Brahms Cello Sonatas

Brahms' two sonatas for cello and piano are contrasting in terms of character and the way they explore the sonoric possibilities of the instruments, mainly the cello. Whereas the first sonata, in the ”pastoral” key of e-minor relies more on long lines and sparser piano texture, with the cello in the lower register, the second sonata in F-major has another take, with the cello and piano textures tightly interwoven, and the cello often playing in the higher register. Its large-scale first movement, and also the fact that it is cast in four movements raises the question whether Brahms might have initially conceived the musical material with a symphonic work in mind. These two sonatas, which truly complement each other, are often regarded as the pinnacle of the romantic cello sonata form, owing to Brahms´ meticulous attention to compositional detail paired with profound emotional depth.
Tibor Molnár (violoncello) & David Ernst Molnar (piano). Recorded in 2014.