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Saint-Saëns: Cello Sonatas / Favalessa, Semeraro
Brilliant Classics

Saint-Saëns: Cello Sonatas / Favalessa, Semeraro

$13.99

Details

Composer
Camille Saint-Saens
Artist
Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro
Format
CD
Label
Brilliant Classics
Released
Sep 23, 2022
Catalog #
BRI95421
UPC
5028421954219

About

Prior to the turn of the 20th century, Camille Saint-Saëns enriched the cello repertoire with two important compositions: his Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor (Op.33 ) and his Cello Sonata No.1 in C minor (Op.32). The first Cello Sonata was composed in the autumn of 1872, and its first public performance – with J. Reuschel on cello and the composer at the piano – was given on 26 March 1873 at the Salle Érard in Paris. The work is divided into three movements: the first and third have a tragic character, while the second offers an oasis of quiet serenity. The work opens with a dramatic Allegro in sonata form. The second movement stems from an organ improvisation performed by Saint-Saëns at Saint-Augustin. The final movement takes up the tumultuous and agitated character of the first and ends in an unrelenting race. Some 30 years separate the Cello Sonata No.2 in F (Op.123) from its predecessor. The fruit of laborious work, it was completed in early 1905. The Sonata is structured in four movements, the first in sonata form with contrasting heroic and lyrical characters throughout. The second movement is a Scherzo with eight variations, each with its own identity while maintaining a link to the theme, one of them in the form of a fugue. The third movement is, in Saint-Saëns’ words, ‘a romance that will delight cellists’, and he wrote of its concluding section, ‘the Adagio will bring tears to sensitive souls’. The sonata ends with a playful, light Rondo in which both piano and cello engage in technical virtuosity and imitative games.

Tracklist 7 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro 08:55
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    08:55
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro
  2. 2 II. Andante tranquillo sostenuto 05:49
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Andante tranquillo sostenuto
    Duration
    05:49
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro
  3. 3 III. Allegro moderato 06:14
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    06:14
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro
  4. 4 I. Maestoso, largamente - Tranquillo 09:26
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Maestoso, largamente - Tranquillo
    Duration
    09:26
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro
  5. 5 II. Scherzo con variazioni: Allegro animato 09:12
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Scherzo con variazioni: Allegro animato
    Duration
    09:12
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro
  6. 6 III. Romanza: Poco adagio 08:57
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Romanza: Poco adagio
    Duration
    08:57
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro
  7. 7 IV. Allegro non troppo grazioso 06:42
    Track
    7
    Title
    IV. Allegro non troppo grazioso
    Duration
    06:42
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro