Cello Sonata No.2 in D major Op.58 (1843)

Mendelssohn’s first two works for cello and piano, the Variations concertantes of 1829 and the Sonata in B flat of 1838, were both composed for his younger brother Paul, who must have played the instrument exceptionally well. Affectionately and idiomatically written though they are, however, neither of those works is as inspired or as interesting in its scoring as the Sonata in D major which he wrote for another amateur cellist, the Russian Count Wielhorsky, in 1843.

It is more than a matter of exploiting the lyrical potential of the A-string, which Mendelssohn does with such characteristic élan in the opening bars of the D major Sonata. He is interested too in the darker sounds of the lower registers – for accompaniment purposes, obviously, but also for variety in colouring, as at the point near the end of the exposition where stormy cello tremolandos are smoothed out to form a poetic blend with the piano harmonies above them. Colour variety in the second movement is found above all in the contrast between the playfully plucked main theme in B minor and the legato melody introduced by cantabile bowing in D major.

In spite of his affection for the instrument and his familiarity with it, Mendelssohn was no less reluctant than Beethoven to include a full-scale slow movement in his cello sonatas. The nearest he gets is the prophetic Adagio in G minor, a kind of chorale articulated by arpeggiated chords on the piano (anticipating César Franck) and illuminated by a passionate recitative on the cello. Just before the end the roles are reversed with the cello holding a plucked and bowed low G under the piano recitative. Less a fully developed slow movement than a prelude, it leads directly into the Molto allegro e vivace finale, which is a vigorous rondo sustained by its impetuously stylish main theme and driven by virtuoso ambitions in both instruments.

Gerald Larner©

Although it is dedicated to the Russian patron and cellist Count Mateusz Wielhorski, Mendelssohn’s Second Cello Sonata was actually written – like his other works for cello and piano, the youthful Variations Concertantes and the Sonata in B flat – for the composer’s younger brother Paul. Clearly a brilliantly accomplished and highly intelligent musician, he must have been delighted to be presented with a score with cello writing like nothing he, or any other cellist, had seen before.

It is more than a matter of exploiting the lyrical potential of the A-string, which Mendelssohn does with such characteristic élan in the opening bars. He is interested too in the darker sounds of the lower registers – of which he makes resourceful use not only for accompaniment purposes but also for an extraordinary variety in colouring, as at the point near the end of the exposition where stormy cello tremolandos are smoothed out to form a poetic blend with the piano harmonies above them. If the Allegro assai vivace lacks the structural breadth of that of the corresponding movement of the earlier Sonata in B flat, it has an unfailing and more than compensatory rhythmic drive generated by the 6/8 impulse at the start and sustained to the end.

Colour variety in the Allegretto scherzando is found above all in the contrast between the playfully plucked main theme in B minor and the legato melody introduced by cantabile bowing in D major. But there is also the passage after the return of the B minor material where the cellist takes up the bow and finds more vehemence in it than had seemed possible. The integration of the two themes in the closing section is masterfully done.

In spite of his affection for the instrument and his familiarity with it, Mendelssohn was no less reluctant than Beethoven to include a full-scale slow movement in his cello sonatas. The nearest he gets is the prophetic Adagio in G minor, a kind of chorale articulated by arpeggiated chords on the piano (anticipating César Franck) and illuminated by a passionate and wide-ranging recitative on the cello. Just before the end the roles are reversed with the cello holding a plucked and bowed low G under the piano recitative.

Less a fully developed slow movement than a prelude, the Adagio leads directly into the Molto allegro e vivace finale which, after winding itself up in a vigorous exchange between the two instruments, turns out to be a tirelessly impetuous rondo. It derives its energy from the animato theme first heard on the piano over an impatient arpeggio left hand and, while it does spare a little time for more expressive episodes, it is undeviatingly orientated towards the magnificently sustained, virtuoso coda.