Frédéric Chopin composed the Grand duo concertant in E major for cello and piano in collaboration with an acquaintance of his, the French cellist August Franchomme, between 1832 and 1833. This instrumental duo, extremely popular in its time, represents the virtuoso-sentimental style brillant and is a paraphrase of several themes from Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Robert le diable.

Karol Szymanowski's Sonata in D minor Op. 9 for violin and piano was written in Berlin in 1904. It is regarded as one of the first works of his early creative period in which the characteristics of the composer's individual style were fully revealed. In contrast, Roxana's Song, from the opera King Roger, completed twenty years later, is an ecstatic vocalisation with a distinctly oriental character.

Grave for cello and piano is a composition that Witold Lutosławski composed in 1981 to commemorate musicologist Stefan Jarociński. In this piece, he used motifs from Claude Debussy's opera Peleas et Melisande.

Mieczyslaw Wajnberg's Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63 for cello and piano was composed in 1959 at the request of the famous Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who was a friend of the composer. This three-movement work representing the neoclassical style is characterised by a wealth of melodic invention and expressive means.

Performers:
FudalaRot Duo:
Wojciech Fudala cello
Michael Rot piano