At the beginning of the 1870s, Saint-Saëns displayed a particular partiality for the violoncello. He composed his first cello sonata in December 1872, immediately after having completed the first cello concerto. It was presumably directly after this that he wrote the “Allegro appassionato” for Cello and Piano op. 43 that also appeared in a version for orchestra three years later.
We do not know why he wrote the work, but it is likely that after having written two weighty works for cello, Saint-Saëns wanted to write something “easier” that was also suitable as an encore. David Geringas kindly provided the fingering and bowing for the brilliant cello part.
G. Henle Publishers stands for Urtext sheet music of the highest quality. The Urtext editions not only provide the undistorted and authoritative musical text but are also aesthetically pleasing, optimised for practical use and extremely durable. And then there is the strong, distinctive blue profile: (almost) all of the Urtext editions are bound in the characteristic blue cardboard.
Musicians trust Henle's blue Urtext editions because they:
- provide an undistorted, reliable and authoritative musical text
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- contain a short preface that introduces the work (particularly useful for AMEB exams) in German, English and French, as well as explanatory footnotes for particularly interesting passages in the score
- contain a description of the sources, an evaluation of the sources, readings and a documentation of the corrections made (= "Critical Report") in German and English, and often also in French
