# Music for the cello



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Suggest some cello works a Romantic period lover like me would like; the first thing that comes up my head would be Offenbach, he was a cellist and wrote quite a few piece for the cello; anything else?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Pretty much all the Romantic composers tried their hand at the cello, being one of the more expressive instruments. Some favorites:

Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata:






Myaskovsky Cello Sonata 2:


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## pjang23 (Oct 8, 2009)




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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Dvorak Cello Concerto
Chopin Cello Sonata
Five Beethoven Cello Sonatas
Several works by Kodaly

And although Bach is hardly a romantic composer, some interpretations of his six solo suites have a romantic quality. The most romantic version I own is by Yo Yo Ma. I heard Alisa Weilerstein in recital - quite romantic, albeit not to my taste. And she has not recorded them. I'm sure others can offer better suggestions in this regard.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Tchaikovsky - Rococo Variations op.33 (1877)
Elgar - Cello Concerto op.85 (1919)
Saint-Saëns - Suite for cello and piano op.16 (1862) There is also a version for cello and orchestra


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Some "modern Romantics" not mentioned yet:

Piano Trios by Faure, Debussy, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich
Cello Sonatas by Debussy, Poulenc, Shostakovich, and Martinu
Cello Concertos by Myaskovsky, Britten, Shostakovich, Dutilleux, Walton, Moeran, Finzi, and Salonen

*p.s.* And Atterberg's Elgar-like Cello Concerto, which is my latest discovery.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Plenty of suggestions in this list compiled by TV members for a cello centered game - pick the "romantic era" composers from it.

Link.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Beethoven and Brahms composed arguably the definitive Cello sonatas:














There's also Schubert's Arpegionne Sonata, which is more typically played on a cello:


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Blancrocher said:


> Some "modern Romantics" not mentioned yet:
> 
> Piano Trios by Faure, Debussy, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich
> Cello Sonatas by Debussy, Poulenc, Shostakovich, and Martinu
> ...


Britten's Cello Suites as well


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Victor Herbert wrote 2 beautiful concertos. As did Joachim Raff...


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> Victor Herbert wrote 2 beautiful concertos. As did Joachim Raff...
> View attachment 123580
> View attachment 123579


I endorse the Raff concertos.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Schumann's A minor Cello Concerto used to be considered alongside those of Dvorak and Elgar. It seems to me that we hear it less now, though it's a fine work.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

I gather some works further, mostly concertos:

*A. Rubinstein* - His 2 cello concertos. Traditional, lyrical and a bit muscular. Maybe not masterpieces but they are good for their own right.

*E. d'Albert* - His Cello Concerto in C major is a strong work in the genre. Although it's little known, is fantastic.

*E. Lalo* - Cello Concerto in D minor with its Spanish accencts, it's an eloquent work, more lyrical than virtuosic IMHO. The 3rd movement reminds me of Mexican music.

*N. Kraft* Cello Concertos: Composed some striking works for the instrument that could be considered like pre-romantic.

*J. Röntgen* - So far there are recorded two of his 7 cello concertos and are just lovely, finely crafted, never boring. A new release from cpo that includes some more of his concertos is coming.

*G. Martucci* - Cello sonata: Few romantic Italian sonatas were left to us, amont them this one. Serious, passionate, imbued with some interesting development.

*E. Grieg* - His only Cello Sonata is a masterpiece. If you like his SQ, this is an assured hit.

*A. Magnard and J-G Ropartz's* fine French cello sonatas. Heartfelt and poetic. Lots of Breton flavour and melancholy in the latter.

If you like experimentations, try the Schoenberg's vision of Monn's famous Cello Concerto in G minor. I know, it's not properly romantic, just I had to mention it.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Lalo's cell concerto has a fair degree of popularity.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

MusicSybarite said:


> ...*Röntgen* - So far there are recorded two of his 7 cello concertos and are just lovely, finely crafted, never boring. A new release from cpo that includes some more of his concertos is coming.


Röntgen's cello concerti 1-3 are available on YouTube. They are, indeed, fine works.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

mbhaub said:


> Victor Herbert wrote 2 beautiful concertos. As did Joachim Raff...
> View attachment 123580
> ]




Great choices. alas pearls and that


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## Dima (Oct 3, 2016)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Suggest some cello works a Romantic period lover like me would like; the first thing that comes up my head would be Offenbach, he was a cellist and wrote quite a few piece for the cello; anything else?


And what do you think of Cello Sonata No.1 op.18 of Anton Rubinstein? 
You may listen here II part, Moderato:

http://conquest.imslp.info/files/im...o_Sonata_op._18_in_D_-_II._Moderato_assai.mp3


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## sonance (Aug 20, 2018)

Some works for cello not mentioned yet (nor in the other thread, see link [post #7] by Art Rock):

Charles Valentin Alkan: Sonate de concert pour piano et violoncello (Emmanuelle Bertrand, cello; Pascal Amoyel, piano)





Théodore Dubois: Fantasie-Stück (for cello and orchestra; Marc Coppey, cello)





Auguste Franchomme: Fantaisie sur „Le chant d'adieux" (Roel Dieltiens, cello; Ensemble Explorations)





Adrien-François Servais has been mentioned, but there is more music for cello (see Wikipedia). I recommend both recordings with Didier Poskin:



















Listen for example to some YouTube clips:
- Morceau de concert: 



- La Romanesca:


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

It was mentioned earlier but no discussion of romantic cello music should exclude the Dvorak concerto in B minor; no other cello work compares to it in duration and romance.

Otherwise I would go back to the original post and Offenbach who wrote his "Military" cello concerto and the Rondo for Cello and Orchestra, both recorded many times.

Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto No. 2 is a favorite though 20th century "romance" in a very different way from Shostakovich, whose great Concerto No. 1 is probably anti-romantic.

I generally enjoy Khachaturian, a 20th century romantic, but never his cello concerto.

William Barber's Cello Concerto is not as romantic as his violin concerto but still worthwhile.

Most name cellists have had a shot at Tchaikovsky's Rococo variations for cello and most have recorded both the Schumann and Saint Saens concertos though I don't think of any of these being as good as the others I've mentioned. Eduard Lalo's is another concerto I would add to that group.

Of course several of the greatest works for concerto were not from the romantic era including Haydn's concertos.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I don’t recall seeing a mention of the Brahms Double. It may be the stepchild of his concertos, but it’s pretty darn good.


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## chu42 (Aug 14, 2018)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Suggest some cello works a Romantic period lover like me would like; the first thing that comes up my head would be Offenbach, he was a cellist and wrote quite a few piece for the cello; anything else?


Cello Concerti of Dvorak, Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Elgar
Beethoven Cello Sonata No.3
Lalo Cello Concerto
Barber Cello Concerto
Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante

And these are decidedly Classical but so perfectly written: Haydn and Boccherini's Cello Concerti


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Don’t forget Schumann’s Cello Concerto


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## aussiebushman (Apr 21, 2018)

No argument about most of the recommendations BUT you ain't heard a cello concerto until you have heard the Rostopovitch performance of the Shostakovich cello concerto! IT was written 6 years after the death of Stalin and portrays much of the emotions one might expect given the way the composer was treated. It has been described as "probably the most exciting of all cello concertos."

If you are a newcomer to Shostakovich, please do not be deterred by the frenetic first movement - keep listening.

The concerto has been performed (and recorded) with several orchestras. I wish I had other versions on record but the Mstislav Rostropovich/Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy is breathtaking.

This Youtube video features Rostropovich in a later performance with Sir Charles Groves, recorded in London in 1960. *



*
Just to make this recording even more valuable. the second side features the exquisite Symphony number 1 with the same orchestra and conductor:
*



*


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Samuel Barber's cello concerto has been mentioned (rightly enough) a couple of times, but I'd like to add the cello sonata, less well known perhaps but a piece which, if anything, I personally prefer to the concerto. Here's Piatigorsky giving it its full due:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyVrlin8Mtg


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