Brahms, Johannes - Cello Sonata No 2 in F Major, Op 99 - Cello and Piano - edited by Egon Voss and Johannes Behr - Henle

Brahms composed his second Sonata for Cello and Piano in F Major in 1886, more than 20 years after his first. This sonata expresses exuberance that was absent from Brahms' early period and contrasts greatly with his first cello sonata. Brahms, by this time, seems to have grown more comfortable composing for the cello, as he uses higher registers and techniques like pizzicato to elicit textures unheard in previous works. The second sonata also overshadows the first in another way -- it is even more difficult than the challenging e minor sonata.