Over Under

My Cello Sonata No. 2 was composed in January 2020 in anticipation of an Australian tour with Luke Severn that was meant to take place that year. We had recently completed a number of recitals together in both Australia and North America featuring our own works, and it was my intention that this sonata capture the fun and dynamism of our collaboration, blending Severn’s lyrical voice with my eclectic sense of humor.

The result is a sonata in four movements that moves freely between styles and moods and invokes some of the great cello and piano repertoire of the past. Thematically, our identities are also built into the work, a practice composers like Bach and Shostakovich occasionally indulged in: the main melodic motif features the notes E–F while the primary harmonic relationship features chord changes in tritones, reflective of Severn’s initials L–S (La–Es, or A and E-flat in the solfège/German nomenclature systems).

The first movement is Brahmsian in scope, though with a contrasting playfulness. The second movement is a somber, defiant adagio. Following is a breakneck, mercurial scherzo. A lively romp of a rondo concludes the work, revisiting and transforming the material from each of the previous movements before galloping to a finish.

Pairing this new sonata with Brahms’s Op. 38 seemed like a natural choice. A staple of the cello–piano repertoire, it was also the first major piece of chamber music we collaborated on and through which we got to know one another, both as people and as musicians. A number of parallels exist between the two works. The Brahms also begins with a brooding and expansive allegro, full of passion and contrast. This gives way to a quirky dance movement, heavy and hesitant, yet full of good nature. The finale embodies formality yielding to unapologetic exuberance; the fugato opening feigns a learned style which quickly dissolves into an elfin, nearly Mendelssohnian bravado, culminating in a sprint to the double bar.

This work is one of the most-frequently interpreted works in the chamber music literature, yet we dare to hope that some of our bolder musical decisions allow audiences to enjoy this beloved sonata in a new light.