Testament: SBT1419

Gregor Piatigorsky

These sonatas were all written for excellent cellists. Mendelssohn had his brother Paul in mind for his D major Sonata, although he dedicated it to the Russian amateur player and music patron Prince Mateusz Wielhorski. Piatigorsky’s freewheeling interpretation is reminiscent of Feuermann’s: he did not know that master’s recording, which was still unpublished at the time, but he may well have heard Feuermann play the work. Chopin’s G minor Sonata – one of his few chamber works and his last large-scale creation – was composed for a friend, the cello virtuoso Auguste Franchomme, with whom he gave the première in 1847. It cost Chopin an immense amount of effort, none of which shows in the finished piece. Richard Strauss’s Sonata in F major is a youthful work, dating from 1883, but the Czech cellist Hanus? Wihan, for whom Dvor?ák wrote several masterpieces, accepted the dedication and gave the first performance with the composer. This work needs the firm shaping it gets from the performers here.