Sonata in C, Op. 65
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1961
- Duration
- 18'
- Publisher
- Boosey & Hawkes
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About this piece
Britten's first work for Rostropovich, written after the cellist asked him for a piece after the 1960 concert that introduced them. Its five short movements are character studies rather than a classical sonata: a conversational Dialogo, an all-pizzicato Scherzo whose textures recall Balinese gamelan, a dark Elegia, a sardonic Marcia and a whirlwind Moto perpetuo built on the DSCH motif as a tribute to Shostakovich. Dedicated 'For Mstislav Rostropovitch' and premiered by him with Britten at the piano in Aldeburgh's Jubilee Hall on 7 July 1961; the solo part was edited by Rostropovich.
Technical overview
The second movement is played entirely pizzicato (Britten joked in a letter to Rostropovich about whether it would be playable); the finale is a fast perpetuum mobile. The solo part carries Rostropovich's fingerings and bowings.