Faculty Recital
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op 102, No.1
Dmitri Shostakovich
Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40
Ernő Dohnányi
Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 8, for Cello and Piano
The Austin American-Statesman calls cellist Bion Tsang and pianist Anton Nel “two of Austin’s busiest virtuosos,” and the latest addition to their two-decade long musical partnership is Ernő Dohnányi's rarely heard Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 8, for Cello and Piano. Dohnányi composed the work when he was only 22 years old. Although the sonata was inspired, in part, by the his cello-playing father, Dohnányi dedicated it to cellist Ludwig Lebell. As was becoming characteristic of Dohnányi, two days before the scheduled world-premiere performance, the composition was still incomplete. When Lebell visited Dohnányi to ask for the last movement, he found the composer still busy copying the cello part. The first performance was nevertheless given with great success on December 4, 1899, in London by Lebell with the composer, himself, at the piano.