Schnittke's "Cello Sonata" is a virtuoso display piece. A strong feling of tonality dominates its three movements (slow - fast - slow), and it is doubtless an effective vehicle in its exploration of the possibilities of the instrument. The shade of Shostakovich can be detected in the two slow movements, while the galvanizing possibilities inherent in the cello, so effectively pioneered in this type of music by Rostropovich, inform the whirlwind second movement, a test for cellist and pianist alike. The work may not plumb the depths, but it has enough identity of its own for it to take its place as an alternative to Shostakovich's or indeed to other twentieth-century cello sonatas. (Malcolm Barry)