Selected Cello Sonatas from 1880-1950: Tradition and Innovation

Abstract

In the Romantic era, composers were inspired to experiment and to expand the wide range of colors, dynamics, registers, and musical vocabularies of all instruments, including strings, because of a growing emphasis on virtuosity and brilliance among performers. Cello sonatas therefore started to emerge and evolve in many different and exciting ways. The goal of this performance project was to broaden my familiarity with the sonata genre, as well as to discover both the traditional and innovative sides of the selected cello sonatas from 1880 to 1950, using the sonatas of Brahms, Franck, Poulenc, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and Strauss. The following is the list of sonatas 1 presented on three dissertation recitals in Gildenhorn Recital Hall. These public performances were recorded on compact disc.