Sonata

The Cello Sonata by Sir George Dyson (1883–1964) is the most substantial of the composer’s earliest surviving works and is a welcome addition to the repertoire of romantic British cello music. Within Dyson’s small yet distinguished output, it merits recognition both as a significant instrumental score in its own right, and as a precursor of a corpus of scores expertly written for solo or ensemble strings. Evident throughout this work is Dyson’s appealing and characteristic strain of melody and harmony, both recognisably English and distinctly personal.

Dyson, himself a very capable pianist, premiered the work with Andrew Trew on 11 March 1904 at a Royal College of Music chamber concert, in his last term as a student there. The first modern performance was given by Joseph Spooner, cello, and Kathryn Mosley, piano, on 22 May 2002 as part of the Wycombe Arts Festival.