Aside from the Piano Quartet op. 13 and the Violin Sonata op. 18, the Cello Sonata op. 6 numbers among the most mature works of chamber music from Strauss’ early œuvre.

The influences of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms are noticeable, while leaving sufficient space for a very personal tonal language, often with surprising rhythmic and harmonic turns of phrase.

Strauss subjected the first version completed in early 1881 to a radical revision over the winter of 1882/83; the opening movemen...