Sonate pour violoncelle et piano, FP 143
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1948
- Duration
- 22'
- Publisher
- Heugel (Alphonse Leduc)
Purchase or download
About this piece
Poulenc sketched this sonata at Brive-la-Gaillarde in 1940, after the armistice, and only finished it in 1948 at the urging of Pierre Fournier, who helped with the cello writing (Poulenc was unfamiliar with the instrument) and whose editorial markings are printed in the solo part. Fournier and the composer gave the premiere at the Salle Gaveau in May 1949. Each of the four movements is in ternary form: a march-like Allegro, a lyrical Cavatine, a dancing Ballabile and a Finale. First published by Heugel in 1949 (revised edition 1953); now sold through Hal Leonard under the Leduc imprint (60 pages).
Technical overview
The solo part carries Pierre Fournier’s editorial fingerings and bowings; he helped Poulenc with the technical aspects of the cello writing.