5 Famous Cello Sheet Music Pieces

Looking to dive into the world of cello music? Read on as we highlight five iconic cello works that every cellist (or cello enthusiast) should know—and play! These timeless string classics have been around for centuries, and continue to captivate audiences to this day. Download the Metronaut App to find sheet music for each piece to help you bring them to life on your own cello, or to play arrangements of these pieces on other instruments! No need to be a pro to play these works; our cello sheet music is available for all levels of proficiency. And, with Metronaut's dynamic accompaniments, you can further bring the music to life by playing with your own orchestra or piano which adapt to your tempo in real time. Ready to explore the best of the cello repertoire? Let’s get started!

1. Cello Suite No.1 in G Major BWV 1007 – 1. Prelude, Johann Sebastian Bach

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Bach wrote six cello suites which to this day are some of the most played works in cello solo performances. However, the first one is by far the most popular, featured in the 2002 film "The Pianist" by Roman Polanski and many famous advertisements. Listen to Yo-Yo Ma's famous solo rendition below and look out for the arpeggio structure and beautiful simplicity of this infamous work!

2. Cello Concerto No.1 Op.33, Camille Saint-Saëns

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Composed in 1872, french composer Camille Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No.1 has become a staple in many famous cellists' repertoire, performed and recorded by Mischa Maisky, Gautier Capuçon, and Mstislav Rostropovich. This brief work (lasting aroud 20 minutes) is divided into three sections which harmoniously blend together each provide different technically and emotionally expressive passages for the cello solo player to interpret. You can trust composers Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff on this, who both believed this work to be the greatest cello concerto of all time!

3. Elegy Op.24, Gabriel Fauré

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Although this piece was originally intended to be part of a larger work, it has achieved significant popularity as a stand-alone. In 1880, Fauré originally set out to compose a cello sonata, with this composition as the first movement. However, he never completed the sonata and decided to publish "Elegy" three years later as a duet for cello and piano, in 1883. In music, elegies are musical works with a sad and somber tone, typically reflecting themes of mourning and death. Written in C minor, the duet of the cello and piano create a gloomy, melancholic and tempestuous atmosphere in this elegy.

4. Arpeggione Sonata, Franz Schubert

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Have you ever heard of the arpeggione? The instrument was invented in Vienna in 1823, but has disappeared from the common instruments we know and use today. It had six strings and was structured like a guitar, except for its curved bridge which allowed it to be bowed like a cello—in short, a hybrid guitar-cello. Schubert was one of the few to compose a work specifically for the arpeggione with this sonata, published in 1824 (just four years before Schubert's death) and made up of three movements. As the arpeggione disappeared from use, the sonata has been transcribed for many instruments which we still use today (notably strings), but it is most often performed by a cello and piano duet.

5. Cello Sonata in G Minor Op.19, Sergei Rachmaninov

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Last but not least, Russian romantic composer Rachmaninov composed this sonata for cello in 1901, the same year during which he composed his legendary Piano Concerto No.2, his most famous work. Though Rachmaninov composed to a great extent for solo piano and less for strings, this work is one of the most iconic works in the cello repertoire (as well as in the romantic repertoire), recognized for its deeply emotional and romantic expression. Contrary to more traditional sonatas, where one solo instrument is more prominent than the accompaniment, Rachmaninov's writing for the piano is just as important as for the cello, having the two develop on each other's themes and equally contribute to the musical landscape of this work.

Explore the world of cello music in our collection, The Cellist's Repertoire. If you’re looking to switch up styles, check out our cello sheet music collections for TV Shows & Movies Soundtracks and in the Pop Genre to find something new!

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