Rubinstein - Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 18 (Urtext Edition)

Anton Rubinstein (1829—1894) was a Russian pianist, composer, and conductor who founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, founder of the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Anton Rubinstein ranks among the great virtuosos of the nineteenth century. He became especially famous for his series of recitals, which consisted of seven consecutive programs that traced the history of piano music. Rubinstein performed this series throughout Russia, Eastern Europe, and the United States during his tours. Although best remembered as a pianist and educator (most notably as Tchaikovsky's composition teacher), Rubinstein was also a prolific composer. His output includes twenty operas, five piano concertos, six symphonies, numerous solo piano works, and a significant body of chamber music.

The Cello Sonata No. 1 in D major, Op. 18 (1852), is dedicated to the Belgian virtuoso cellist and composer François Servais. Although there is no record of Servais performing the sonata publicly, he may have played it privately. The first known performance of the Sonata was on 22 January 1853 with cellist Carl Schuberth and Rubinstein at the piano. He also performed it with cellist Guillaume Pâque in London in June 1857 and with Karl Davydov at the Chamber Music Society in October 1880.

The work was first published in 1855 by Breitkopf und Härtel (plate no. 9028). In 1882, Rubinstein released a revised version through the same publisher (plate no. 15942). In fact, several of Rubinstein’s sonatas, including those for violin and piano, were revised in the 1880s. There are other editions of this sonata by J. Maho and Augener, but they are not authentic. J. Maho is based almost entirely on the first edition but removes the repeats and transposes the middle section of the slow movement to F major without any of the revised edition adjustments. Augener is essentially a re-engraved version of the first edition.

Key differences between the editions include:

• Use of repeats and first and second endings in the first edition (in outer movements) versus no repeats in the revised version.
• Fewer tempo and dynamic markings in the first edition.
• Thicker piano textures in the original, compared to a thinned-out texture in the revision.
• The middle section of the slow movement appears in D major in the original and F major in the revised version.
• Chord voicing and bass lines were reworked in various places.
• Increased rhythmic activity in the finale of the revised edition.

Movement titles and tempo indications:

First edition:
Allegro con moto
Allegretto – Più mosso
Allegro molto (4/4)

Revised edition:
Allegro moderato
Moderato assai – Con moto moderato
Moderato (cut time)

The entire sonata is united by dotted rhythms; the gesture introduced in m. 33 of the first movement is especially prominent in the outer movements. The slow movement stands out as the gem of the sonata, reminiscent of the Russian romance tradition. The original D major middle section allowed for expressive bariolage and resonant use of the open D string, effects that become more constrained when transposed to F major. Certain idiomatic cello features were transcribed literally into the new key without accounting for the lost resonance or string-specific technique. The first 36 measures of the final movement function almost like a false start. In the first edition, the repeat begins at m. 37.

Our edition of the Cello Sonata No. 1 is based on the revised 1882 publication, although the original 1855 edition was also carefully consulted. For the average listener, the differences between the two versions may be subtle, but they are worth examining in detail. All deviations from the original text are clearly marked in the score or described in the Critical Commentary. The piano part has also been edited to reduce unnecessary cross-staff notation in favor of more intuitive clef changes. Special thanks to Peter François for sharing his expertise and providing access to the first edition.