George Enescu
Born 1881, Liveni, Romania; died 1955, Paris, France
Cello Sonata No. 2 in C Major, “Buruiana” (“The Weed”), Op. 26 (1935)
Despite the fact that Enescu’s two cello sonatas are published under the same opus number, almost forty years passed between the two compositions. The second cello sonata represents Enescu’s mature style, both harmonically and melodically. While published in C Major, the sonata regularly shifts tonality and is rarely in the advertised key, but manages to maintain a sense of established tonality. The second sonata is dedicated to the renowned cellist, Pablo Casals.