Repertoire for Cello and Piano
(49 pieces by 38 composers as of March 16, 2023)
Compiled for the RBP Foundation by Cello Repertoire Specialist Corbin Keep and MBC’s Dr. Megan E. Hill for the RBP Foundation.
Please let us know of any other works that should be added to this list, or if you know of any additional information or resources to complete this catalog! Email us at editor@musicbyblackcomposers.org.
H. Leslie Adams (b. 1932)
USA
Sonata for Cello and Piano (1977)
MOVEMENTS: 1. Largo, 2. Lento molto, 3. Allegro
ENGRAVING: manuscript, legible
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
T.J. Anderson (b. 1928)
USA
Spirit Songs (1993)
COMMISSIONER: Yo Yo Ma
LENGTH: 19’ 30”
MOVEMENTS: 1. Call and Response; 2. Gospels, Serenades and Vamps; 3. Shouts
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on Youtube: movement 1, movement 2, movement 3
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
David N. Baker (1931–2016)
USA
The Dude (1962)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Piece for Violoncello and Piano (1966)
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Sonata for Cello and Piano (1968)
(published by Associated Music Publishers in 1973)
LENGTH: 19’30”
MOVEMENTS: 1. Fast, 2. Blues, 3. Fast
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on Music for Cello & Piano by African-American Composers album; on YouTube: movement 1, movement 2, movement 3
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Kathryn Bostic
USA
Hide and Speak (2019)
ENGRAVING: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903–1998)
Europe
Reverie, Op. 26 (1921)
ENGRAVING: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: manuscript held by the RBP Foundation indicates “Boosey & Hawkes Music Library;” further research in progress.
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912)
Europe
Variations for Cello and Piano (c. 1907)
LENGTH: 13′
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available on IMSLP
RECORDING: on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Roque Cordero (1917–2008)
Central America, USA
Sonata (1963)
DEDICATEE: Adolfo Odnoposoff and Berta Huberman
LENGTH: 17′
MOVEMENTS: 1. Allegro molto appassionato, 2. Adagio, 3. Vivace
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Noel Da Costa (1929–2002)
Africa, USA
Five Verses/with Vamps (1976)
LENGTH: 7′
MOVEMENTS: 1. Quarter = 66, 2. Eighth – circa 156, 3. Quarter = 60, 4. Eighth = circa 152, 5. Quarter = 60
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: held at the American Music Center
RECORDING: on Music for Cello & Piano by African-American Composers album; on YouTube: movement 1, movement 2, movement 3, movement 4, movement 5
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Kevin Day (b. 1996)
USA
Cello Sonata No. 1. (2016)
LENGTH: 16’
MOVEMENTS: 1. Allegro Agitato, 2. Lento, 3. Giocoso
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube
Gymnopédie I (2018)
LENGTH: 5’
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Corey Dundee
USA
Surface Tension (2014)
LENGTH: 4’ 30”
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: on SoundCloud
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Akin Euba (1935–2020)
Africa, USA
The Wanderer (1960)
ENGRAVING: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: available from libraries
RECORDING: arrangement for viola and piano on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s bio.
André E. Godsey, Sr. (b. 1961)
USA
Sonata for Piano and Cello in C Major: Two Simple Ways to Say Thanks (2018)
LENGTH: 7’
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: MIDI version on SoundCloud
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Anthony R. Green (b. 1984)
USA
on top of a frosted hill (2011)
LENGTH: 13’
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: on YouTube (beginning at 35:38)
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Jeraldine Saunders Herbison (b. 1941)
USA
Fantasy in Three Moods for Cello and Piano (1976)
ENGRAVING: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: in the Helen Walker-Hill Collection at Columbia College Chicago
RECORDING: research in progress
Intermezzo for Cello and Piano (1976)
ENGRAVING: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: in the Helen Walker-Hill Collection at Columbia College Chicago
RECORDING: research in progress
Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano, Op. 19, No. 1 (n.d.)
ENGRAVING: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: in the Helen Walker-Hill Collection at Columbia College Chicago
RECORDING: research in progress
Saltarello Op. 30, No. 2 “Children at Play” (1998)
ENGRAVING: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: in the Helen Walker-Hill Collection at Columbia College Chicago
RECORDING: research in progress
An Invention Upon an Airy Upland (1989)
ENGRAVING: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: in the Helen Walker-Hill Collection at Columbia College Chicago
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Augustus O. Hill
USA
Three Ways
LENGTH: 9′
MOVEMENTS: 1. Bold, 2. Calmly, 3. Briskly
ENGRAVING: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: on Music for Cello & Piano by African-American Composers album; on YouTube: movement 1, movement 2, movement 3
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Mark Lomax, II
USA
By Grace (2016)
COMMISIONER: Timothy Holley
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Edward Henry Margetson (1891–1962)
Caribbean, USA
Ballade Valse Serenade for Cello (1927)
SHEET MUSIC: manuscript held in the Archival Collections of Columbia University Libraries
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
William Foster McDaniel (b. 1940)
USA
Sonata for Cello and Piano (1996)
MOVEMENTS: 1. Andante con moto, 2. Andante, 3. Allegro agitato
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Dorothy Rudd Moore (1940–2022)
USA
Dirge and Deliverance (1971)
LENGTH: 16’
MOVEMENTS: 1. Dirge (Adagio), 2. Deliverance (Allegro)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: 1980 performance by Kermit Moore (cello) and Raymond Jackson (piano) on YouTube; performance by Hilary Glen (cello) and Sun Min Kim (piano) on Spotify (1. Dirge, 2. Deliverance) from the album Memories Unsettled (2022)
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Kermit Moore (1929–2013)
USA
Music for Cello and Piano (1976)
LENGTH: 20’30”
MOVEMENTS: 1. Introduction and Allegro, 2. Aria, 3. Toccata
ENGRAVING: manuscript, legible
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: available on LP
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Jeffrey Mumford (b. 1955)
USA
lullaby (in folk style) (1982)
LENGTH: 4’
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
ringing fields of enveloping blue (1997)
LENGTH: 14’
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Andre Myers (b. 1973)
USA
Tangoella (2005)
LENGTH: 7’
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Brian Raphael Nabors (b. 1991)
USA
Sonata for Cello and Piano (2017)
DEDICATEE: Ryan Donohue
LENGTH: 21’
MOVEMENTS: 1. Pesante, 2. Reflective, 3. Leggiero
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Bongani Ndodana-Breen (b. 1975)
Africa
Jozi Dreamtime
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Ngobusuku
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia (1921–2019)
Africa
Autubam (Wailing Song) (1965)
LENGTH: 3’30”
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Jean R. “Rudy” Perrault
Caribbean, USA
Brother Malcolm (2009)
DEDICATEE: Betsy Husby and Alexander Chernyshev
LENGTH: 9′
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: score available for free download; contact composer for cello part
RECORDING: available on composer’s website
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Julio Racine (1945–2020)
Caribbean
Sonate a Cynthia
LENGTH: 10’30”
MOVEMENTS: 1. Allegro Spirito, 2. Cantilena, 3. Allegro
ENGRAVING: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: on Spotify, from the album Tanbou Kache (2020), Diana Golden (cello), Shawn Chang (piano)
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Amadeo Roldán (1900–1939)
Caribbean
Dos Canciones Populares Cubanas (Two Cuban Folk Songs) (1928)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase, available from libraries
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Ronald Roxbury (1946–1986)
USA
Aria for cello and piano (1969)
ENGRAVING: manuscript, graphic/nonstandard notation
SHEET MUSIC: available from libraries
RECORDING: research in progress
David William Sanford (b. 1963)
USA
22 Part 1 (1995)
LENGTH: 12’
MOVEMENTS: 1. Quarter note = 80, 2. Quarter note = 60 – Quarter note = 108
ENGRAVING: manuscript, legible
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on Spotify, from the album The Essence of Cello (2014), Eric Bartlett (cello), Paul Suits (piano)
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Howard Savage (b. 1949)
USA
Rhapsody for Cello, Op. 153A
DEDICATEE: Elaine Mack
ENGRAVING: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Carlos Simon (b. 1986)
USA
Lickety Split (2015)
LENGTH: 5’30”
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on Soundcloud
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Hale Smith (1925–2009)
USA
Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 10 (1955)
ENGRAVING: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
William Grant Still (1895–1978)
USA
Summerland (1935)
originally for piano; arranged for violin and piano by the composer, and transcribed for cello and piano by Timothy Holley
LENGTH: 5′
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube
Mother and Child (1943)
originally movement two from Suite for Violin and Piano, transcribed for cello and piano by Timothy Holley
LENGTH: 6’30”
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Howard Swanson (1907–1978)
USA
Suite for Cello and Piano (1951)
LENGTH: 15′
MOVEMENTS: 1. Prelude, 2. Pantomime, 3. Dirge, 4. Recessional
ENGRAVING: manuscript, legible
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube
Sonata for cello and Piano
ENGRAVING: manuscript
SHEET MUSIC: research in progress
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Shirley Thompson
Europe
The Space Between
LENGTH: 5’36”
ENGRAVING: research in progress
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Beyond These Times (1994)
Choreography by Edward Watson
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Frederick Tillis (1930–2020)
USA
Spiritual Fantasy No. 7: On My Journey Now (1983)
LENGTH: 14′
ENGRAVING: manuscript, legible
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: performance by Timothy Holley on YouTube (0:00–14:00)
Click here for the composer’s biography.
Andre Bangambula Vindu (b. 1953)
Africa, Asia
Congolese Traditional Danced Song: Kamulangu
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: request from composer
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s biography.
George Walker (1922–2018)
USA
Sonata for Cello and Piano (1957)
LENGTH: 17′
MOVEMENTS: 1. Allegro passionato, 2. Sostenuto, 3. Allegro
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on YouTube: movement 1, movement 2, movement 3
Click here for the composer’s bio.
Errolyn Wallen (b. 1958)
Central America, Europe
Dervish (2001)
LENGTH: 6′
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: on Spotify, from the girl in my alphabet (2006), Ensemble X, The Continuum Ensemble
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Mary Watkins (b. 1939)
USA
Bus Stop (2000)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available in Black Women Composers: 20th Century Music for Piano and Strings
RECORDING: research in progress
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Dolores White (b. 1932)
USA
Two Spirituals for Cello and Piano (1987)
LENGTH: 5′
ENGRAVING: manuscript, legible
SHEET MUSIC: available for purchase
RECORDING: research in progress
Las Tarangulas (1992)
LENGTH: 3’20”
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available in Black Women Composers: 20th Century Music for Piano and Strings
RECORDING: on YouTube
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
Evan Williams (b. 1988)
USA
Cantigas (2015)
COMISSIONER: William Jason Raynovich and Mark Sudeith
LENGTH: 15′
MOVEMENTS: 1. Santa Maria, strela do dia (a), 2. Garid vos, ay yermanellas, 3. Quen boa dona querra, 4. Santa Maria, strela do dia (b), 5. Por nos, Virgen Madre, 6. Rosa das Rosas, 7. Santa Maria, strela do dia (c)
ENGRAVING: computer, modern
SHEET MUSIC: available on the composer’s website
RECORDING: available on the composer’s website
Click here for the composer’s website and bio.
