Cello Sonata in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 134: I. Andante (Completed by V. Blok)

Featuring

Gabriel Schwabe
Sergei Prokofiev

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Notable Performances

The Sonata for Solo Cello was first performed by Natalia Gutman in Moscow on February 29, 1972, in a version elaborated by musicologist Vladimir Blok.

Performer Biography

Gabriel Schwabe has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Performer Biography

Gabriel Schwabe, the cellist on this recording, is a laureate of numerous national and international competitions, including the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann and the Concours Rostropovich in Paris.

Composition History

Sergey Prokofiev's Sonata for Solo Cello was the very last piece he began in late 1952, and he did not live to finish it, having only sketched the first of its intended four movements.

Compositional Technique

The Sonata for Solo Cello features a lyrically elegiac first theme and a second theme marked 'Giovale' (joyful), reflecting the contemplative and often fatalistic mood of the composer.

Interpretation

On this recording, Gabriel Schwabe plays Prokofiev's Sonata for Solo Cello essentially as the composer left it, unlike the premiered version which was elaborated by a musicologist.