Sonata for Cello and Piano, L. 135, 1915

Claude Debussy
France

Instrumentation:
cello, piano

Like many other European composers in the West, French composer Claude Debussy was influenced by the music of the East. His Sonata for Cello and Piano, L. 135 features a diverse palette of sounds. In the first movement, the cello opens with a sunny, flamenco-like flourish with the cello playing arco throughout. In the second movement, the composer treats the cello like a giant guitar with nearly half of the movement notated in pizzicato. Viewing the cello as a plucked instrument was a dramatic departure from the dominant nineteenth century idiom of legato bowing. The third movement represents a rapprochment between the plucked and bowed qualities of the instrument.