A cello sonata is piece written

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

form, often with the instrumentation of a

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 ...

taking solo role with

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

accompaniment. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were composed in the 18th century by

Francesco Geminiani Francesco Xaverio Geminiani (baptised 5 December 1687 – 17 September 1762) was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. BBC Radio 3 once described him as "now largely forgotten, but in his time considered almost a musical god, deem ...

and

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

, and since then other famous cello sonatas have grown to those by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

Fryderyk Chopin The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the US Grammy and British BRIT Awar ...

, and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

among others. The following list contains cello sonatas with or without accompanying instruments. See the See also list for more comprehensive lists divided up into solo and accompanied works.

List of major cello sonatas

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt, amon ...

** Sonate de Concert, Op. 47 (c. 1857) *

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...

** Cello Sonata in C minor, Op. 6 (1932) *

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music ...

**Cello Sonata (1923) **Cello Sonatina (1933) **Legend-Sonata (1943) *

** Cello Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5/1 (1796) ** Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5/2 (1796) ** Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 (1808) ** Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102/1 (1815) ** Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102/2 (1815) * Easley Blackwood Jr. **Cello Sonata, Op. 31 *

** Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 (1862–5) ** Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 (1886) ** Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, "''Rain''", Op. 78 (1878–9), transcribed for cello by

Paul Klengel Paul Klengel (13 May 1854 – 24 April 1935) was a Germans, German violinist, Viola, violist, Piano, pianist, Conducting, conductor, composer, editor and arranger. He was the brother of Cello, cellist Julius Klengel. Biography Klengel was born a ...

** Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 (1886), transcribed for cello by Laszlo Varga ** Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 (1886–8), transcribed for cello by Laszlo Varga *

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845–1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a ...

**Cello sonata in D minor, H. (Hindmarsh) 125 (1913-7) *

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

** Sonata in C for Cello and Piano, Op. 65 (1961) *

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...

**Cello Sonata (1948) *

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

** Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65 (1845–6) *

George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

** Sonata for Solo Cello (1955) *

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

** Cello Sonata in D minor (1915) *

Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...

**Cello Sonata (1916) * Felix Draeseke **Cello Sonata in D major, Op. 51 (1890) *

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

**Cello Sonata in F major (1871) lost (cello part extant) *

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

**Cello Sonata in F minor, Op. 26/1 (1898) **Cello sonata in C major, Op. 26/2 (1935) *

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has globally bec ...

**Cello Sonata No. 2, W103 (1916) *

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

** Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 109 (1917) ** Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 117 (1921) *

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

** Violin Sonata in A major, transcribed with the composer's approval for cello by

Jules Delsart Jules Delsart (24 November 1844 – 3 July 1900) was a French cellist and teacher. He is best known for his arrangement for cello and piano of César Franck's Violin Sonata in A major. Musicologist Lynda MacGregor described Delsart as "one of th ...

. See * John Foulds **

Cello Sonata A cello sonata is piece written sonata form, often with the instrumentation of a cello taking solo role with piano accompaniment. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were composed in the 18th century by Francesco Geminiani and Antonio Vivaldi, and ...

(1905, rev. 1927) *

François Francoeur François Francœur (21 September 1698 – 5 August 1787) was a French composer and violinist from the late Baroque (music), Baroque era and the Classical period (music), Classical era. Biography François Francœur was born in Paris, the son ...

(attrib.) **Sonata for Cello and Piano in E major (actually a cello arrangement of a Louis Francoeur violin sonata) * Peter Racine Fricker **Cello Sonata (1956) * Zoltán Gárdonyi **Cello Sonata (1944) *

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 ...

** Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36 (1883) *

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

**Cello Sonata, Op. 11/3 (1919) **Sonata for Cello Solo, Op. 25/3 (1923) **Cello Sonata (1948) * Vagn Holmboe **Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 101 (1968–69) *

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

**Cello Sonata in D minor, H.32 (1920) *

Stephen Hough Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough (; born 22 November 1961) is a British-Australian classical pianist, composer and writer. Biography Hough was born in Heswall (then in Cheshire) on the Wirral Peninsula, and grew up in Thelwall, where he began pi ...

**Sonata for Cello and Piano (left hand) (2014) *

Bertold Hummel Bertold Hummel (27 November 1925 – 9 August 2002) was a German composer of modern classical music. Life Bertold Hummel was born in Hüfingen, Baden. He studied at the Academy of Music in Freiburg from 1947 to 1954, taking composition with H ...

**Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 2 (1950) **Sonata brevis, Op. 11a (1955) *

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and ...

**Sonata in A major, Op. 104 * John Ireland ** Cello Sonata in G minor (1923) * Giuseppe Maria Jacchini ** Sonata No. 3 in C major (1697) *

Joseph Jongen Joseph Marie Alphonse Nicolas Jongen (14 December 1873 – 12 July 1953) was a Belgian organist, composer, and music educator. Biography Jongen was born in Liège, where his parents had moved from Flanders. He was the elder brother of Léon Jonge ...

** Cello Sonata in C minor, Op. 39 (1913) *

Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

**Cello Sonata in B flat major, Op. 71 (1962) *

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

**Cello Sonata, Op. 4 (1907) ** Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 (1915) **Cello Sonatine (1923) *

Josef Labor Josef Paul Labor (29 June 184226 April 1924) was an Austrian pianist, organist, and composer of the late Romantic era. Labor was an influential music teacher. As a friend of some key figures in Vienna, his importance was enhanced. Biography Lab ...

**Cello Sonata Sonata in A major, Op. 7 (1896) *

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie Espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that re ...

**Cello Sonata in A minor (1856) *

Lowell Liebermann Lowell Liebermann (born February 22, 1961, in New York City) is an American composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career At the age of sixteen, Liebermann performed at Carnegie Hall, playing his Piano Sonata, op. 1. He studied at the Juilliar ...

**Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 3 (1978) **Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 61 (1998) **Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 90 (2005) **Cello Sonata No. 4, Op. 108 (2008) *

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

** Sonata for Solo Cello *

Albéric Magnard Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard (; 9 June 1865 – 3 September 1914) was a French composer, somewhat influenced by César Franck and Vincent d'Indy. Magnard became a national hero in 1914 when he refused to surrender his property to German ...

**Sonata for Cello in A, Op. 20 (1910) *

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

**Cello Sonata No. 1, H 277 **Cello Sonata No. 2, H 286 **Cello Sonata No. 3, H 340 *

** Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 45 (1838) ** Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58 (1842–3) *

Ignaz Moscheles Isaac Ignaz Moscheles (; 23 May 179410 March 1870) was a Bohemian piano virtuoso and composer. He was based initially in London and later at Leipzig, where he joined his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as professor of piano in the Co ...

**Cello Sonata Op. 34 in B-flat major **Cello Sonata No. 2 Op. 121 in E major * Georges Onslow ** Cello Sonatas 1, 2 and 3, Op. 16/1-3 (1820) * Henrique Oswald ** Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 21 (1898) ** Cello Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 44 (1916) *

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...

** Cello Sonata in A major (1879–83) *

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Giovanni Battista Draghi (; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), usually referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist, leading exponent of the Baroque; he is considered one of the g ...

**Cello Sonata in F major (uncertain attribution) *

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

, FP 143 (1948) *

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

** Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119 (1949) **Sonata for Solo Cello in C minor, Op. 134 (unfinished) *

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

** Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 (1901) *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

** Sonata for Violin and Cello (1920–22) *

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

** Cello Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 5 (1892) **Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 28 (1898) **Cello Sonata No. 3 in F major, Op. 78 (1904) **Cello Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 116 (1910)Info from IMSLP listings. *

Edmund Rubbra Edmund Rubbra (; 23 May 190114 February 1986) was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak o ...

**Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 60 (1946) *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

** Cello Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 32 ** Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 123 * Philipp Scharwenka **Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 116 *

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...

**Cello Sonata No. 1 (1978) **Cello Sonata No. 2 (1993/4) *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

** Sonata for Arpeggione in A minor, D. 821 is often transcribed for cello. *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

** Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40 (1934) ** Viola Sonata, Op. 147 (1975), transcribed for cello by Daniil Shafran *

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

** Cello Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 9 (1878) ** Cello Sonata No. 2 on D minor, Op. 39 (1893) *

** Sonata in F major for cello and piano (1882) *

** At least 9 cello sonatas *

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

**Sonata for Cello and Piano (1920)

Chronology of major cello sonatas

The following list (inevitably incomplete) tries to place the major sonatas and equivalent works for cello and piano or cello solo in chronological order of completion. It will be susceptible to uncertainty of dates, and whether original or revised versions are definitive.

References

External links

Complete Scores of Many Cello Sonatas

Dates need to be double-checked against other sources as they do not always agree. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cello Sonata Articles containing video clips