# Classical/Cello repertoire.



## HeartofGold (Aug 23, 2013)

I'm currently learning cello, I started 3.5 years ago.
I was told that listening to more classical music and cello repertoire would benefit me/help me to expand my knowledge.
I'm not entirely sure what to listen to/where to start.

If anyone could recommend any composers or pieces for me to explore it would be greatly appreciated.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

HeartofGold said:


> I'm currently learning cello, I started 3.5 years ago.
> I was told that listening to more classical music and cello repertoire would benefit me/help me to expand my knowledge.
> I'm not entirely sure what to listen to/where to start.
> 
> If anyone could recommend any composers or pieces for me to explore it would be greatly appreciated.


Lots and lots of great stuff. Here's one of the all-time greats.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Bach wrote famous solo cello suites. Zoltan Kodaly wrote one too.

Cello concertos: Dvorak's may be the single most popular, but there are many others.


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

I'll hit the highlights from each era.

*Baroque*
JS Bach solo cello suites: There are six of them. These are a must for any cellist. If your teacher hasn't started you on one of the easier ones yet I imagine he/she will soon. The 1st suite was the first piece from the standard repertoire that I learned in my 3rd year of lessons.
Vivaldi cello concerti: He wrote like 30 of them, just take your pick and dive in.
A couple of lesser know works from this era that I personally enjoy are the Tartini concerto in D major and a concerto by Nicola Porpora in G major

*Classical*
Haydn concerti: There are two, in C major and D major. I'd say both are essential for any cellist to be familiar with.
Boccherini concerti: He wrote 12 of them, but the B-flat major concerto is the best known.
Beethoven's 5 sonatas

*Romantic*
Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata: This was written for a now obsolete instrument called the arpeggione, and is most frequently performed/recorded today on the cello.
Schumann Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme
Dvorak Cello Concerto: This is also a must for any cellist to at least be familiar with
Brahms sonatas: There are two of them. Both are great. 
Elgar Cello Concerto: Technically a 20th century work, but it belongs in the Romantic era in spirit. The first movement is stunningly beautiful.

*20th Century*
The cello repertoire really takes off in the 20th century, so I'm sure to leave off a lot of worthwhile works. These are my personal favorites of the era.
Bloch: Schelomo for cello and orchestra
Debussy Cello Sonata
Shostakovich concerti: There are two. Of the pieces I have personally played, the first is my favorite. He also wrote a sonata that is very good.
Barber: One concerto and one sonata. Both are wonderful.
Britten: Three suites for solo cello and a Cello Symphony
Lutoslawski Cello Concerto
Dutilleux Tout un monde lontain... for cello and orchestra


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

SuperTonic has given a most excellent list. One 20th-century omission -- Prokofiev's Cello Sonata, which surely vies with Shostakovich's in quality. Also very nice is Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra.


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## schuberkovich (Apr 7, 2013)

Forget everything else, listen to the Dvorak first. Then proceed to the Beethoven A major sonata.


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## TudorMihai (Feb 20, 2013)

You can also listen to Enescu's two Cello Sonatas:


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## jtbell (Oct 4, 2012)

Under the "Romantic" category there's also the Grieg cello sonata.


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## LindnerianSea (Jun 5, 2013)

As an ardent supporter of Myaskovsky, I put forth his two cello concertos. The Russian flavour adds really well to the often-melancholic tone of the instrument.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

A few more:

George Crumb: Cello Solo Sonata, a modern classic, played somewhat faster than usual here: 




Myaskovsky: Cello Sonata 2: seconded from here too, a very beautiful work.

Janacek: Pohadka / Fairy Tale (Perenyi recording) 




Martinu: Cello Sonatas, incl. no.2: 



 (If possible try the Accent recording)

Bruch: Ave Maria for Cello & Orchestra 




Kabalevsky: Concerto 2. (tragic): Wallfisch recording: 



 Concerto 1. (charming): Ma recording:


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## pjang23 (Oct 8, 2009)

Don't forget Hummel's Cello Sonata


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## HeartofGold (Aug 23, 2013)

Thankyou everyone, for all your suggestions


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

Awww, you all stole my thunder! :lol:

Those are all great works. I would also mention the Saint-Saens concerto, the Rachmaninoff sonata for cello and piano, and the Brahms double concerto. Oh yes, and don't forget the _Schelomo_ rhapsody for cello and orchestra by Ernest Bloch.

Looks like they pretty much covered it, though. Enjoy your listening!


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

Celloman: Saint-Saens wrote _two_ cello concerti! IMHO, the 2d does not deserve to be neglected.


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

*try Beethoven Triple Concerto*

In the Beethoven Triple Concerto, the cello seems to have the biggest solo part. Beethoven's cello sonatas are also great.


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## jimsumner (Jul 7, 2013)

The Elgar Concerto is magnificent. Maybe better than magnificent.

This recording has long been considered definitive.

http://www.amazon.com/Elgar-Cello-C...F8&qid=1377470983&sr=1-7&keywords=Elgar+duPre

Elgar wrote it right after WWI as a memorial to all the friends he lost in that conflict. It is elegiac, moving, even tragic at times. A masterpiece.


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

Schumann's Five Pieces in Folk-style (_Fünf Stücke im Volkston_) are fabulous (or at least I think so  ).

No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
No. 4
No. 5


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

I'll put in another plug for the Boccherini concertos. There are 12 of them, I have heard some that I like, and I don't even like Baroque music in general. Also Haydn's are surprisingly good, considering that he didn't write a whole lot of concerti of any type that are that popular (I will not make an objective claim about their quality and thereby stir up a rats' nest).


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

spradlig said:


> Also Haydn's are surprisingly good, considering that he didn't write a whole lot of concerti of any type that are that popular (I will not make an objective claim about their quality and thereby stir up a rats' nest).


No rat's nest, I think most find both concerti very fine indeed. They were written about 20 years apart, and the first was lost until about 1961. What a find! Both are usually accounted in the top four or five cello concerti ever written. At least, Schumann and Saint-Saens have to struggle a bit to find their places.


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## jimsumner (Jul 7, 2013)

spradlig said:


> I'll put in another plug for the Boccherini concertos. There are 12 of them, I have heard some that I like, and I don't even like Baroque music in general. Also Haydn's are surprisingly good, considering that he didn't write a whole lot of concerti of any type that are that popular (I will not make an objective claim about their quality and thereby stir up a rats' nest).


Maybe you like Boccherini because he wasn't a Baroque composer. He was a contemporary of Haydn, not Bach.


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

Sorry, my bad. Can I delete my bonehead post?


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

KenOC : I may have been unclear. What I meant was that I am not going to assert anything about Haydn's concerti besides his two cello concerti (I don't even know if he wrote any concerti besides the two cello concerti). I am surprised that either of them (I always forget which is the first - I think of them as the C major and the D major) could have been lost for so long, they're so good.


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## jimsumner (Jul 7, 2013)

spradlig said:


> KenOC : I may have been unclear. What I meant was that I am not going to assert anything about Haydn's concerti besides his two cello concerti (I don't even know if he wrote any concerti besides the two cello concerti). I am surprised that either of them (I always forget which is the first - I think of them as the C major and the D major) could have been lost for so long, they're so good.


Haydn's two cello concerti and his trumpet concerto are highly regarded by critics and audiences. His piano concerti are pleasant but pale in comparison to those of Mozart. Then again, most do. But the exalted status held by Haydn's symphonies, string quartets and late piano trios is not shared by his piano concerti. Compared to Mozart and Beethoven (and Chopin and Liszt, et. al.), he wasn't a virtuoso pianist and his works in that genre may reflect that.

His Concertos can be explored inexpensively in this set.

http://www.amazon.com/Haydn-Complet...7736380&sr=1-2&keywords=Haydn+piano+concertos


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## spradlig (Jul 25, 2012)

jimsumner : Oops, I forgot about his trumpet concerto, which is very popular. I didn't know he wrote any piano concerti at all. Thanks for the info.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

jimsumner said:


> Haydn's two cello concerti and his trumpet concerto are highly regarded by critics and audiences. His piano concerti are pleasant but pale in comparison to those of Mozart.


I read somewhere (for what it's worth) that Haydn pretty much quit writing piano concertos entirely after hearing Mozart's. That may or may not be true, but it's believable.


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## jimsumner (Jul 7, 2013)

KenOC said:


> I read somewhere (for what it's worth) that Haydn pretty much quit writing piano concertos entirely after hearing Mozart's. That may or may not be true, but it's believable.


Understandable. Fortunately, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Grieg, et. al thought it was still possible to say things in the format.


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