Repertoire – Cello Section

Please send an email to [email protected] if you have any questions.

The repertoire chosen by the candidate in the application form remains definitive and cannot be changed.

Candidates may not choose the same work for more than one round of the Competition; each title will be presented only once in the competition repertoire.

A single movement of a work is not considered a complete work, unless it has been specified in the Competition repertoire as a requirement.

Candidates may present their repertoire works in any order.

All works must be performed by memory, with the exception of cello sonatas and works composed by George Enescu.

First Round (maximum duration – 30 minutes):

  1. One Caprice or Etude of candidate’s choice between:
  • Alfredo Piatti Op. 25 (No. 2, 3, 6, 7 or 8)
  • David Popper Op. 73 (No. 20, 29, 33)
  1. Joseph Haydn – First movement with cadenza at candidate’s choice between:
  • Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major Hob. VIIb/1 (first movement with cadenza)
  • Cello Concerto No. 2 in D major Hob. VIIb/2 (first movement with cadenza)
  1. One work by Robert Schumann at candidate’s choice between:
  • Adagio and Allegro in A flat major Op. 70
  • Fantasiestücke op. 73

Second Round (maximum duration – 45 minutes):

  1. An imposed work for solo cello (duration approximately 7 minutes)
  2. A piece for solo cello at candidate’s choice between:
  • Zoltán Kodály: Sonata in B minor for Solo Cello Op. 8 (first movement)
  • György Ligeti: Sonata for Solo Cello
  • Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Solo Cello Op. 25 No. 3
  • Krzysztof Penderecki: Divertimento for solo cello
  • George Crumb: Sonata for Solo Cello
  1. One work for cello and piano at candidate’s choice between:
  • Franz Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata in a minor for cello and piano D.821
  • Johannes Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor Op. 38
  • Johannes Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major Op. 99

SEMIFINAL: (maximum duration – 65 minutes):

  1. George Enescu: Cello Sonata No. 2 in C major Op. 26
  1. One work at candidate’s choice between:
  • Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D minor Op. 40
  • Claude Debussy: Cello Sonata in D minor L. 135
  • Benjamin Britten: Cello Sonata in C major Op. 16
  1. A virtuosity piece at candidate’s choice between:
  • David Popper: Elfentanz 39
  • David Popper: Spinning Song 55
  • Karl Davydov: At the Fountain 20 No. 2
  • Mstislav Rostropovich: Humoresque 5

FINAL (with orchestra):

  1. One cello concert at candidate’s choice between:
  • Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor Op. 104
  • Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85
  • Sergei Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante in E minor for Cello and Orchestra Op. 125
  • Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 în E flat major Op. 107
  • George Enescu: Sinfonia Concertante for Cello and Orchestra Op. 8
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