Cello Sonata No. 2 (Enescu)
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The Cello Sonata No. 2 in
C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
, Op. 26, No. 2, is a
sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
for cello and piano by the Romanian composer George Enescu, written in 1935. A performance lasts about 30 minutes.


History

Enescu began composing his second cello sonata in Tescani, probably in June 1935, and finished it the following November. The first and second movements were completed in Bucharest on 8 August and 12 September, respectively. The third and fourth movements were completed in Vienna, on 27 September and 30 November. The sonata is dedicated to
Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,
and was premiered at the
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in Paris on 4 March 1936, by the cellist
Diran Alexanian Diran Alexanian ( hy, Տիրան Ալեքսանեան) (April 12, 1881, Constantinople – 1954, Chamonix, France) was an Armenian cello teacher and one of the world's greatest virtuoso cellists. Early life He started his studies in music und ...
with Enescu at the piano. The opus number 26, which Enescu assigned to this work, is chronologically appropriate relative to the preceding Third Violin Sonata, Op. 25, and the following Third Orchestral Suite, Op. 27. What is odd is that he chose to include with it the very much earlier Sonata in F Minor (1898), written before the Second Violin Sonata, Op. 6, publishing the two cello sonatas as a pair: Op. 26, Nos. 1 and 2.


Analysis

The Cello Sonata is in four movements * Allegro moderato ed amabile * Allegro agitato, non troppo mosso * Andantino cantabile, senza lentezza * Final a la roumaine, Allegro sciolto Although the broad outline of the work follows the classical model of a four-movement sonata, Enescu’s working-out of the internal structures of the movements is not easy to fit to the conventional schemes. A certain mobility in the transformation of the musical material reaches solutions similar to those of the Classical era, but interpreted and altered according to the composer’s personal taste. The first movement is relatively unproblematic, cast in a
sonata-allegro form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...
. The first theme is expansive, and falls into two large parts, with the piano and cello in a generally heterophonic relationship. Its structure is complicated by being stated twice, separated by a developmental passage on the second part of the theme. The secondary, rather Schumanesque theme is assigned mainly to the piano, with occasional pizzicato interjections by the cello. The development is fairly conventional, but the recapitulation is unusually concise, and is followed by a lengthy coda. The structure of the second movement is much more problematic. While one analyst sees it as a somewhat blurred ternary scherzo. another argues for "a new original structure, superimposing a sonata-form—with exposition, development and recapitulation—to the principles of the fugue", quoted in Bentoiu, while yet another sees it as nearly a textbook example of an ABA scherzo, though including the
cyclical Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in soc ...
return of nearly the entire main theme of the first movement. The third, slow movement may be seen as a theme and variations or, alternatively, as a dreamlike sonata form. The rhythm throughout the movement is in the " parlando- rubato" style characteristic of Romanian folk music. The finale is sometimes claimed to be a rondo, at other times a sonata-rondo, whereas
Pascal Bentoiu Pascal Bentoiu (22 April 1927 – 21 February 2016) was a Romanian modernist composer. Life and career Bentoiu studied harmony, counterpoint and composition with Mihail Jora and piano with Theophil Demetriescu. He spent three years res ...
maintains that it "contains all the elements to qualify without hesitation for a sonata form".


Discography

Listed chronologically by date of recording. * ''George Enescu: Compozitor și interpret / Composer & Performer''. Includes Op. 26, No. 2, Theodor Lupu, cello; George Enescu, piano. Recorded for the Romanian Radio, 1943. CD recording, 2 discs: digital, 4¾ in., monaural. Bucharest: Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, 2005. * ''George Enescu: Impressions d'enfance, pour violin et piano, op. 28; Sonate no. 2 en ut majeur pour piano et violoncelle, op. 26''. Stefan Gheorghiu, violin; Valentin Gheorghiu, piano (Op. 28); Ion Fotino, cello; Maria Fotino, piano (Op. 26). LP recording, 1 disc: 12 in, 33⅓ rpm, monaural. Electrecord ECE 076. Bucharest: Electrecord, 1961. * ''George Enescu: Sonata nr. 2 pentru pian și vioară in fa minor, op. 6; Sonata nr. 2 pentru pian și violoncel in Do major, op. 26, nr. 2''. Varujan Cozighian, violin; Valentin Gheorghiu, piano (Op. 6); Alexandra Guțu, cello; Elena Cosma, piano (Op. 26). LP recording, 1 disc: 12 in, 33⅓ rpm, stereo. Electrecord ST-ECE 01804. Bucharest: Electrecord, 1981. * ''Works by Debussy, Enescu, Janácek and Kodály''. Enescu: Cello Sonata No. 2 in C major Op. 26 No. 2; Anssi Karttunen, cello; Tuija Hakkila, piano. Finlandia Records CD (Warner), 1990. * ''George Enescu: Sonate für Klavier fis-moll op. 24/1; Sonate für Klavier und Violoncello op. 26/2; Rapsodia Romina für Klavier, op. 11/1''. Lory Wallfisch, piano; Julien Musafia, piano (Op. 11, No. 1); Julius Berger, cello (Op. 26, No. 2). Recorded. 25–27 October 1993, in the Konzerthaus, Kronberg/Taunus. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 4¾ in., stereo. EBS 6043. Bietigheim-Bissingen: EBS Records, 1995. * ''George Enescu: Cello Sonatas, Op. 26, Nos. 1 and 2''. Gerhard Zank, cello; Donald Sulzen, piano. Recorded 8, 11, 12 June 1997, Bürgerhaus Pullach. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 4¾ in., stereo. .l. Arte Nova Classics, 1997. * ''George Enescu: 2 Sonatas for Cello and Piano; Nocturne and Saltarello''. Viviane Spanoghe, cello; André De Groote, piano. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 4¾ in., stereo. Talent DOM 2910 79, Antwerp: Classic Talent, 2002. * ''Kodály, Martinů, Enescu, Janáček''. Edda Erlendsdottir, piano; Bryndis Halla Gylfadottir, cello. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 4¾ in., stereo. Erma 200.006 5637285413 celand .n. 2005. * ''George Enescu: Cello Sonatas''. Laura Buruiana, cello; Martin Tchiba, piano. Recorded 26–29 August 2007, Muziekcentrum Frits Philips, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 4¾ in., stereo. Naxos 8570582.
ong Kong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...
Naxos, 2008. * ''Enescu: Complete Works for Cello and Piano''. Valentin Radutiu, cello; Per Rundberg, piano. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 4¾ in., stereo. Hänssler Classic 98021. 2013.


References


Cited sources

* * * *


Further reading

* Firca, Clemensa Liliana. 2006. "Enesco–Bartók: Interférences". ''Studia Musicologica Academiæ Scientarum Hungaricæ'' 47, nos. 3–4 (Bartók's Orbit: The Context and Sphere of Influence of His Work: Proceedings of the International Conference Held by the Bartók Archives, Budapest, 22–24 March 2006, Part I): 345–59. * Malcolm, Noel. 1990. ''George Enescu: His Life and Music'', with a preface by Sir Yehudi Menuhin. London: Toccata Press. .


External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by George Enescu 1935 compositions Compositions in C major Music dedicated to ensembles or performers