We won't be playing the reduced Britten Cello Symphony, I think.

May 8, 2006 8:02 PM

Which cello sonatas are most accessible for the pianist?

I'm slowly returning to my 'cello of ages old and I'm looking to play some sonatas with a certain someone. As I remember some previous sonatas I've played being a bit uppity for the accompanist in parts (Beethoven's A minor minuet?), I thought we'd start with something easier for Ms. Pianist and I to start with.

So, does anyone have opinions on cello sonatas (and/or concertos) that are moderately lightweight yet fun for the accompanist? I'm ashamed to say that I just wasn't paying attention the last time I played them...

Any pianists have favorites?
</vague>

posted by metaculpa to media & arts (4 comments total)

If you want to easy yourself in, I would suggest staying away from full fledged sonatas for now. Try shorter/simpler pieces for now (i.e. Saint-Saen's The Swan). Just buy some conservatory/suzuki books at your appropriate level and try the pieces out together. Fun will ensue.
posted by magwich at 8:34 PM on May 8, 2006

Note: the following is written as a cellist, making assumptions on piano parts. This may or may not have any bearing to reality.

Probably not a bad idea to start off simple, for both of you -- what sort of standard are you, and the pianist? I spent some thoroughly enjoyable time with a middling-ability pianist who, whilst certainly not able to blow off the Beethoven sonatas with ease, could at least sketch/fake her way through them sufficiently to give us both a neat sense of accomplishment. And, frankly, I'd prefer to do that than practise by myself, so*....

Most of the really funky stuff (eg the Beethovens) are really piano sonatas + cello frills. I always enjoyed the Brahms E-minor, myself, but again the piano part for that is.. interesting.

More classical repetoire may suit -- the piano part for the Haydn C, for instance, shouldn't be too bad -- certainly very logical. Of course, that might stretch your abilities a bit ;) The first movement of the Elgar concerto is quite accessible, too, for both of you, and there's a Klengel (I think) Concertina in C that's kinda funky.

Bruch Kol Nidrei, Bloch Prayer, Klengel (I think?) Concertina -- all good stuff with not-intricate piano parts.

In other words: what magwich sed.
*Mental note: find pianist again
posted by coriolisdave at 9:34 PM on May 8, 2006

Thanks - I really hadn't been thinking outside of the sonata literature. Kol Nidrei and The Swan and Prayer are all great ideas. Klengel I don't know, but I'll look it up.

I'm a reasonably good cellist who hasn't played seriously in about 5 years; I've played Haydn CM and Beethoven Am and Elgar and whatnot, but some of it not in quite a while.

As for practice regimes, I find I'm happy enough just playing through things these days; the Suites are good for that (particularly in the upper numbers), but have you tried Britten's Sonatas? They're weird (read: interesting) enough to stare at for a long while before you realize you're practicing.
posted by metaculpa at 10:02 PM on May 8, 2006

Haven't done the Britten, but briefly looked at some Shostakovich Dances (which were interesting). You could always give the shosta concerto (#1, I'm not keen on #2) a shot, but that's kinda outside the realm of fun-stuff-for-all-invovled. More like dear-god-what-the-hell?
posted by coriolisdave at 11:02 PM on May 8, 2006