#)
Bantock (b, f#)
Balfe (Ab)
One of my favourite pieces in this genre is the "Musik für Violoncello und Klavier" by Heinrich Kaminski (1886-1946), a work in three movements of 25 minutes duration, which could be called a cello sonata in all but the title. It is written in a contrapuntal, somewhat neo-Bachian idiom and makes much use of church tonality. One of Kaminski's trademarks is a very free treatment of rhythm and metre, which could be found in this work, too.
I must agree with Alan in his recommendation of Draeseke's Sonata. It's a beautiful written work, containing many long stretched melodies, typical for Draeseke's chamber music. But I like even more the two smaller pieces for cello and piano, Ballade and Barcarole, which are recorded on the AKCoburg CD. Here Draeseke shows himself as an ingenious miniaturist.
Another recommendation is the cello sonata by Ethel Smyth, an early and rather short but vigorous work by this fine chamber music composer.
Belapoel wrote:
QuoteSonatas I would like to hear ... Raff (op. 183)
I'll upload it tomorrow.
I think Gernsheim's 2nd was performed, perhaps even premiered, sometime this century at a festival. I may be thinking of another chamber work in manuscript, the 2nd string quintet... I only know of 3 cello sonatas by Ries, I think, not counting arranged works; and if there's a 4th I think it's after the G minor- but I'll check the incomplete (only up to opus 169 - the flute sonata sentimentale) catalog he kept of his works to be sure. (It's at Stabikat Berlin and also (now) at IMSLP, if an incomplete Ries thematic worklist - by the composer, not Cecil Hill the more recent and comprehensive compiler- interests.)
I'd also like to hear CG Reissiger's... and... oy. Long list here too!, not necessarily all of the _best_ (though I like Reissiger somewhat better than do most of the few who've heard of him, I think :) ) (and then if one moves to string-only chamber works too, say... or... ) - as usual, so much that (to diverge from the first in the thread, apologies) is not of the best but gives very lasting value. (Rheinberger, to my ears, even when not at his best... I forget how his cello sonata ranks among his works, but I know few chamber works by him that aren't at least very good.)
I feel a little bad mentioning a cello sonata that hasn't been commercially recorded (I can't even find my tape of the only performance I know of, at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1987.) It was published, though I know of only 2 copies, one at the L of C and one at NYPL. This is the marvelous sonata, Op.13 (1888) of the Anglo-American Horace Wadham Nicholl (died 1922.) It will repay anyone's effort to locate it. The cello part is difficult, being sometimes awkwardly written for the instrument rather than virtuosic, and the musical textures are severely contrapuntal (no aimless arpeggios or alberti bass here) but the tunes are excellent and the writing is passionate. It is probably the only cello sonata that will make you think of Meistersinger.
Best, David
Staying within the orbit of German high culture exemplified by Reinecke, Draeseke, and Brahms, three suggestions...
(1) Dohnanyi's sonata, op. 8, is a splendid work in the Brahmsian tradition, and easy to find. (2) As played by Gerhardt and Becker on Hyperion, I think the first two Reger sonatas (opp. 5 and 28) make fit companions for sonatas by the above-mentioned composers. (3) Though I have not seen or heard the Wilhelm Berger sonata, op. 28, if it's as good as his Piano Quartet, op. 21, it's likely to be a gem. It would be wonderful to see it on IMSLP in the near future and on disc soon thereafter.
Straying slightly from that orbit...
Two favorite, early 20th-century American works are: (1) Foote's cello sonata, op. 78, one of his finest efforts; (2) the Converse cello sonata, a robust work of high invention. Both are from 1913. Converse studied with Chadwick, who studied with Reinecke.
Also- Rubinstein's 2 sonatas; Magnard's still-Romantic-era (barely) (though rather modern sounding, to my ear) late sonata, too; and Vierne's lovely one deserve at least mention.
Has anyone heard, performed, recorded, even recently played Alfred Turner's cello sonata (published by Schmidt in 1888)?... (Or outside the USA, Nicolai v. Wilm's opus 111 of 1893? I think maybe the latter, some of his chamber music has gotten a bit of recording.)
I have heard, I think, Rozycki's sonata opus 10 (in the Strahl/Wolanin - broadcast? - recording that sometimes appears on BBC Radio 3) and some other such works (Sjogren's opus 56 too). (I see Fuchs' hard-to-acquire 2nd cello sonata is being broadcast on Italian Filodiffusione radio on Monday evening/Tuesday morning in Drobinsky's Marco Polo recording and again some hours later. Moscheles' opus 121 (2nd?) cello sonata is on an Austrian station around the same time, btw.)
I've uploaded Raff's contribution to the genre and there is a link to it in the "German Music Folder" in the Downloads Board.
No longer in the pantheon, but still in the realm of worthy (or more than worthy) music I would indicate the following sonatas,
all recorded (some now easily available: Piernè, Alfano, Sinigaglia).
-Schoeck (1957, last work, unfinished, absolutely late romantic, on Claves)
-Martucci (label "Velut luna")
-Casella (Nuova Era)
-Cilea (Nuova Era)
-Vierne (label Classic)
-Sinigaglia (Toccata)
-Pizzetti
-Alfano (Naxos)
-Piernè (Naxos)
-Boris Tchaikowsky (1957, Russian Disc)
"...Has anyone heard, performed, recorded, even recently played Alfred Turner's cello sonata (published by Schmidt in 1888)?..."
Yes, I have a copy of the old A D Turner around here somewhere, and we even had a couple of playthroughs a number of years ago. Very dry, if I remember, competently written, but without even a scrap of good melody. That was a number of years ago, of course, but in my ex's search for good unplayed cello sonatas we rarely found something that interested neither of us, as was the case with this piece. I seem to remember backing Nicode's sonata, but she went with Sterndale Bennett (even though, oddly, all three movements are in the same key...)
David
Léon Boëllmann's Cello Sonata in A minor op 40 is, IMHO, a masterpiece. I think Boëllmann still counts as 'unsung' given that some of his best works don't seem to be available in modern recordings, for example, the Symphony in F (op 24) and the Symphonic Variations for Cello and Orchestra (op 23).
I thoroughly agree, Lionel. There is a wonderful CD on Hyperion coupled with Godard's Cello Sonata...
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66888 (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66888)
Quote from: Alan Howe on Friday 23 September 2011, 20:40
I thoroughly agree, Lionel. There is a wonderful CD on Hyperion coupled with Godard's Cello Sonata...
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66888 (http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA66888)
Thanks very much for that steer, Alan. From the clips on Hyperion's site, the Godard Sonata sounds a more serious-minded piece than I'd have expected.
A very fine Cello Sonata is the one in C Major op. 15 by Albert Dietrich.
For audio examples see here (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Reiner-Ginzel-Romantic-Music-for-Cello-Piano/hnum/5255793)
I think Nicode wrote at least two sonatas, maybe three? :)
Yes, Dietrich's Sonata is well worth exploring and one, at least, of Nicodé's Cello Sonatas (the Second) has been recorded (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/b592729d901b118b27511f137ca19de4/classic/detail/-/art/August-de-Boeck-1865-1937-Sonate-f%FCr-Cello-Klavier/hnum/7297650). Another strong piece.
Thanks, Mark. Yes, it seems that No.2 was the Nicode we tried out. Great piece. It never ceases to amaze that cellists, (who complain that they have nothing to play,) overlook pieces like this. Thanks for the link, it was good to hear it again, even in snippets.
David
Here is a Cello Sonata by Casimir von Paszthory (1886-1966). He was Hungarian but spent most of his life in Austria and later in Germany.
I like his orchestral songs very much, impressive late romantic stuff, quite unlike Strauss who somehow dominated that kind of repertoire.
I don't know whether this should be placed in the downloads section or not. I put it here because it hasn't been uploaded by me but by the performers themselves.
http://allendorf.homepage.t-online.de/musik/duo/paszthory_data/paszthory_sonate.htm?foo=0.7708644063792188 (http://allendorf.homepage.t-online.de/musik/duo/paszthory_data/paszthory_sonate.htm?foo=0.7708644063792188)
Let me add some female composers! I can heartily recommend works for the cello by Henriëtte Bosmans (1895-1952) and Jeanne-Louise Farrenc-Dumont (1804-1875). Their cello sonatas are published as "Works for Cello and Piano by Women Composers" with Iris van Eck, cello and Arielle Vernède, piano (Eroica Classical RecordiJDT3302 DDD). Both Bosmans and Farrenc are getting increasingly more attention, but for Bosmans, it mostly concentrates on her songs and for Farrenc on her symphonic works and her nonet and piano trio. These cello works are definitely a nice addition!
or in Farrenc's case, also in her at least twice (or 2-and-change-times, I think?...)-recorded piano quintets (which are also the best works I've heard by her, so far).
@ eschiss1: you're right, forgot about those. I looked around and it appears the only Farrenc cd I have in my collection is actually one with both piano quintets ;D
Scouring the American horizon, I don't find many Romantic era cello sonatas that we don't have already (and darned few of those, too) but:
Boyle, George F. (1886-1948) Cello Sonata
Huss, Henry Holden (1862-1953 Cello Sonata
Not much.......
Jerry
A vote from me for Miakovsky's Cello Sonata No 2 - one of his finest chamber works (actually my favourite).
Also there's the opus 59 (1928) of David Stanley Smith (not Romantic-era but given what I know of the composer's music, more or less Romantic in style.) (There's Turner's already mentioned, which I admit I only knew of because the AP Schmidt-published score was at IMSLP... - I think Foote's cello sonata has been reconstructed and recorded, not sure, may be thinking of his concerto.) There's Abraham Wolf Lilienthal (1859-1928)'s sonata opus 40 published in 1921 which may count...
There's a number of other unrecorded(?) cello sonatas that at least look interesting to me (from other countries :) ) - Gustav Lazarus' op.56 published by Aibl in 1901, for instance.
Posting this before my browser crashes again :) (F.L. Ritter- no manuscript sonata- I should have edited that out. Manuscript cello concerto -yes.
And more or less seconding vandermolen - though there are a few others I about equally would not be without by Myaskovsky (Myask.'s string quartets 1 and 13 high on that list, at least as played by the Leningrad Taneyev Quartet and in the case of quartet 13, also in an excellent recent performance by the Kopelman Quartet broadcast over BBC3 and - judging from the timings, then a different performance by the same group (the BBC performance has 7:15 for the opening movement for example, the Nimbus recording 7:58- the timings of the other three movements are almost identical, however) - released on CD.)
The FOOTE Sonata, opus 78 was issued on LP many years ago.
Jerry
Quote from: eschiss1 on Wednesday 05 October 2011, 01:41
I think Foote's cello sonata has been reconstructed and recorded, not sure, may be thinking of his concerto.)
For information: Patrick Meadows and I (soundpost.org) prepared an edition of Foote's Cello Concerto. The MS of the full score was complete and so it didn't require any reconstruction, just the usual tidying up of missing accidentals and other little slips of the pen. It's as good a piece of any of Foote's (which is saying a lot, in my view) but no-one seems to have taken it up yet. :(
Lionel, I have a 1985 recording of Douglas Moore playing Foote's Cello Concerto accompanied by the Rochester Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jere Lantz. That's Rochester, New York, not Kent! In the concert programme it is noted that "To make modern day performances possible, Douglas Moore edited the score to correct numerous errors by comparing the fair copy with the manuscript score, which is in the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center. After a piano reduction was made for early performances, each page of each instrumental part was corrected so as to agree with the corrected score so that performances with orchestra would be possible." The note also states that Moore had performed the work "a dozen times" since 1981. I don't know if you are aware of this.
It is, I agree, a lovely work and fully up to Foote's high standard. It's neglect is such a shame.
Quote from: Mark Thomas on Wednesday 05 October 2011, 16:53
Lionel, I have a 1985 recording of Douglas Moore playing Foote's Cello Concerto accompanied by the Rochester Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jere Lantz. That's Rochester, New York, not Kent! In the concert programme it is noted that "To make modern day performances possible, Douglas Moore edited the score to correct numerous errors by comparing the fair copy with the manuscript score, which is in the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center. After a piano reduction was made for early performances, each page of each instrumental part was corrected so as to agree with the corrected score so that performances with orchestra would be possible." The note also states that Moore had performed the work "a dozen times" since 1981. I don't know if you are aware of this.
It is, I agree, a lovely work and fully up to Foote's high standard. It's neglect is such a shame.
Indeed we were aware, Mark; when we prepared our edition in 2009 Patrick enjoyed extensive correspondence with Douglas Moore and while we worked mainly from a photocopy of Foote's MS, in order that our efforts could be further refined Douglas graciously sent us a copy of his corrections (which kindness we duly acknowledged in our score, of course). Douglas prepared his version using pen and ink, before these techno-whizz days of Sibelius and Finale; either way is guaranteed to give one spots before the eyes, as colleagues here can no doubt confirm! As you say, it's a lovely work and so well worth the optician's bills.
Re the Foote: see the IMSLP page (http://imslp.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto,_Op.33_(Foote,_Arthur)), especially the miscellaneous comments field, for - well, ok, more or less the same information, also a downloadable full score of the new edition etc. :)
The Rochester Symphony is in Rochester, Minnesota. It was recorded by NPR at Mayo Hall in 1985.
Does anyone besides myself hear an enthusiasm for Bruch in the Foote Cello Concerto?