Classical Composer: | Kodály, Zoltán |
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Work: | Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 |
Year Composed: | 1915 |
Instrumentation: | vc |
Publisher: | Universal Edition, Vienna |
Duration: | 00:32:00 |
Period: | 20th Century |
Work Category: | Instrumental |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
Dedicated to Kerpely and first played by him in Budapest on 7th May 1918, the Op. 8 Sonata (1915), admired by Bartók for its "unusual and original style ...and suprising vocal effects", is an extraordinary tour de force, not so much a reply to unaccompanied Bach as a visionary credo in pursuit of the ultimate, regardless of medium or technical limitation. In seeking his (B minor/major) goal, Kodály even has the lower two strings tuned down a semitone from normal (giving the configuration B-F sharp-D-A), notating them further as a transposing part. Inwardly, the three movements are tightly linked by recurring motifs and intervals. Outwardly, however, the impression is more random, a pageant of rhapsody and change, of sudden contrasts and pensive reflections, all exquisitely detailed in rhythm, phrasing, inflection and dynamics. Epic counterpoint and arresting gesture, recitatives, songs and dances, drones, shepherd pipes, zithers and cimbalons, veritably a whole gypsy orchestra, make up Kodály's vibrant dreamland. As monumental for cellists as the Liszt Sonata is for pianists, no more challenging a work exists. Kodály was never again to tackle the form.
Writer: Ates Orga
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