Cello Sonata No. 2 (Mendelssohn)


's Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58 was composed in late 1842 — first half of 1843. The main theme of the first movement is a reworking of an unrealised Piano Sonata in G major. The Cello Sonata, which was dedicated to the Russian/Polish cellist Count Mateusz Wielhorski, has four movements:
  1. Allegro assai vivace
  2. Allegretto scherzando in B minor
  3. Adagio in G major
  4. Molto allegro e vivace
A typical performance lasts 25 minutes.
Of particular interest is the Adagio, because it mirrors Mendelssohn's fascination with the music of J. S. Bach. The movement consists of a chorale in Bach's typical style, played by the piano in rich arpeggios. In between the phrases of the chorale, the cello plays recitative-like passages, which resemble the recitative of the Fantasia in the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903, and quotes its final passage.

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