Νelli Semitecolo – Constantinos Sfetsas
Cello and Piano Recital

Sfetsas and Semitecolo, a celebrated duo who have proven their worth over many years on the Greek serious music scene, in a unique recital with key works from the classical and contemporary repertoire. The program begins with Sonata no. 5 for cello and piano in E minor, RV 40, by Antonio Vivaldi. Condensing the purity of expression and profound lyricism of the composer’s idiom, RV 40 holds pride of place among the six sonatas Vivaldi wrote between 1720 and 1730 and published in Paris in 1740. Taking a 250-year leap forward through time, the evening continues with the Sonata no. 1 for cello and piano by the Russo-German composer, Alfred Schnittke. Schnittke’s sonata, though it retains only vestiges of tonality, has much in common with the baroque sonata that precedes it in so far as both works first use a range of expressive techniques to achieve a profound lyricism, then deliberately dispel that feeling in order to arrive at tragedy.

After the intermission, the recital continues with six traditional Rumanian dances by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. This is a composition that showcases the passion and temperament of the Balkan folk music tradition which Bartok dearly loved and honoured in his oeuvre. The evening comes to a close with Dmitri Shostakovich’s iconic Sonata for cello and piano in D minor, op. 40. The sonata was written in 1934 during an emotionally fraught period in the composer’s life, following the rejection of his love by the 20 year-old translator Nina Constantinofskaya. Though the event rarely figures in the literature on the Soviet composer, it undoubtedly found its way into the sonata’s intense, icy and profoundly personal style.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Sonata no. 5 for cello and piano in E minor, RV. 40

1. Largo

2. Allegro

3. Largo

4. Allegro

Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

Sonata for cello and piano no. 1

1. Largo

2. Presto

3. Largo

Intermission

Bela Bartόk (1881-1945)

Six Romanian folk dances

1. Jocul cu bâta [Stick dance]

2. Braul [Sash dance]

3. Pe loc [In one spot]

4. Buciumeana [Horn dance]

5. Poarg romaneasca [Romanian polka]

6. Maruntelul [Fast dance]



Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975):

Sonata for cello and piano in D minor, op. 40

1. Allegro non troppo

2. Allegro

3. Largo

4. Allegro

Constantinos Sfetsas , cello

Nelli Semitecolo, piano