Brahms, Sonata in E Minor Op. 38 for Cello and Piano (Peters)

The first three movements of Johannes Brahms’ E minor Cello Sonata were composed in 1862, the last movement was written in 1865. During the first years of its performance the work was received with mixed enthusiasm. By the end of Brahms’ life, however, it was widely performed and by the first decades of the 20th century it was firmly embedded in the repertoire of many distinguished cellists. It was notably Robert Hausmann’s advocacy of the work which seems to have contributed greatly to its promotion.

The e minor Cello Sonata is the first work for one solo instrument and piano which the meticulous composer also had printed. In summer 1865 Brahms offered it to the publisher Simrock as a sonata “whose two instruments are both absolutely easy to play” – and rightly so: contrary to the later F-major Sonata op. 99, this early sonata is technically less demanding, yet musically more striking at the same time, so that it is a hit with amateurs and professionals alike.