Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Sonata in d minor  for cello and piano [12’]

1. Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto
2. Sérénade: Modérément animé
3. Finale: Animé, léger et nerveux

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849): Sonata for Piano and Cello in g minor, Op. 65 [34′]

1.  Allegro moderato
2.  Scherzo: Allegro con brio
3.  Largo
4.  Finale: Allegro

Dmitri Shostakovitch (1906-1975): Sonata for Viola and Piano (arr. cello and piano), Op. 147 [31’]

1. Allegro
2. Moderato
3. Adagio

Debussy’s Sonata in d minor for cello and piano emerged during a period of extraordinary personal and historical turbulence. As World War I raged and the composer battled terminal cancer, he embarked on an ambitious project of six sonatas, though he would complete only three before his death. During this period, Debussy remarked that he was “relearning about music,” and indeed, the Cello Sonata reveals a striking departure from his earlier style. He wrote about the sonata that it is “almost classical form in the best sense of the word.” The work draws its whimsical and mythical charm from the commedia dell’arte, with its subtitle “Pierrot is angry with the moon” coming to life through flowing and mysterious music.

Chopin’s Sonata for Piano and Cello also represents remarkable artistic metamorphosis, pushing beyond his familiar forms of piano miniatures. The work is full of complex harmonies, intricate counterpoint, and moments of both turbulent passion and profound introspection. Despite his failing health, Chopin created a masterwork that explores complex contrapuntal writing and an enriched harmonic language, creating a deep emotional landscape. The sonata becomes an intimate meditation on personal transformation while remaining quintessentially Chopin-esque, with moments recalling his characteristic polonaises, scherzos, and nocturnes.

Arranged for cello by Daniil Shafran with permission from Shostakovitch’s widow,  the Sonata for Viola and Piano, was Shostakovich’s final completed composition, finished just weeks before his death in 1975. Written in the shadow of severe illness, this austere and  personal work seems to contemplate mortality itself. The first movement’s wandering melodies give way to a sardonic scherzo quoting directly from his unfinished opera based on Gogol’s The Gamblers, while the final Adagio draws inspiration from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, creating a haunting meditation that seems to fade into silence. The last phrase of the cello is also a quotation from the finale of Strauss’ Don Quixote when the cellist, representing the titular character, takes his final breath.