The Sonata for Cello and Piano was composed in 1990 and first performed in Paris by Vincent Grandgeorge, to whom it was dedicated, accompanied by Jacques Castérède on the piano, on 30 November 1990, at a concert organized by the association Le Triptyque. Very slightly altered in 2006, this piece bears the stamp of the exacting, perfectionist, sometimes austere teaching I received from the composer Jacques Castérède. Robbed of all volition, the hand of the composer is accurately guided by the music alone, which is sketched in a way that goes beyond any systematic composing technique. For instance, the themes of the first movement refused either to be reproduced in their initial colours or to be completely transposed. As a result, their entire being is focused on what they are about to become, so that one leads into another in a constant process of metamorphosis. In the course of an ostinato, its various facets are highlighted in a way that enlivens and extends the melody lines of the two other movements, ther by obviating the need for variation or the intrusion of secondary themes.