It gives me comfort to know that even a masterful composer like Chopin was sometimes uncertain about the quality of his work. I’ve been engrossed in his letters from later in life, where he mentions his struggles in a letter to his family: “Sometimes I am satisfied with my violoncello sonata, sometimes not. I throw it into the corner, then take it up again…When one does a thing, it appears good, otherwise one would not write it. Only later comes reflection, and one discards or accepts the thing. Time is the best censor, and patience a most excellent teacher.” It seems that in the end Chopin accepted his Sonata for Piano and Cello, since the following year he submitted it to Breitkopf and Härtel for publication.

Frédéric Chopin is known mostly for his many great compositions for piano; in fact, he only wrote a handful of pieces in his life that include another instrument, three of which were for cello and piano. This might mean that the composer had an affinity for the sound of the cello or felt somehow that it was a fitting voice for what he had to say. In this case it was what he had to say at the end of his life – the piece was one of the last he composed, and it was premiered in Paris in his last public performance before his death at age 39.  He performed the piece with his dear friend, cellist August Franchomme, whose friendship may also have been Chopin’s inspiration for the sonata.

It could be that Chopin had so little experience writing for other instruments that he struggled so much to complete the piece. There are pages upon pages of sketches for the sonata. This was a piece he really wanted to get right, and as much as he worked and rewrote and revised it, he still never seemed to be quite certain about the outcome. In fact, in the premiere, he and Franchomme performed only the last three of the four movements, reportedly because friends had criticized the first movement in a preview performance in a local home. Friends! Sometimes friends can be wrong – of all the movements I find the first to be exceptionally personal, reflective, tragic, and brilliantly written.

I have to say Chopin’s struggles with the sonata paid off – he worked diligently to mold every detail, and as a result each movement is beautifully written, rich, with soaring and tender melodies, and at other times searching or tempestuous.  Chopin’s character is reflected in letters to his friends, family and colleagues, where he shows a fascination for science and all things new and interesting in the world, an appreciation for beauty, a tenderness for loved ones and a wistfulness for better days.

–Adrienne Taylor, cellist

Join us on Thursday, October 18 at 7pm as cellist Adrienne Taylor performs Chopin with pianist Andrei Baumann in our Sonata Series at the RISD Museum Grand Gallery.

More information on our calendar.