A cello sonata is a piece written in sonata form, often with the instrumentation of a cello taking solo role with piano accompaniment. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were composed in the 18th century by Francesco Geminiani and Antonio Vivaldi; subsequent famous cello sonatas include those by Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Fryderyk Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Claude Debussy.
The following list contains cello sonatas with or without accompanying instruments. See the See also list for more comprehensive lists divided up into solo and accompanied works.
List of major cello sonatas
Charles-Valentin Alkan Sonate de Concert, Op. 47 (c. 1857) Samuel Barber Cello Sonata in C minor, Op. 6 (1932) Arnold Bax Cello Sonata (1923) Cello Sonatina (1933) Legend-Sonata (1943) Ludwig van Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5/1 (1796) Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5/2 (1796) Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 (1808) Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102/1 (1815) Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102/2 (1815) Easley Blackwood Jr. Cello Sonata, Op. 31 Johannes Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 (1862–65) Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 (1886) Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, "Rain", Op. 78 (1878–79), transcribed for cello by Paul Klengel Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 (1886), transcribed for cello by Laszlo Varga Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 (1886–88), transcribed for cello by Laszlo Varga Frank Bridge Cello sonata in D minor, H. (Hindmarsh) 125 (1913–17) Benjamin Britten Sonata in C for Cello and Piano, Op. 65 (1961) Elliott Carter Cello Sonata (1948) Frédéric Chopin Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65 (1845–46) George Crumb Sonata for Solo Cello (1955) Claude Debussy Cello Sonata in D minor (1915) Frederick Delius Cello Sonata (1916) Felix Draeseke Cello Sonata in D major, Op. 51 (1890) Antonín Dvořák Cello Sonata in F major (1871); lost (cello part extant) George Enescu Cello Sonata in F minor, Op. 26/1 (1898) Cello sonata in C major, Op. 26/2 (1935) Heitor Villa-Lobos Cello Sonata No. 2, W103 (1916) Gabriel Fauré Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 109 (1917) Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 117 (1921) César Franck Violin Sonata in A major, transcribed with the composer's approval for cello by Jules Delsart. See John Foulds Cello Sonata (1905, rev. 1927) François Francoeur (attrib.) Sonata for Cello and Piano in E major (actually a cello arrangement of a Louis Francoeur violin sonata) Peter Racine Fricker Cello Sonata (1956) Zoltán Gárdonyi Cello Sonata (1944) Edvard Grieg Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 36 (1883) Paul Hindemith Cello Sonata, Op. 11/3 (1919) Sonata for Cello Solo, Op. 25/3 (1923) Cello Sonata (1948) Vagn Holmboe Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 101 (1968–69) Arthur Honegger Cello Sonata in D minor, H.32 (1920) Stephen Hough Sonata for Cello and Piano (left hand) (2014) Bertold Hummel Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 2 (1950) Sonata brevis, Op. 11a (1955) Johann Nepomuk Hummel Sonata in A major, Op. 104
John Ireland Cello Sonata in G minor (1923) Giuseppe Maria Jacchini Sonata No. 3 in C major (1697) Joseph Jongen Cello Sonata in C minor, Op. 39 (1913) Dmitry Kabalevsky Cello Sonata in B flat major, Op. 71 (1962) Zoltán Kodály Cello Sonata, Op. 4 (1907) Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 (1915) Cello Sonatine (1923) Josef Labor Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 7 (1896) Édouard Lalo Cello Sonata in A minor (1856) Lowell Liebermann Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 3 (1978) Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 61 (1998) Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 90 (2005) Cello Sonata No. 4, Op. 108 (2008) György Ligeti Sonata for Solo Cello Albéric Magnard Sonata for Cello in A, Op. 20 (1910) Bohuslav Martinů Cello Sonata No. 1, H 277 Cello Sonata No. 2, H 286 Cello Sonata No. 3, H 340 Felix Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 45 (1838) Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58 (1842–43) Ignaz Moscheles Cello Sonata, Op. 34 in B-flat major Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 121 in E major Georges Onslow Cello Sonatas 1, 2 and 3, Op. 16/1-3 (1820) Henrique Oswald Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 21 (1898) Cello Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 44 (1916) Hubert Parry Cello Sonata in A major (1879–83) Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Cello Sonata in F major (uncertain attribution) Francis Poulenc Cello Sonata, FP 143 (1948) Sergei Prokofiev Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119 (1949) Sonata for Solo Cello in C minor, Op. 134 (unfinished) Sergei Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 (1901) Maurice Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello (1920–22) Max Reger Cello Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 5 (1892) Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 28 (1898) Cello Sonata No. 3 in F major, Op. 78 (1904) Cello Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 116 (1910)Info from IMSLP listings. Edmund Rubbra Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 60 (1946) Camille Saint-Saëns Cello Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 32 Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 123 Philipp Scharwenka Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 116 Alfred Schnittke Cello Sonata No. 1 (1978) Cello Sonata No. 2 (1993/4) Franz Schubert Sonata for Arpeggione in A minor, D. 821 is often transcribed for cello. Dmitri Shostakovich Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40 (1934) Viola Sonata, Op. 147 (1975), transcribed for cello by Daniil Shafran Charles Villiers Stanford Cello Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 9 (1878) Cello Sonata No. 2 on D minor, Op. 39 (1893) Richard Strauss Sonata in F major for cello and piano (1882) Antonio Vivaldi At least 9 cello sonatas Kurt Weill Sonata for Cello and Piano (1920)
Chronology of major cello sonatas The following list (inevitably incomplete) tries to place the major sonatas and equivalent works for cello and piano or cello solo in chronological order of completion. It will be susceptible to uncertainty of dates, and whether original or revised versions are definitive.
Year Composer Work Key Opus 1696 Giuseppe Maria Jacchini Sonata No. 3 C major Op. 3 1717–23 Johann Sebastian Bach 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites G, D minor, CE, C minor & D early 18th century – 1739 Benedetto Marcello At least 12 Cello Sonatas early 18th century – 1741 Antonio Vivaldi At least 9 Cello Sonatas 1760s–1805 Luigi Boccherini At least 19 Cello Sonatas 1796 Ludwig van Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 1 F major Op. 5, No. 1 1796 Ludwig van Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 2 G minor Op. 5, No. 2 1807–08 Ludwig van Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 3 A major Op. 69 1815 Ludwig van Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 4 C major Op. 102, No. 1 1815 Ludwig van Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 5 D major Op. 102, No. 2 1820 Georges Onslow Cello Sonata No. 1 F major Op. 16, No. 1 1820 Georges Onslow Cello Sonata No. 2 C minor Op. 16, No. 2 1820 Georges Onslow Cello Sonata No. 3 A major Op. 16, No. 3 1838 Felix Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No. 1 B major Op. 45 1842–43 Felix Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No. 2 D major Op. 58 1846 Frédéric Chopin Cello Sonata G minor Op. 65 1856 Édouard Lalo Cello Sonata A minor 1856 Charles-Valentin Alkan Sonate de concert E major Op. 47 1862–65 Johannes Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1 E minor Op. 38 1872–73 Camille Saint-Saëns Cello Sonata No. 1 C minor Op. 32 1883 Edvard Grieg Cello Sonata A minor Op. 36 1883 Richard Strauss Cello Sonata F major Op. 6 1886 Johannes Brahms Cello Sonata No. 2 F major Op. 99 1892 Max Reger Cello Sonata No. 1 F minor Op. 5 1898 Max Reger Cello Sonata No. 2 G minor Op. 28 1899 Ernő Dohnányi Cello Sonata B major Op. 8 1901 Sergei Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata G minor Op. 19 1904 Max Reger Cello Sonata No. 3 F major Op. 78 1905 Camille Saint-Saëns Cello Sonata No. 2 F major Op. 123 1907 Zoltán Kodály Cello Sonata Op. 4 1907 Charles-Marie Widor Cello Sonata A major Op. 80 1910 Max Reger Cello Sonata No. 4 A minor Op. 116 1910–11 Albéric Magnard Cello Sonata A major Op. 20 1911 Nikolai Myaskovsky Cello Sonata No. 1 D major Op. 12 1912 Max Reger Cello Suites 1, 2 and 3 G, D minor& A minor Op. 131 1913 Dora Pejačević Cello Sonata E minor Op. 35 1915 Claude Debussy Cello Sonata D minor L. 135 1915 Zoltán Kodály Solo Cello Sonata Op. 8 1916 Frederick Delius Cello Sonata D minor 1913–17 Frank Bridge Cello Sonata D minor 1917 Gabriel Fauré Cello Sonata No. 1 D minor Op. 109 1921 Gabriel Fauré Cello Sonata No. 2 G minor Op. 117 1923 Paul Hindemith Solo Sonata for Cello Op. 25 No. 3 1923 John Ireland Cello Sonata G minor 1929 Béla Bartók Rhapsody for Cello and Piano Sz 88 1932 Samuel Barber Cello Sonata C minor Op. 6 1932–33 Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne for cello and piano 1934 Dmitri Shostakovich Cello Sonata D minor Op. 40 1938 Nikolai Myaskovsky Cello Sonata No. 2 Op. 81 1939 Bohuslav Martinů Cello Sonata No. 1 1941 Bohuslav Martinů Cello Sonata No. 2 1944 Zoltán Gárdonyi Cello Sonata 1948 Francis Poulenc Cello Sonata Op. 143 1948 Elliott Carter Cello Sonata 1949 Sergei Prokofiev Cello Sonata C major Op. 119 1949 Alan Rawsthorne Cello Sonata 1952 Bohuslav Martinů Cello Sonata No. 3 1956–57 Ernest Bloch Cello Suites 1, 2 and 3 1961 Benjamin Britten Cello Sonata C major 1962 Dmitry Kabalevsky Cello Sonata B major Op. 71 1964 Benjamin Britten Suite for Cello Solo No. 1 G major Op. 72 1966 Karen Khachaturian Cello Sonata 1967 Benjamin Britten Suite for Cello Solo No. 2 D major Op. 80 1971 Benjamin Britten Suite for Cello Solo No. 3 Op. 87 1978 Alfred Schnittke Cello Sonata
See also List of compositions for cello and piano List of solo cello pieces
References
External links Complete Scores of Many Cello Sonatas Repertoire for Solo Cello Some Composers of Cello Works Dates ought to be double-checked against other sources for they do not always agree.