Andrea Favalessa

Andrea Favalessa, Maria Semeraro – Saint-Saëns: Cello Sonatas (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 55:18 minutes | 499 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Brilliant Classics

Prior to the turn of the 20th century, Camille Saint-Saëns enriched the cello repertoire with two important compositions his Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor (Op.33) and his Cello Sonata No.1 in C minor (Op.32), which he dedicated to cellist Jules Lasserre. The writer Emile Baumann hailed this first Cello Sonata as “a unique work”, a masterpiece. It was composed in the autumn of 1872, and its first public performance – with J. Reuschel on cello and the composer at the piano – was given on 26 March 1873 at the Salle Érard in Paris. The work is divided into three movements: the first and third have a tragic character, while the second offers an oasis of quiet serenity. The work opens with a dramatic Allegro in sonata form. The second movement stems from an organ improvisation performed by Saint-Saëns at Saint-Augustin. The final movement takes up the tumultuous and agitated character of the first and ends in an unrelenting race.
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