Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 19 

One of the first works Rachmaninoff composed following a spell of nearly paralyzing depression—cured by hypnosis—was the Cello Sonata. The sonata has its brooding moments, but these dark clouds are swept away, like in the famous Piano Concerto No. 2 of the same period, by waves of rapturous melody. As would be expected from one of the great pianist-composers, the piano writing is daunting, but there is also superb interplay between the two instruments.