Strauss's only cello sonata, written at nineteen and published in 1883. The work sits just before his turn to the tone poems: it is still in the conservative Brahmsian vein, with a first movement built on broad lyrical themes, a brooding slow movement in F minor, and a dashing finale. Cellists value the sonata as one of the major late-Romantic German chamber works for the instrument, sitting in repertoire alongside the Brahms sonatas and predating the Rachmaninoff.
Cello Sonata in F major Op. 6
cellopianolate romanticsonata~28 minvirtuoso
Difficulty
Technical
Professional
Late-Romantic demands; wide-interval writing, sustained lyric lines, brisk finale.
Stamina
Demanding
Twenty-eight minutes with both players fully engaged throughout.
Interpretive
Advanced
Brahmsian vein rather than post-Romantic tone poem; demands restraint, not flash.
Ensemble
Demanding
True chamber duo; piano is an equal voice, not accompaniment.
Performer's notes
Structural landmarks
I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante ma non troppo
III. Finale: Allegro vivo
Interpretive schools
Editions
Henle Verlag
Urtext edition based on the autograph and first edition. Clean engraving with a short critical commentary.
Universal Edition
Original Aibl edition, later acquired by Universal. The standard source text.
Recordings
Pedagogical arc
Prepare with
Natural next
External references