Hans Werner Henze's Serenade was originally part of lost incidental music for William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado about Nothing' and was composed while he studied Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.
Cultural Impact
Pablo Casals, a Catalan cellist, performed 'El cant dels Ocells' (Song of the Birds) at the end of all his exile concerts after 1939, making the piece a secret national anthem of Catalonia.
Instruments
Daniel Müller-Schott performs on the 'Ex Shapiro' Matteo Goffriller cello, made in Venice in 1727, and a bow by F. Peccatte and FX Tourte from around 1820.
Composition History
The second, contrasting theme of Prokofiev's Solo Sonata for Cello, Op. 134, was partly contributed by his friend, the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.
Composition History
After J.S. Bach's cello suites in the early 18th century, it took almost 200 years for another major solo cello work to emerge, with Zoltán Kodály's Sonata in 1915 ending this period.
Composer Biography
Sergey Prokofiev's Solo Sonata for Cello, Op. 134, was incomplete at his death in 1953; only the first part of the first movement was finished by him.
Compositional Technique
Zoltán Kodály's Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8, uses scordatura, retuning the two low strings a semitone deeper, to create an almost orchestral effect and a pure B minor triad.
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