Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

composed the Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36 for

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and piano, and his only work for this combination, in 1882–83, marking a return to composition following a period when he had been preoccupied with his conducting duties at the Bergen Symphony Orchestra as well as illness. The work borrows themes from Grieg's own ''Trauermarsch zum Andenken an Richard Nordraak ( Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak)'' and the

wedding march Music is often played at wedding celebrations, including during the ceremony and at festivities before or after the event. The music can be performed live by instrumentalists or vocalists or may use pre-recorded songs, depending on the format ...

from his ''Drei Orchesterstücke aus Sigurd Jorsalfar (Three orchestral pieces from 'Sigurd Jorsalfar').'' Grieg dedicated the piece to his brother, John, a keen amateur cellist. Friedrich Ludwig Grützmacher premièred the work with Grieg at the piano on 22 October 1883 in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Structure

The sonata has three

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

: # Allegro agitato # Andante molto tranquillo # Allegro molto e marcato The work takes approximately 26 minutes to perform.

Arrangements

* Violin and Piano arrangement by the composer, 1884 *

Gary Karr Gary Michael Karr (born November 20, 1941, in Los Angeles) is an American classical double bass virtuoso and teacher; he is considered one of the best bassists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Biography Although he comes from several generations ...

and Joseph Horovitz arranged the sonata as a

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

on his album ''Virtuoso Double Bass''. * Joseph Horovitz and Benjamin Wallfisch orchestrated the sonata as a cello concerto.Review of the Cello Concerto and other arrangements performed by Raphael Wallfisch with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vernon Handley (MusicWeb).
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References

;Notes ;Sources * *

External links

* Chamber music by Edvard Grieg Grieg, Edvard 1882 compositions Compositions in A minor Sonatas by Edvard Grieg {{sonata-stub