Cello Sonata in E minor, Op. 35
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1913
- Duration
- 29'
- Publisher
- Croatian Music Information Centre
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About this piece
Pejačević's only cello sonata was composed in 1913 and revised in 1915 (finished 25 June 1915), dedicated to Olga and Ernst Schulz, and first performed posthumously in Zagreb on 21 December 1923 by Juro Tkalčić and Hugo Mihalović. MIC describes it as a work of technical polish and romantic warmth whose third movement, an Adagio sostenuto in 5/4, moves from melancholy through dramatic accents to a large climax before the opening chordal texture returns. Brilliant Classics hears a brooding, yearning E minor work that opens with a long-limbed cantabile melody for the cellist and unfolds as a passionate dialogue between cello and piano.
Technical overview
Four movements (Allegro moderato; Scherzo. Allegro; Adagio sostenuto in 5/4; Allegro comodo), about 29 minutes. Demands sustained cantabile playing, a wide dynamic range (dramatic accents and a large climax in the Adagio) and stamina across a large late-Romantic structure.
Technical focus
- Legato
- Dynamics