Progetto Martha Argerich

italiano

Works

César Franck

Sonata in A maj. (cello version)

 

The Sonata in A Major for violin and piano (which will be heard today in a version for cello and piano) is César Franck’s most balanced chamber work – the one in which the Franco-Belgian composer best succeeded in blending two aspects of his musical personality, which he did not always manage to reconcile: warm, passionate, intensely Romantic melodic invention and a taste for broad, solid formal structures. The sonata, whose four movements follow a cyclical form that was dear to the composer, opens with an Allegretto molto moderato in 9/8 time and in classic bithematic format, but with no development or recapitulation. The second movement – an Allegro in D minor – is more incisive and dramatic and is in a richly developed sonata form. Profound expressivity characterises the Recitativo-Fantasia, whereas in the fourth and final movement (Allegretto poco mosso) the atmosphere is festive yet serene, and the passionate, somewhat ingenuous impetuosity is typical of Franck’s most original melodies.

listen to Real Media recording

1. Allegretto molto moderato
2. Allegro
3. Recitativo – Fantasia
4. Allegretto poco mosso

Performers

Performance