Cello Sonata in D major, Op. 52
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1906
- Duration
- 31'
- Publisher
- Public Domain
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About this piece
Alberto Williams wrote his only cello sonata, Op. 52 in D major, in the middle of a run of chamber sonatas: violin sonatas Op. 49, 51 and 53 and a flute sonata Op. 48 sit around it in his catalogue. Wikipedia dates it to 1906. It was published in Buenos Aires by Gurina & Ca. as "Sonate pour Violoncelle et Piano" (plate 52, about 1905), with Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig named on the cover as agent. The work is dedicated to Charles Marchal. It is a full-scale four-movement Romantic sonata from the years when, in Wikipedia's words, Williams "mostly cultivated an international style strongly rooted in the Romantic tradition". That was before he turned to Argentine folk dances in his later music. Cellist Patricia Pasmanter and pianist Pablo Estigarribia recorded it on their album Sonatas Argentinas (2017). IMSLP has a free public-domain scan of the Gurina first edition, with both the piano score and a separate cello part.
Technical overview
Four movements, about 31 minutes in the Pasmanter/Estigarribia recording: I. Allegro moderato (about 12 min); II. Andante, which leads straight into III. Scherzo. Allegro – Andante; IV. Allegro appassionato. It is a large-scale Romantic sonata that needs the stamina and range of the standard concert repertoire. I could not see the cello part itself, so specific passagework is not described here.