Zoltán Kodály was born on December 16, 1882 in Kecskemét, Austria-Hungary, and died on March 6, 1967 in Budapest.

Along with his compatriot Béla Bartók, Kodály was an avid ethnomusicologist in addition to his compositional career. The two men traveled throughout Hungary and Romania with Edison phonograph recorders, collected recordings of folk tunes and transcribed them. Their research would ultimately pave the way for a renaissance of Hungarian folk music in the twentieth century. Kodály is also known as the inventor of his namesake method for music education, which is still used in elementary music classrooms to this day.

Kodály’s most popular work for cello is undoubtedly his Sonata for Solo Cello, op. 8, an athletic tour-de-force for the virtuoso cellist. However, Kodály composed a handful of other works for the instrument, including a one-movement Sonatina and other short works for cello and piano, a Capriccio for solo cello, and his Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 4. The sonata is in two movements, with the sonatina initially conceived as a third movement before being removed. The first movement, Fantasia, is dark, brooding, yet also rhapsodic, while the second movement, Allegro con spirito, brings Hungarian dance rhythms to the fore. The second movement ends with a return of the opening theme from the first movement, providing a satisfying close to the piece. The work was premiered on May 17, 1910 by cellist Jenö Kerpely and pianist Béla Bartók.