CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FOR CELLO

The cello has become one of the most expressive voices in contemporary classical music, with composers expanding its sonic world through new colors, extended techniques, and lyrical intensity. My works for cello reflect this evolution, exploring the instrument’s warmth, resonance, and dramatic range. The sections below present my contributions to the modern cello repertoire across solo, chamber, vocal, and stage settings.

Contemporary Music for Cello — Modern Works by Lior Navok

The cello has always felt to me like an instrument that speaks closest to the human voice — warm, resonant, and capable of both deep introspection and sweeping lyricism. My contemporary cello music grows from that expressive breadth, whether the instrument stands alone, partners in a duo, or anchors a larger ensemble.

For performers seeking new cello repertoire, modern chamber music, or contemporary stage and ensemble works featuring the cello, these pieces offer a wide palette of depth, color, and expressive possibility.

UNACCOMPANIED CELLO

Fantasy

5' | cello solo

CELLO CHAMBER MUSIC

Fluctuations

10' | cello and piano

Arabesque

9' 30" | alto recorder, baroque cello and harpsichord

Duos with Cello

Trios with Cello

Like a Whirling Sand Clock

10' 30" | clarinet, cello and piano

Piano Trio

22' | violin, cello and piano

Voices from India
string quartet no. 1

17' | string quartet (2 violins, viola and cello)

Quartets with Cello

Hope Cycles

string quartet no. 2

24' | string quartet (2 violins, viola and cello)

Whispered Questions

string quartet no. 3

17' | string quartet (2 violins, viola and cello)

Soliloquy

string quartet no. 4

17' | string quartet (2 violins, viola and cello)

Little Suite

12' | clarinet, violin, viola and cello

Tourelles

12' | four celli and piano

Quintets with Cello

Piano Quintet

18' | piano, violins (2), viola and cello

V5 – Quintet for Vibraphone and String Quartet

for vibraphone and string quartet

17' | vibraphone, violins (2), viola and cello

Quicksand

for Pierrot Ensemble

11' | bass clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano

Sextet

for Pierrot ensemble

22' | flute / piccolo/ bass flute, clarinet / bass clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano

Cello with Ensemble

Elegy for the Future

for Pierrot ensemble

13' | piccolo / alto flute; clarinet; violin; cello; percussion; piano

Three Episodes for Chamber Ensemble

for chamber ensemble

12' | flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, percussion (1), piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass

VOCAL MUSIC WITH CELLO

Found in a Train Station

for soprano and ensemble

11' 30" | soprano, mandolin, clarinet, violin, cello and piano

Spring Calls

for soprano and ensemble

10' 30" | leggero soprano (also plays small percussion instruments), flute, viola, cello and harp

STAGE MUSIC WITH CELLO

Beauty and the Beast

for narrator and ensemble

31' | actress, violins (2), viola, cello double bass and piano

The Little Mermaid

for actress and chamber ensemble / chamber orchestra

36' | actress, flute/piccolo, clarinet, percussion (1), two pianos and string quintet

OR

actress, flute/piccolo, clarinet, percussion (1), two pianos and string section

Sheet Music for Cello:

About Contemporary Cello Repertoire

The cello repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries includes a wide range of solo works, sonatas, chamber pieces, and concert works that have shaped the instrument’s modern identity. The list below highlights influential pieces that are frequently performed, studied, and recorded. This curated selection is offered as a resource for performers and teachers exploring contemporary classical cello music, alongside my own contributions to the repertoire.

Key 20th–21st Century Cello Repertoire

Solo Cello (Unaccompanied)

Luciano Berio – Sequenza XIV (2002)
Elliott Carter – Figment (1994)
György Ligeti – Sonata for Solo Cello (1948–1953)
Paul Hindemith – Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 25 No. 3 (1922–1923)
John Cage – One8 (1991) – Written for solo cello with curved bow; One4 is for percussion.
Aram Khachaturian – Sonata-Fantasia (1974) – Verified as a solo cello work.
Krzysztof Penderecki – Capriccio per Siegfried Palm (1968)
Benjamin Britten – Suite No. 1 for Solo Cello, Op. 72 (1964)
George Crumb – Sonata for Solo Cello (1955) – Often miscategorized as a chamber work; verified as unaccompanied.
William Walton – Passacaglia for Solo Cello (1979–1980) – Composed for Mstislav Rostropovich.
Brian Ferneyhough – Time and Motion Study II (1973–1976) or In Nomine a 3 (2001)
Helmut Lachenmann – Pression (1969) – For solo cello.
Kaija Saariaho – Spins and Spells (1997) – For solo cello.

Cello and Piano

Dmitri Shostakovich – Cello Sonata, Op. 40 (1934)
Sergei Prokofiev – Cello Sonata, Op. 119 (1949)
Claude Debussy – Cello Sonata (1915)
Francis Poulenc – Cello Sonata (1948)
Samuel Barber – Cello Sonata, Op. 6 (1932)
Ernest Bloch – From Jewish Life (1924)
Frank Bridge – Cello Sonata (1913–1917)
Toru Takemitsu – Orion (1984) – Takemitsu’s only work for cello and piano.

Cello Chamber and Multimedia Works

Anton Webern – Three Little Pieces, Op. 11 (1914) – For cello and piano.
Karlheinz Stockhausen – Tierkreis (1974–1975) – Variable instrumentation.
Steve Reich – Cello Counterpoint (2003) – For eight cellos or solo cello and tape.
Tristan Murail – Attracteurs étranges (1992) – For solo cello.
Kaija Saariaho – Petals (1988) – For cello and electronics.
Harrison Birtwistle – Pulse Shadows (1989–1996) – For soprano, string quartet, and ensemble.
Tania León – Axon (2002) – For cello and electronics.

Cello Concertos

Paul Hindemith – Cello Concerto (1940)
William Walton – Cello Concerto (1956)
Alfred Schnittke – Cello Concerto No. 1 (1985–1986)
Krzysztof Penderecki – Cello Concerto No. 2 (1982)
Bohuslav Martinů – Cello Concerto No. 1 (1930; revised 1939, 1955)
James MacMillan – Cello Concerto No. 1 (1996) – Dedicated to Rostropovich.
György Ligeti – Cello Concerto (1966)
John Adams – Scheherazade.2 (2014) or Cello Concerto (2018–2019)
Kaija Saariaho – Notes on Light (2006)
Béla Bartók – Viola Concerto (1945) – Often adapted for cello (posthumous completion).