Sonate pour Violoncelle et Piano

The Cello Sonata is a late work by the French composer Claude Debussy. It was the first of a planned series of "Six sonates pour divers instruments", however Debussy only completed two others, the sonata for violin and the sonata for flute, viola and harp. The sonata for cello and piano was written in 1915, and is notable for its brevity, most performances not exceeding 11 minutes. It is a staple of the modern cello repertoire and is commonly regarded as one of the finest masterpieces written for the instrument. It is without question the most performed cello sonata of the 20th century. Regina Back's Urtext edition for the first time makes use of Debussy's sketches held in a private collection which contain not only an important comment by Debussy regarding the balance of the instruments but also clarify several musical ambiguities found in the autograph and first edition. Bärenreiter's new Urtext edition comes with a detailed preface (German/English/French) elaborating not only on the genesis of the composition and its first performances but also providing performance practice information. The edition is rounded off with a facsimile and a Critical Commentary (English). - Publisher.