Bela Bartók · 18 Duos
Boosey and Hawkes
- Duets that start with very basic skills, parts interchangeable
- Great material to get students used to modern tonal language
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Cello Repertoire
Suggestions for middle school and high school students. Organized by difficulty, with notes on technical demands, period style, and accompaniment requirements.
For the beginning I suggest folk songs as in Cellocity, All for Strings or Suzuki book 1 and the Lee 40 Easy Studies. You may also consult the ASTA performance exam requirement levels — they are modeled on the British graded system.
The repertoire listed here assumes that the student has learned 4 positions. It leans heavily towards Baroque sonatas because, in my opinion, they are the best for learning the first four positions, relatively simple rhythms, and repetitive bowings. They have short movements and can easily be accompanied by the teacher playing the bass line of the piano part.
Easy Difficulty
8 piecesJ.B. Bréval · Sonata in C
Pre-classical
International — also in Suzuki book 4
- Recommended as a first sonata
- Almost entirely in first position but with chords and rhythmic challenges
- Accompaniment Easy
B. Marcello · Sonata in E minor
Baroque
International — also in Suzuki book 4
- Good first sonata for a rhythmically sound player
- Start with the second movement
- Accompaniment Easy — play bass line of the piano part on the cello
W. de Fesch · Sonata in D minor
Baroque
Schott
- Good early sonata, rhythmically not easy
- Four positions and harmonic A
- Accompaniment Easy
P. Hindemith · Three Easy Pieces
20th c.
Schott
- Written entirely in first position (last movement all in ½ position)
- Hard to hear especially with piano, difficult rhythms and bow division challenges
- Accompaniment Hard — duo writing
Boismortier · Sonata in D major
Baroque
Bärenreiter
- Interesting variety of movements, some double stops
- Typical Baroque bowing patterns
- Accompaniment Easy
Lanzetti · Sonata in G major
Pre-classical
Schott
- Good Pre-classical sonata for light and elegant tone
- Accompaniment Easy
Vivaldi · Six Sonatas
Baroque
I prefer the Schott edition piano part — Suzuki book 5 has the E minor sonata
- A minor and E minor are the best known. I like using the first in B-flat also
- The last is a little more difficult than the earlier ones
- Usual rhythmic patterns, staying through the movement, duplets/triplets/dotted rhythms
- Accompaniment Easy
Medium Difficulty
7 piecesFauré · Sicilienne
19th c.
Transcription published by International
- Good piece for learning shifts and smoothness
- Uses 7 positions
- Some sophistication in sound and vibrato necessary
- Not long
- Accompaniment Medium
Rick Mooney / Helga Winold · Thumb Position for Cello I / Cellocity 2nd part
Method
- Easy short popular melodies in thumb on harmonic position
Telemann · Sonata in D major
Baroque
International
- One of the nicest Baroque sonatas
- Complicated rhythm and structure
- Accompaniment Easy
Mendelssohn · Song Without Words
19th c.
Peters
- Some thumb position
- Mostly lyrical and not too difficult
- Fairly long
- Accompaniment Hard
Bréval · Concerto in G and D major
Pre-classical
Delrieu
- Excellent first concerto, preparatory to Haydn
- Goes into thumb on harmonic position
- Many light and elegant bowings
- Accompaniment Medium
Saint-Saëns · Allegro Appassionato
19th c.
International — Suzuki book 8
- Virtuoso bowing techniques, also thumb position
- For students who can handle rhythm well enough to use rubato
- Accompaniment As duo
Bach · Suites for Solo Cello 1–3
Baroque
Many publications — Bärenreiter or Henle (Anna Magdalena Bach), Vandersall without bowings or fingerings
- It is appropriate to start with the suites fairly early but selectively
- Start with Gigue and Menuets, rather than Prelude
- All in 4 positions, good for training memory!
Advanced Difficulty
9 piecesSaint-Saëns · The Swan
19th c.
Various collections
- An exercise in sound, long bows, vibrato
- Includes thumb position
- Accompaniment Medium
Fauré · Après un rêve
19th c.
International
- Includes thumb position
- Slow bows and vibrato
- Accompaniment Easy
Fauré · Élégie
19th c.
International
- All positions
- Good lyrical playing and left hand facility necessary
- Accompaniment Difficult
Sammartini · Sonata in G major
Pre-classical
International
- Includes thumb position on harmonic
- Short movements, rhythmic patterns repetitive
- Accompaniment Easy
Eccles · Sonata in G minor
Baroque
Transcription published by International
- Good sound necessary, all positions
- Brush stroke in second movement, last movement difficult left hand patterns
- Accompaniment Easy
Martinů · Variations on a Slovakian Theme
20th c.
Bärenreiter
- Good introduction to 20th century
- Rhythmically complicated, good ear training!
- Accompaniment Difficult
Beethoven · Variations in G major
Classical
Henle
- All positions, good classical training
- Good pianist essential
Boccherini · Concertos in G and D
Pre-classical
Delrieu
- Excellent for training high positions in elegant and light sound
- Accompaniment Medium
Stamitz · Concerto in A major
Pre-classical
- Also for good elegant classical sound, all over the cello
- Accompaniment Medium