Sonata in C Minor for Cello and Piano, Opus 16

I've got one more sonata to share here.  This is a 2015 composition.  It was performed as part of my trio performance in 2018, but we didn't get around to making a house recording of it, so the performance will have to do in spite of some shortcomings in both the performance and recording.  Remembering that the balance was piano-heavy in the violin sonata I had played in the same venue some years earlier, I placed the recorder quite close to the cello this time.  Too close, as it turns out.  One of these times I'll get it right; this seems to be a difficult venue to record in, despite the excellent live acoustics.

For those expecting some modern elements in my writing, you'll note that there are a number of aleatoric elements, including but not limited to baby cries, pages shuffling, various weird noises, an early entry, and some wrong notes (all completely intentional, of course).

The piece itself is in three movements.  The first is a rather slow, brooding sonata-allegro.  The second is an ABABA rondoish form with alternating slow and quick segments, and the final movement is also best described as a rondo, though it doesn't cleanly match the standard 5-part or 7-part form of Classical period works.

It's one of my darker works and likely not as appealing as other things I've written, but I've finally decided I like it enough to share it here.

Fantastic piece! I personally find this piece is very appealing, probably because I'm more into darker music these days.

- I love all the movements of this sonata, but the 1st movement is probably my favorite movement. I love the dark and brooding feeling that permeates the whole movement, and I also love the clarity and emotional quality of the themes. I also love how smoothly the 2nd theme is introduced.

 - The main theme of the 2nd movement is just heavenly 😍. The movement has a very interesting form. I like how you end the movement in an emotionally ambiguous manner, in neither a major nor minor chord.

 -  A very exciting and turbulent 3rd movement. I love how you end the movement in C minor. I thought it was going to end in C major, but the surprise of the minor-key end is much more effective, in my opinion.

Again, it's a truly fantastic piece! Also, like the Violin Sonata recording, the balance didn't bother me, as I was still able to enjoy the music. I really wish I was at that concert! One of the great things about your music is that even though you compose in a late-romantic fashion, you still manage to express your own voice! You are one of my favorite contemporary composers!

Best,

Theo 😀

Excellent! I really love this sonata. It is very pleasant during all the piece.

Very nice the bearing to the classical style. And very professional development.

Congratulations!

Hello Pianist,

Nothing wrong with "dark" music. On the contrary!, such music is usually the most emotional. And the major/minor rule is still very much valid.

I enjoyed this piece very much. In fact, it is amazing! I love the way you handle the classical style. In my opinion ( and there I  think I agree with Theo) you are one of the top composers on this forum.

Best regards

Thank you, gents, for the kind sentiments.  I appreciate them, and they leave me wondering why I sat on this for more than a year before posting it.  Personally, I feel the violin work is the superior sonata from a compositional point of view, but it's clear this is the more popular of the two... so perhaps we can chalk it up to another instance where the composer incorrectly assessed the appeal of his own compositions.

Best wishes to all of you!