Johannes Brahms - Cello Sonatas (2008)

01. 2e sonate en Fa majeur, op 99 - Allegro vivace (08:36)
02. 2e sonate en Fa majeur, op 99 - Adagio affetuoso (06:49)
03. 2e sonate en Fa majeur, op 99 - Allegro passionato (07:29)
04. 2e sonate en Fa majeur, op 99 - Allegro molto (04:33)
05. Sonate en Re majeur, op. 78 - Vivace ma non troppo (10:40)
06. Sonate en Re majeur, op. 78 - Adagio (07:33)
07. Sonate en Re majeur, op. 78 - Allegro molto moderato (08:33)
08. 1re sonate en Mi mineur, op. 38 - Allegro non troppo (11:04)
09. 1re sonate en Mi mineur, op. 38 - Allegretto quasi minuetto (05:22)
10. 1re sonate en Mi mineur, op. 38 - Allegro (06:27)

Henri Demarquette (cello)
Michel Dalberto (piano)

The Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38, actually entitled "Sonate für Klavier und Violoncello", was written by Johannes Brahms in 1862-65. Brahms composed the first two movements during the summer of 1862, as well as an Adagio which was later deleted. The final movement was composed in 1865. It is dedicated to Josef Gänsbacher, a singing professor and amateur cellist. In the course of a private performance for an audience of friends, Brahms played so loudly that the worthy Gänsbacher complained that he could not hear his cello at all - "Lucky for you, too", growled Brahms, and let the piano rage on. It is "a homage to J. S. Bach" and the principal theme of the first movement and of the fugue are based on Contrapunctus 4 and 13 of The Art of Fugue.

The Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99, was written by Johannes Brahms in 1886, more than twenty years after completing his Sonata No. 1. It was first published in 1887. It was written for, dedicated to and first performed by Robert Hausmann, who had popularised the First Sonata, and who would the following year be given the honour of premiering the Double Concerto in A minor with Joseph Joachim.

Violin Sonata No.1 op.78 transcribed to D Major for Cello and Piano. Among the transcriptions of Brahms's works--some of which he sanctioned or made himself--this arrangement of the First Violin Sonata for cello by an unknown hand is one of the more controversial and less felicitous. It entails a change of key, creating problems of range and texture; register changes break up melodic lines, and the soaring climaxes need the radiance of the violin tone.

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