Valter Dešpalj – Saint-Saëns Allegro Appassionato

Saint-Saëns Allegro Appassionato for Five Celli

Camille Saint-Saëns is known as having been a prolific composer of piano music. However, in the middle of his career, he developed a strong interest in the cello. In 1872, Saint-Saëns wrote the first of his two cello concertos (A Minor, Op. 33), which enjoys great popularity today. The following year, he wrote the Allegro Appassionato, Op. 43. Hans Erik Deckert has arranged this work for cello quintet.

About Saint-Saëns' Allegro Appassionato for Cello Quintet

The Allegro Appassionato premiered in February 1873 at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique with the cellist Jules-Bernard Laserre, to whom it was dedicated. In its original form, the cello enters with a lively principal melody after a brief introduction.

In my edition the piano part has been arranged for four cellos, with the first cello retaining the original solo part. This arrangement is particularly well-suited for advanced cellists.

--Hans Erik Deckert

Download and print the score today to gain access to this expertly edited arrangement of Saint-Saëns' Allegro Appassionato for cello quintet by Hans Erik Deckert!

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Ovation Press also offers Saint-Saëns' Allegro Appassionato for Cello Quartet, arranged by Stephen Watkins.

About the Editor – Hans Erik Deckert

Hans Erik Deckert was born and grew up in Germany. The son of German and Danish parents, he moved to Denmark shortly after the war in order to study cello and conducting in Copenhagen. Deckert has had a passionate and prolific career in these fields, as well as in chamber music. His roots in the German musical tradition have given him a depth of musicianship much in demand at solo and chamber masterclasses and seminars, which is mixed with a concern for the wider social responsibility of music, stemming from his Scandinavian environment.

For Ovation Press, Deckert has employed this musicianship in a wide number of arrangements of varying styles: including Bach's Four Canons from The Art of Fugue (Ottava, Duodecima, Decima, Augmentationem), Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, Saint-Saëns' The Swan, and much more.

Presently Hans Erik Deckert is Honorary President of the Danish section of ESTA (which he also founded in 1978) and resident conductor with the Cello Academy (which embraces a professional 12-part cello ensemble as well as regular training courses for students). He also holds a visiting post at the Freie Musikschule in Hamburg.

Learn more about Hans Erik Deckert and his arrangements at Ovation Press.