BEETHOVEN-HAUS | Michael Blake Cello Sonata | Roger Morelló & Vittoria Quartararo

Michael Blake (born Cape Town, 1951): Sonata for violoncello and piano - "Hours with the Masters"
I. Allegro misterioso 0:00
II. Scherzo 5:49
III. Fluente 8:52
IV. Adagio 14:52

Roger Morelló Ros - Cello | Vittoria Quartararo - Piano

Almost everyone who had piano lessons in the mid-20th century will have encountered the now classic anthologies of so-called masterpieces, ‘Hours with the Masters’. And my Sonata for violoncello and piano, which has that subtitle, is therefore a kind of imaginary anthology of violoncello sonatas from Beethoven through to the 20th century, chosen mostly for the material they
yield.

My other starting point emerged from the little-recognized scenario that Beethoven was a contemporary of the Christian Xhosa prophet and composer Ntsikana Gaba (c.1760-1821) whose hymns are the earliest pieces in the repertoire of most black South African choirs.

So my Sonata for violoncello and piano (‘Hours with the Masters’), which I started in Cape Town in November 2015 and completed at my new home in France in September 2016, has two movements derived from the classical composers of violoncello sonatas (in particular Beethoven’s third), and two movements deriving more from Xhosa music – i.e. from the masters of both traditions.

13.06.2024 "Bridgetower Projekt" - Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Germany.

‪@vittoriaquartararo6230‬ ‪@michaelblake4998‬ ‪@BonnBeethovenHaus‬