If copyright restrictions prevent you from downloading the full sheet music from IMSLP in your region, consider these alternative avenues:
Excellent for conductors, composers, and students analyzing Kabalevsky's brilliant orchestration.
The work follows a traditional fast-slow-fast three-movement structure: imslp kabalevsky cello concerto
Several other notable recordings are highly recommended:
While many of Kabalevsky’s compositions are falling into the public domain in various jurisdictions, users should be aware that, as of 2026, some of his later works or specific editions might still be under copyright in the United States and the EU. If copyright restrictions prevent you from downloading the
Because Dmitry Kabalevsky passed away in 1987, his works are subject to varying copyright laws globally:
: Frequently used as a stepping stone to the monumental concertos of Elgar, Dvořák, and Shostakovich. Cello Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 77 (1964) Cello Concerto No
: Similar to the first concerto, public domain editions are not yet available on Key Resources Resource Type Source/Link Performance (No. 2) Full Score Video on YouTube Sheet Music (No. 1) Sikorski / Boosey & Hawkes Digital Library IMSLP Cello/Concertante List If you'd like, I can: detailed movement breakdown for either concerto. Help you find recordings by specific legendary cellists like Shafran or Yo-Yo Ma. similar Soviet-era concertos for the cello. Let me know which performance aspect you'd like to explore further!
This concerto is one of the most popular 20th-century works for cello and orchestra, often programmed alongside Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante and Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1.
This concerto was written for and dedicated to a young Mstislav Rostropovich, whose monumental technique and fiery emotional palette directly influenced the work's demanding writing. Navigating IMSLP for Kabalevsky's Cello Concertos
The concerto is immediately appealing, filled with a flavor of Russian and Near Eastern folk music. Kabalevsky's harmony is conventional and diatonic, leaning on clear major and minor tonalities, which some critics have unkindly described as "Prokofiev-with-water". However, this "conservative" approach is central to his pedagogical goal: it sounds professional, structured, and musically satisfying without being harmonically baffling.