The Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly wrote his Sonata in B minor for solo cello, Op. 8, in 1915. It was first performed in 1918 and published in 1921.
It is widely considered the greatest of a small field of works for solo cello written since Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites. According to Calum McDonald, "Had he written nothing else apart from this magnificent sonata, Kodály would still deserve to be accounted one of the greatest musical geniuses that Hungary has ever produced".
It contains influences of Debussy and Bartok, as well as the inflections and nuances of Hungarian folk music.
The sonata was written in 1915 but its premiere was delayed due to World War I. It was premiered by Jeno Kerpely (1885–1954; sometimes seen as Eugène de Kerpely) in Budapest on 7 May 1918. Kerpely was the cellist of the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet, which had premiered the first four string quartets by Bartok. It was published by Universal Edition in Vienna in 1921.
Kodály himself predicted that "in 25 years no cellist will be accepted who has not played it". Indeed, less than 40 years later, in 1956, the sonata was a set piece for the Casals Competition in Mexico City. But in the meantime it had to earn its recognition. George Neikrug's playing of it at his debut at the New York Town Hall in 1947 was the first American performance of the work for many years.
I. Allegro maestoso ma appassionato
II. Adagio con gran espressione
III. Allegro molto vivace.
It is common to make a cut in the final movement.
The piece wavers between B inor and B mjor, and Kodály adjusted the two lower strings down a semitone (scordatura) to better evoke these tonalities] and to extend the instrument's tonal, dynamic and expressive range.
János Starker first played it for Kodály at the age of 15, in 1939, then again in 1967 shortly before the composer's death. Kodály told Starker: "If you correct the ritard in the third movement, it will be the Bible performance". Starker recorded it four times (1948, 1950, 1956 and 1970), the 1948 78-rpm recording winning a Grand Prix Disque.
