Barber, S.: Cello Sonata / Debussy, C.: Cello Sonata in D Minor / Prokofiev, S.: Cello Sonata in C Major

Featuring

Erling Blöndal Bengtsson
Nina Kavtaradze
Samuel Barber
Claude Debussy
Sergei Prokofiev

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Performer Biography

Erling Blöndal Bengtsson, the cellist on this recording, gave his first public recital on a viola with an end pin at the age of three, after insisting on holding the violin between his knees.

Performer Biography

Erling Blöndal Bengtsson became the assistant to the pre-eminent cellist Gregor Piatigorsky at the Curtis Institute of Music at age 17, and succeeded him as teacher the following year.

Composer Biography

Samuel Barber, an American composer, was considered by many to be an anachronism for his romantic style, debuting after modernism had been launched by Stravinsky.

Historical Context

When Sergei Prokofiev composed his Cello Sonata, he had fallen out of favor with the Russian Communist Party and was accused of formalism and Western decadence.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Towards the end of his life, Claude Debussy turned his attention to French musical history, specifically Baroque composers Rameau and Couperin, and planned to write six sonatas as a homage to them.

Composer Biography

Samuel Barber, who himself played the piano and cello, composed two major works for the cello: the Sonata in 1932 and the Concerto for cello and orchestra, op. 22 in 1946.