Robert Fuchs - Cello Sonata No. 1 in D Minor Op. 29 (1881)

Cello Sonata No. 1 by Robert Fuchs. Performed by Mark Drobinsky (Cello). Daniel Blumenthal (Piano).

I. Molto moderato - 00:00
II. Scherzo - Allegro - 10:55
III. Adagio - 14:58
IV. Allegro non Troppo Ma Giocoso - 17:48

Something of the quality of the music of Fuchs is apparent in the first of his two cello sonatas, Opus 29 in D minor, published in 1881, a work that won the immediate approval of Brahms, generally a stern critic of his contemporaries. The affinity with Brahms is evident in the dramatic first movement of the sonata. The same spirit appears in the delicately capricious Scherzo and its contrasting Trio. The deeply felt slow movement is followed by a final Allegro brimming over with the happiness of the Styrian countryside and initially very much in the spirit of Schubert.