Hyperion Records

The Sonata for cello and piano was sketched in 1940 but not completed until 1948. It was first played in the Salle Gaveau in Paris on 18 May 1949 by the composer and the joint dedicatee, Pierre Fournier, who also played a significant role in the writing of the cello part. This is most evident in the central Cavatine and dance-like Ballabile, but in all four movements the piano usually announces and the cello decorates the essential line.

from notes by Felix Aprahamian © 1999