Ballade for Cello and Piano Op. 15

Sergei Prokofiev's Ballade for Cello and Piano Op. 15 was composed in 1912 while Prokofiev was still a student and marks an important milestone in his early work, having grown from an earlier violin sonata sketch. Formed as a single rhapsodic movement, the Ballade is characterised by striking contrasts and a bold harmonic language. Particularly striking is an extended pizzicato passage in the solo line, which reveals a rare and fascinating sonority within the instrument's repertoire. This work offers a challenging and a musically captivating enrichment of the chamber music repertoire.