Obscure Music Monday: Farrenc's Cello Sonata

Louise Farrenc (May 31, 1804 - Sept. 15, 1875) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer. Born in Paris, she started the piano at an early age, and later on also showed a knack for composition. At the age of fifteen, her parents let her study composition with Anton Reicha at the Paris Conservatory. Later on she embarked upon a successful concert career, started a publishing house with her husband, and eventually became a Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatory. As a composer, Farrenc first started out writing solely for the piano, for which she got much praise, including from Robert Schumann. Later on she started writing chamber music, and that genre is considered by many to be some of her best.

Louise Farrenc's Cello Sonata was written later in her life, around 1859. The writing for both cello and piano might remind you of Beethoven, as she treats the instruments in a similar way. Both have equally active parts, with the piano often busy with scale and arpeggio-like figures.

The first movement, Allegro moderato, has an incredibly graceful line in the cello, which flows effortlessly over the busy piano part. Her lyrical writing is elegant and beautiful, for both instruments.

In the Andante sostenuto, the writing is tender and caring, and the cello has some delicate ornamentation throughout, giving a similarly graceful feel as the first movement.

The final movement, Allegro, is a lively and cheerful movement that keeps both musicians busy. Lots of fast, scale-like work for both instruments give them nice technical challenges, while keeping the melody smooth and graceful is a good challenge for them musically. The duo that can execute this successfully is bound to have a happy and satisfied audience!