Sergei Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata in G minor was written after his Second Piano Concerto, and its piano part is so virtuosic that the work could almost be called a 'piano and cello' sonata.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Sergei Rachmaninoff believed that great composers always prioritize melody as the leading element in music.
Performer Biography
Cellist Julian Steckel won first prize at the International ARD Music Competition in 2010, also receiving the audience prize, the OehmsClassics special prize, and the Munich Chamber Orchestra special prize.
Composer Biography
The 'Lied' for cello and piano by Rachmaninoff, composed in 1890, is a declaration of love from the then 19-year-old composer to his cousin Vera Dmitrievna Skalon.
Composition History
Sergei Prokofiev's Cello Sonata was composed in close collaboration with the virtuoso cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who premiered it in March 1950 with Sviatoslav Richter on piano.
Historical Context
The quotation by Maxim Gorki, 'Mankind - how proud that sounds!', placed at the beginning of Prokofiev's Cello Sonata, is an ironic reference to the attacks Prokofiev's works faced from official Soviet cultural policy in the mid-1940s.
Performer Biography
Pianist Paul Rivinius was a member of the Clemente Trio, which won the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich in 1998 and subsequently toured the world's ten most important concert halls as a 'Rising Star' ensemble.
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