Prokofiev / Rachmaninov: Cello Sonatas

Featuring

Torleif Thedéen
Roland Pöntinen
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Rachmaninoff

Did you know?

1/7

Historical Context

Mstislav Rostropovich, a cellist, supported Prokofiev when the Soviet composer elite was targeted by Stalin's "great inquisition" in 1948.

Notable Performances

Prokofiev's Cello Sonata was premiered in March 1950 by Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) and Sviatoslav Richter (piano), with fellow-composer Nicolai Myaskovsky calling it "a first-class, fantastic work."

Composition History

Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata was composed during an artistic crisis, alongside his Second Piano Concerto, Op.18, after his First Symphony was skeptically received.

Compositional Technique

Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata is officially titled "Sonata for Piano and Cello" because the piano part is dominant and often takes charge of the most interesting musical events.

Composition History

Prokofiev's cello music received a "strongly personal artistic uplift" after he met the young cellist Mstislav Rostropovich in the late 1940s.

Performer Biography

Cellist Torleif Thedéen won the Hammer-Rostropovich prize, the Pablo Casals competition, and the European Broadcasting Union's International Tribune for young interpreters in 1985.

Composer Biography

After being accused of composing "formalistic music" in 1948, Prokofiev withdrew from public life and suffered from high blood pressure, headaches, and speech impediments.