List of solo cello pieces

This is a list of notable solo cello pieces. It includes arrangements and transcriptions.

A

 * Joseph Abaco
 * (11) Caprices
 * Samuel Adler
 * Sonata (1965)
 * Kalevi Aho
 * Solo IV (1997)
 * Hugh Aitken
 * For the Cello (1980)
 * Franghis Ali-Zadeh
 * Ask Havasi (part of the cycle Silk Road) (1998)
 * Oyan (2005)
 * Maarten Altena
 * Figura (1993)
 * Mark Andre
 * iv 2 pour violoncelle solo (2007)
 * Georges Aperghis
 * Quatres Récitations (1980)
 * Sonate (1994)
 * Gilbert Amy
 * Quasi Scherzando
 * Tanya Anisimova
 * Sufi Suite
 * Song on Mt. San Angelo
 * Georgi Arnaoudov
 * Kells (1999)
 * Three Sonets of Michelangelo (2014)
 * Violet Archer
 * Improvisation (1983)
 * Malcolm Arnold
 * Fantasy  (1987)
 * Daniel Asia
 * Cello Suite
 * Lera Auerbach
 * Sonata for Solo Violoncello, Op. 72 (2003)
 * La Suite dels Ocells [Homage to Pablo Casals] (2015)

B

 * Johann Sebastian Bach
 * Six Suites (c. 1720)
 * Nicolas Bacri
 * Suite , Op. 31, No. 1 Preludio e metamorfosi (1987–94)
 * Suite , Op. 31, No. 2  Tragica (1991–93)
 * Suite , Op. 31, No. 3 Vita et Mors (1991–93)
 * Suite , Op. 50, No. 4 (1994–96; written for Emmanuelle Bertrand)
 * Henk Badings
 * Sonata No. 2
 * David N. Baker
 * Sonata (1990)
 * Don Banks
 * Sequence (1967)
 * Gennady Banshchikov
 * Concerto for cello No. 3 for solo cello (1965)
 * Granville Bantock
 * Sonata in G minor (1924)
 * Rami Bar-Niv
 * Improvisation
 * Arnold Bax
 * Rhapsodic Ballad (1939)
 * Sally Beamish
 * Gala Water for solo cello (1988, for her husband Robert Irvine)
 * The Wise Maid
 * Conrad Beck
 * Epigrams  (for Paul Sacher)
 * Grant Beglarian
 * Elegy for Cellist for solo cello (1979)
 * Paul Ben-Haim
 * Music  (1974)
 * Richard Rodney Bennett
 * Partita (2001)
 * Sonata
 * Scena II (1973)
 * Niels Viggo Bentzon
 * Sonata, Op. 110 (1956)
 * Variations on "The Volga Boatmen", Op. 354 (1974)
 * 16 Etudes, Op. 464 (1984)
 * Sonata, Op. 110
 * Esteban Benzecry
 * Suite "Prisme du Sud" (1970)
 * Gunnar Berg
 * Suite pour violoncelle seul (1950)
 * Michael Berkeley
 * Iberian Notebook Suite (1980)
 * Luciano Berio
 * Les mots sont allés (1978; for Paul Sacher)
 * Sequenza VIb (1981)
 * Chanson pour Pierre Boulez (Song for Pierre Boulez) (2000)
 * Sequenza XIV (2002)
 * Christoph Otto Beyer
 * Sonate für Violoncello solo (2006)
 * Passacaglia e Fuga
 * Gunther Bialas
 * Romanze (for Hoelscher) (1987)
 * Jörg Birkenkötter
 * Solo für Violoncello (1986)
 * Ernest Bloch
 * Suite No. 1  (1956) (written for Zara Nelsova)
 * Suite No. 2 (1956) (written for Zara Nelsova)
 * Suite No. 3 (1957)
 * William Bolcom
 * Suite in C minor (1994)
 * Ennio Bolognini
 * Adagio and Allegro
 * Fiesta Baska - Lamada Montanesa
 * Seranata de Bolonini
 * Seranata del Eco
 * Serenata Del Gaucho
 * Prelude and Fugue on a theme of Purcell
 * Cello's Prayer
 * Nimrod Borenstein
 * "Soliloquy, Op. 59"
 * Sergei Bortkiewicz
 * Suite, Op. 41
 * Hans Bottermund - Janos Starker
 * Variations on a Theme by Paganini
 * Hendrik Bouman
 * Suite in D major (2003)
 * Reiner Bredemeyer (1929–1995)
 * Solo 1 (1973)
 * Solo 6 (1980; written for H.J. Scheitzbach)
 * Allen Brings
 * Sonata da chiesa for solo cello (1980, dedicated to Alexander Kouguell)
 * Benjamin Britten
 * Cello Suites (Suite No. 1, Op. 72 (1964), Suite No. 2, Op. 80 (1967), Suite No. 3, Op. 87 (1972))
 * Tema "Sacher" (for Paul Sacher)
 * Stephen Brown
 * Cello suites
 * Takkakaw Falls (2003, 2004)
 * Fire (2005, revised 2012)
 * There Was a Lady in the East (2007)
 * Lilies and the Roses (2011, revised 2013)
 * Magneto (2012)
 * Flowers of the Forest (2013)


 * Leo Brouwer
 * Sonata  (1960)
 * Mikhail Bukinik
 * 4 Concert Etudes  (No. 4 in F minor)
 * Sylvano Bussotti
 * Deborah Parker (1987)
 * Variazione
 * Yuri Butzko
 * Partita for solo cello

C

 * John Cage
 * One8 (1991)
 * 59½ Seconds  (1953)
 * Atlas Eclipticallis (1961)
 * Solo For Cello (1958)
 * Variations I (1958)
 * Etudes Boreales (1978)
 * Elliott Carter
 * Figment (1994)
 * Figment No. 2, Remembering Mr. Ives (2001)
 * Gaspar Cassadó
 * Suite  (1926)
 * Geghuni Chitchjan
 * Sonata for solo cello (1983)
 * Frédéric Chopin
 * Etude in A♭ major, Op. 25, No. 1 (trans. Cassadó)
 * Nigel Clarke
 * Spectroscope (1987)
 * Grant Colburn
 * Sonata in D minor for baroque cello or viola da gamba (2009)
 * Michael Colgrass
 * Wolf (1975)
 * Giuseppe Colombi (1635–1694)
 * Chiacona a Basso Solo (1670)
 * Toccata da Violone Solo (Toccata ) (1670)
 * John Corigliano
 * Fancy on a Bach air (1997; premiered by Yo-Yo Ma)
 * Henry Cowell
 * Gravely and Vigorously (Hymn & Fuguing Tune No. 17) (1963; in memory of Kennedy)
 * George Crumb
 * Sonata for Solo Cello, (1955)

D

 * Luigi Dallapiccola
 * Adagio (1947)
 * Ciaccona, Intermezzo e Adagio (1945)
 * Jean-Luc Darbellay
 * Solo (1997)
 * Michael Daugherty
 * Jackie's Song (2000)
 * Johann Nepomuk David
 * 2 Solo Sonatas
 * Mario Davidovsky
 * Synchronisms No. 3 (1964), and electronic sound
 * Robert deMaine
 * Twelve Études-Caprices, Op. 31 (1999)
 * Unaccompanied Sonata
 * Edison Denisov
 * Cadenzas for two cello concertos in D major and C major by Haydn (1982)
 * Patrick van Deurzen
 * Monologue (2011)
 * David Diamond
 * Sonata for Violoncello Alone (1959)
 * Friedhelm Dohl
 * Fantasie - Kadenz
 * Klezmeriana for solo cello (1983)
 * Franco Donatoni
 * Lame (1982)
 * Friedrich Dotzauer
 * 113 Etudes for Cello
 * John Downey
 * Lydian Suite (1975)
 * Zsolt Durkó
 * Solo Suite No. 1 (1979)
 * Henri Dutilleux
 * Trois Strophes sur le Nom de SACHER (1976–82) (for Paul Sacher)

E

 * David Eby
 * Celtic Passage
 * Gerald Eckert
 * Nôema (1992/93)
 * Søren Nils Eichberg
 * Variations on a theme by Niccolo Paganini (2005)
 * Jose Elizondo
 * Unter dem Sternenhimmel des Rheins (Under the starry sky of the Rhine) (2020)
 * Cantabrigian Reflections (2020)
 * Danzas Latinoamericanas (Latin American Dances) (1997)
 * Otoño en Buenos Aires (Autumn in Buenos Aires) (1997)
 * Pan de Azúcar (Sugar Loaf mountain) (1997)
 * Atardecer Tapatío (Sunset in Guadalajara) (1997)
 * Baroque Dances (1997)
 * La alborada de la esperanza (The Dawn of Hope) (2018)
 * Limoncello (2018)
 * Crepúsculos (Twilights) (2018)
 * Princesa de hadas (Fairy Tale Princess) (1995)
 * Excursión a la montaña (Excursion to the Mountain) (1995)
 * Hans Ulrich Engelmann
 * Mini-music to Siegfried Palm, Op. 38 (1970)
 * Sven Einar Englund
 * Suite (1986)
 * Gottfried von Einem
 * Music, Op. 108 (1996)
 * Iván Erőd
 * Hommage à Beethoven, Op. 24 (Rhapsodie für Violoncello solo über Themen der Sonate, Op. 102/1 von Ludwig van Beethoven) (1977)
 * Rudolf George Escher
 * Sonata for solo Violoncello (1945–48)
 * Pozzi Escot
 * Sonata (2002)

F

 * Morton Feldman
 * Projection I (1950)
 * Intersection IV (1953)
 * Richard Festinger
 * Upon The Viol (2012)
 * Ross Lee Finney
 * Chromatic Fantasy in E (1957)
 * Graciane Finzi
 * Theme and Variations to el cant dels ocells
 * Elena Firsova
 * The Rest is Silence (2002)
 * Luboš Fišer (1935–1999)
 * Sonata (1987)
 * Thomas Flaherty
 * Semi-Suite (1990)
 * Remembrance of Things Present (2006)
 * Alexandra Fol
 * Almost Serial (1999)
 * Carlo Forlivesi
 * Più Mesto for 2-bow solo cello (2003)
 * Wolfgang Fortner
 * Suite (Schott) (for Paul Sacher)
 * Zum Spielen für den 70. Geburtstag: Theme and Variationen (1976)
 * Ilse Fromm-Michaels
 * Suite, Op. 15 (Sikorski)
 * Rudolf Escher
 * Sonata (1955)

G

 * Domenico Gabrielli
 * Seven Ricercari (1689)
 * Hans Gál
 * Sonata for violoncello solo op.109a (1982)
 * Orlando Jacinto Garcia
 * Crystalline Sounds of the Night
 * Ada Gentile
 * Pervioloncellosolo (1996)
 * Michael Gielen
 * Weitblick Sonata (1991)
 * Alberto Ginastera (1916–83)
 * Puneña No. 2, Op. 45 (Hommage à Paul Sacher)
 * Detlev Glanert
 * Fünf Wüstenlieder (five Desert Songs) (1999)
 * Philip Glass
 * Songs and Poems (in 7 movements) (2007)
 * Orbit (2013)
 * Friedrich Goldmann
 * Cellomusik (1974)
 * Marin Goleminov
 * Sonata (1969)
 * Osvaldo Golijov
 * Omaramor (1991)
 * Andrei Golovin
 * Elegy for solo cello (1988)
 * Yevgeny Golubev
 * 2 Etudes for solo cello, Op. 46 (1961)
 * Concert Aria for solo cello (1961)
 * Leonid Grabovsky (Hrabovsky)
 * Hlas I (1990)
 * Voices for solo cello (1990)
 * Olivier Greif
 * Solo from Nô, Op. 154, for Christoph Henkel (1981) for solo cello
 * Jorge Grundman
 * Terezin Through the Eyes of the Children for Solo Cello (2012)
 * Sofia Gubaidulina
 * Ten Preludes (1974)
 * Quaternion for solo cello

H

 * Alois Haba
 * Fantasy in quarter-tones (1924)
 * Daron Hagen
 * Suite (1985)
 * Higher, Louder, Faster, an editorial etude (1987)
 * Cristobal Halffter
 * Variations on the theme eSACHERe (for Paul Sacher)
 * Hermann Haller
 * Trois pieces pour violoncelle seul (3 pieces )
 * George Frideric Handel
 * Air and Variations "The Harmonious Blacksmith" from Suite for Harpsichord in E major, HWV 430 arr. Cassadó
 * Passacaglia - Theme and Variations (arr. Zinoviy Dynov based on the Halvorsen version)
 * John Harbison
 * Suite (1994)
 * Jonathan Harvey
 * Curve with Plateaux for Helen Verney (1983)
 * Teppo Hauta-aho
 * Improvatio (1971)
 * David Philip Hefti
 * Ritus - 4 Dance Collages (2007)
 * Bernhard Heiden
 * Variations on "Lilliburlero"
 * Paavo Heininen
 * Cantilena I, Op. 24c (1970)
 * Cantilena II, Op. 26 (1970)
 * Poesie des pensées, Op. 23 (1970)
 * Hans Werner Henze
 * Serenade (1949)
 * Capriccio (for Paul Sacher) (1976/1981)
 * Michael Hersch
 * Sonata No. 1 (1994)
 * Sonata No. 2 (2001)
 * Kenneth Hesketh
 * Die hängende Figur ist Judas (Drei Perspektiven) (1998)
 * IMMH (2014)
 * Jacques Hétu
 * Variations, Op. 11b (1967)
 * Gilad Hochman
 * Rhapsody  (2003)
 * Ponderings on a Memory (2005)
 * Jennifer Higdon
 * Suite (2002)
 * Paul Hindemith
 * Sonata, Op. 25, No. 3 (1923)
 * Joel Hoffman
 * Concert-Study (Fantasie) (1977)
 * unaccompanied minor (2007)
 * Robin Hoffmann
 * Schleifers Methoden für Violoncello solo (2005)
 * York Höller
 * Sonata (1968)
 * Heinz Holliger
 * Chaconne  (for Paul Sacher) (1975)
 * Trema (1981)
 * Vagn Holmboe
 * Solo Cello Sonata, M. 241 (1968–69)
 * Imogen Holst
 * Fall of the Leaf
 * Joaquim Homs
 * Arbres al vent (1992)
 * Soliloqui num. 4 (1994)
 * Capvespre vora el mar (1994)
 * Arthur Honegger
 * Paduana in G major, H.181 (1945)
 * Michael Hoppé and Martin Tillmann
 * Solo Cello Characteristics
 * Alan Hovhaness
 * Yakamochi, Op. 193 (1965)
 * Edgar Hovhanessian (Oganesyan)
 * Sonata for solo cello (1970)
 * Klaus Huber
 * Transpositio ad Infinitum für ein virtuoses Solocello (for Paul Sacher)
 * Nicolaus A. Huber
 * Der Ausrufer steigt ins Innere (1984)
 * Tobias Hume
 * Kleine Stücke für Cello solo (Small pieces ) Book 1 (originally for Gamba) (arranged by Sabina Lehrmann)
 * (Cello solo pieces) Book 2
 * Bertold Hummel
 * Fantasia I in G, Op. 77d1 (1952)
 * Fantasia II in memoriam Pablo Casals, Op. 97a (1993)
 * Farewell (2002)

I

 * Jacques Ibert
 * Etude-Caprice pour un tombeau de Chopin (1949)
 * Ghirlarzana (1950)
 * Yoshirō Irino (1921–1980)
 * Three Movements (1969)
 * Airat Ichmouratov (1973)
 * Praeludium in G Major for Cello Solo, Op. 69  (2021)

J

 * Karl Jenkins
 * Benedictus - The Armed Man (2001)
 * Jan Jirásek
 * Dilema (1987)
 * Ben Johnston
 * Toccata for Laurien Laufman (1984)
 * Betsy Jolas
 * Scion (1974)
 * Episode cinquième (1983)
 * Andre Jolivet
 * Suite en Concert (1965)
 * Christian Jost
 * Laulos (2005)
 * Gordon Jacob
 * Serenade
 * Divertimento
 * Jurgis Juozapaitis
 * Sonata for solo cello

K

 * Dmitry Kabalevsky
 * Études in Major and Minor, Op. 68 (1961)
 * Mauricio Kagel
 * Siegfriedp‘  (1971)
 * Giya Kancheli
 * Having Wept for solo cello (1994)
 * Nikolai Kapustin
 * Introduction and Scherzino for solo cello, Op. 93 (1999)
 * Suite for cello solo, Op. 124 (2004)
 * Faradzh Karayev (aka Faraj Garayev)
 * Terminus for solo cello (1985)
 * Hugo Kauder
 * Suite  (1925)
 * Second Suite  (1924)
 * Frederick Kaufman
 * Inner Sanctum (1999)
 * Tālivaldis Ķeniņš
 * Sonata for Cello Solo (1981)
 * Jin Hi Kim
 * Kee Maek #4 (1995)
 * Natalie Klouda
 * Suite for Solo Cello (2017, revised 2019)
 * Volker David Kirchner
 * Und Salomo sprach (‘’And Salomo spoke”) (1987)
 * Aus dem Buch der Konige 3 meditations (2000)
 * Threnos (written for the Feuermann Competition 2006)
 * Aram Khachaturian
 * Sonata-Fantasy in C major, Op. 104 (1974)
 * Adam Khudoyan
 * Sonata No. 1 (1961)
 * Sonata No. 2 Elegiac (1984)
 * Sonata No. 3 Pathetic (1993)
 * Mark Kilstofte
 * You [unfolding] for solo cello (1996)
 * Julius Klengel
 * Suite in D-minor, Op. 56
 * Caprice in the Form of a Chaconne (with free use of a Theme by Robert Schumann), Op. 43
 * Alexander Knaifel
 * Lamento for solo cello (1967)
 * Capriccio for solo cello (1994)
 * Zoltán Kodály
 * Solo Cello Sonata, Op. 8 (1915)
 * Capriccio (1915)
 * Nikolai Korndorf
 * Passacaglia (1997)
 * Irena Kosíková
 * Stopy (2004)
 * Ernst Krenek
 * Suite, Op. 84 (1942)
 * Hanna Kulenty
 * Sinequan: for violoncello (amplified and delay) (1993)
 * Still Life with a Cello (1998)
 * György Kurtág
 * Pilinszky János: Gérard de Nerval (1986, for Zoltán Kocsis) for solo cello
 * 19 Jelek, játékok és üzenetek (Signs, Games and Messages) (1987–2008) for solo cello
 * Schatten (Shadows) (1999, for Miklós Perényi)
 * Az hit (Faith)
 * Hommage à John Cage, Elakadó szavak (Faltering Words) for solo cello
 * György Kroó in memoriam (1997) for solo cello
 * For Steven: In Memoriam Pauline Mara (2010), for solo cello
 * The Hilary Jig (to Hilary Behrens 90) (2017, fellow-composer Márta Kurtag)
 * Khristofer Kushnaryov ru:Кушнарёв, Христофор Степанович)
 * Sonata for solo cello (1932)
 * Mati Kuulberg (fi:Mati Kuulberg)
 * Concerto-Sonata for solo cello (1973)

L

 * Sophie Lacaze
 * Variations sur quatre haikus (2009)
 * Helmut Lachenmann
 * Pression (1970)
 * Ezra Laderman
 * Partita (1972)
 * A Single Voice (1995, written for Tanya Anisimova)
 * Fantasy (1998)
 * A Single Line (2004)
 * Frank La Rocca
 * Secret Thoughts (1986)
 * Henri Lazarof
 * Momenti (1987)
 * Claude Ledoux
 * Le Songe trouble de l'orchidee (1994)
 * 12 Studies - First book (1994)
 * Benjamin Lees
 * Night Spectres (2000)
 * Kenneth Leighton
 * Sonata, Op. 52 (1967)
 * Tania Leon
 * 4 Pieces (1981)
 * Milcho Leviev
 * Reflected Meditation (1980)
 * Augsburg Polka (1998)
 * György Ligeti
 * Sonata (1948–1953)
 * Magnus Lindberg
 * Stroke (1984)
 * Partia (2001)
 * Franz Liszt
 * Sonata in B minor for solo cello (transcription by Johann Sebastian Paetsch)
 * Jerry Liu
 * Suite 7 Days (2012)
 * Calor (2016)
 * Vassily Lobanov
 * Sonata for solo cello (1963)
 * Fantasie, Op. 48 (1987)
 * Pietro Locatelli
 * Il Laberinto Armonico (transcription by Rohan de Saram)
 * Alvin Lucier
 * Indian Summer (1993)
 * Witold Lutosławski
 * Sacher Variation (1975; for Paul Sacher)

M

 * Peter Machajdík
 * Ponor (2019)
 * Wolds (2019)
 * Lullaby (1999)
 * Olga Magidenko
 * Site of the Heart, Op. 60 (1998)
 * Enrico Mainardi
 * Sonata breve (1942)
 * Sonata (1959)
 * Ivo Malec
 * Arco-1 (1987)
 * Vitold Malishevsky
 * Suite
 * Benedetto Marcello
 * Cello sonatas
 * Andrew March
 * Three Pieces for Solo Cello (2011)
 * Ljubica Marić
 * Monodia Octoïca for solo cello
 * Steven Harry Markowitz
 * Impromptu
 * A Brief Adventure
 * Pamela J. Marshall
 * Soliloquy
 * Donald Martino
 * Parisonatina Al’Dodecafonia (1964)
 * Tauno Marttinen
 * Impression, Op. 140 (1978)
 * Colin Matthews
 * Palinode (1992)
 * David Matthews
 * Fantasia, Op. 8 (1971)
 * Songs and Dances of Mourning, Op. 12 (1976)
 * Journeying Songs, Op. 95 (2004)
 * Rudolf Matz
 * 11 Caprices
 * Ombres et lumières (Lights and Shadows)
 * Suite in C major
 * Tema con Variazioni 
 * Toshiro Mayuzumi
 * Bunraku (1960)
 * John McCabe
 * Partita (1966)
 * Alfred Mendelssohn
 * Suite (1960)
 * Usko Meriläinen
 * Arabesques (1964)
 * Krzysztof Meyer
 * Sonata (1964)
 * Moment musical (1976)
 * Monologue (1990)
 * Peter Mieg
 * La sombre (1971)
 * L'aérienne (1975)
 * Eric Moe
 * The Lone Cello (1998) for 'cello solo
 * Robert Moevs
 * Heptachronon (1969)
 * Alan Mills
 * Song & Dance for solo cello (2007)
 * Roberto Molinelli
 * Crystalligence (commissioned by Enrico Dindo) (2005)
 * Dexter Morrill
 * Fantasy (1995)
 * Robert Muczynski
 * Gallery: Suite (on paintings of Charles Burchfield) (1966)
 * Isabel Mundry
 * Komposition (1992/93)
 * Komposition (1997)

N

 * Florie Namir
 * Rolling, fantasia for cello solo (2004)
 * Lior Navok
 * Fantasy (1998)
 * Arkady Nesterov
 * Sonata for solo cello
 * Joaquin Nin-Culmell
 * Suite
 * Akira Nishimura
 * Threnody (1998)
 * Arne Nordheim
 * Clamavi (1980)

O

 * Mark O'Connor
 * Appalachia Waltz (composer's own transcription of original version for solo violin)
 * Mikhail Osokin
 * Sonata for solo cello
 * Terry Winter Owens
 * Cellestial Music, Book 1 (2003)

P

 * Younghi Pagh-Paan
 * AA-GA I (1984)
 * Hilda Paredes
 * Zuhuy Kak (1997)
 * Robert Parris
 * Fantasy and Fugue (1954)
 * Boris Parsadanjan
 * Sonata for solo cello (1973)
 * Paul Patterson
 * Suite, Op. 62
 * Sergei Pavlenko
 * Sonata for solo cello (1983)
 * Krzysztof Penderecki
 * Capriccio per Siegfried Palm (1968)
 * Per Slava (1986)
 * Suite for Solo Cello (2013) [Expanded version of previously published "Divertimento"]
 * George Perle
 * Cello Sonata (1947)
 * Hebrew Melodies
 * Vincent Persichetti
 * Solo Cello Sonata, Op. 54
 * Sven Holger Philippsen
 * Cellosolosonate Nr.1 in 4 Sätzen (1988)
 * Praeludium - Vivace e con fuoco
 * Élégie (Adagio con affetto)
 * Rondo vivacissimo


 * Carlo Alfredo Piatti
 * 12 Caprices, Op. 25
 * 1 in G minor: Allegro quasi presto
 * 2 in E-flat major: Andante Religioso
 * 3 in B-flat major: Moderato
 * 4 in D minor: Allegretto
 * 5 in F major: Allegro comodo
 * 6 in A-flat major: Adagio Largamente
 * 7 in C major: Maestoso
 * 8 in A minor: Moderato ma energico
 * 9 in D major: Allegro
 * 10 in B minor: Allegro deciso
 * 11 in G major: Adagio. Allegro
 * 12 in E minor: Allegretto


 * Capriccio on the cavatina "I tuoi frequenti palpiti" from ‘’Niobe’’ by Giovanni Pacini, Op. 22
 * Gregor Piatigorsky
 * Syrinx
 * A Stroll
 * Ástor Piazzolla
 * 6 Tango Etudes (arr. Karttunen)
 * Wolfgang Plagge
 * Jakobsstigen, Op. 20 : Fantasy (1983)
 * Music , Op. 54 (1990)
 * Peteris Plakidis
 * Two Variations for solo cello (1976)
 * Robert H.P. Platz
 * Senko-hana-bi (In Yoshitake's garden) (1997–2000)
 * Conrad Pope
 * Sonata for Violoncello alone (1972)
 * Gerhard Präsent
 * A Rayas for violoncello solo (2001–02)
 * Sergei Prokofiev
 * Solo Cello Sonata, Op. 133 (1953) (unfinished; completed by Blok in 1996)
 * March from Music for Children, Op. 65 - (ed. Piatigorsky)

R

 * Nikolai Rakov
 * Waltz for solo cello
 * Shulamit Ran
 * Fantasy Variations (2003)
 * Alexander Raskatov
 * Dramatic Games for solo cello (1979)
 * Kyrie Eleison (1992)
 * Einojuhani Rautavaara
 * Sonata, Op. 46 (1969)
 * Max Reger
 * 3 Suites, Op. 131c (1914)
 * Suite No. 1 in G major
 * Suite No. 2 in D minor
 * Suite No. 3 in A minor
 * Aribert Reimann
 * Solo II (1981)
 * Phillip Rhodes
 * Three Pieces
 * Alan Ridout
 * Partita (1959)
 * Wolfgang Rihm
 * Great (1972)
 * Joaquin Rodrigo
 * Como una fantasía (1979)
 * Scott Roller
 * Mutamusic (1983)
 * Bernhard Romberg
 * Sonata in E minor Op. 38 No. 1
 * Sonata in G major Op. 38 No. 2
 * Lucia Ronchetti
 * Forward and downward, turning neither to the left nor to the right (2017)
 * Ned Rorem
 * After Reading Shakespeare Nine movements alone (written for Sharon Robinson; 1980)
 * Hilding Rosenberg
 * Intermezzo (1974)
 * Miklos Rozsa
 * Toccata capricciosa, Op. 36 (1979; in memory of Piatigorsky)
 * Edmund Rubbra
 * Improvisation, Op. 124 (pub. 1967)
 * Elena Ruehr
 * Lift (2013) for solo cello, premiered at MIT (written for Jennifer Kloetzel)
 * Cricket the Fiddler (2020), commissioned by Jennifer Kloetzel, solo cello, premiered online October 2020, ca 8’
 * Cloud Forest (2015) solo cello, 8 minutes, commissioned by Rhonda Rider


 * Peter Ruzicka
 * Sonata, Op. 9 (1969)
 * Stille Four Epilogues (1976)

S

 * Kaija Saariaho
 * Petals (1988)
 * Près (1992)
 * Spins & Spells (1997)
 * Sept Papillons (2000)
 * Aulis Sallinen
 * Elegy for Sebastian Knight, Op. 10 (1964)
 * Sonata, Op. 26 (1971)
 * Vadim Salmanov
 * Monologue for solo cello (1970)
 * Esa-Pekka Salonen
 * Yta III (1987)
 * Timothy Salter
 * Scintilla for solo cello (2003)
 * David Sampson
 * Three Arguments for unaccompanied cello (1993)
 * Ruben Sarkisjan
 * Cercio Ceclamando (Cycle of Declamations) for solo cello (2001)
 * Ahmed Adnan Saygun
 * Partita, Op. 31 (1954)
 * Robert Saxton
 * Sonata on a Theme of Sir William Walton (1999)
 * Giacinto Scelsi
 * Triphon (1956)
 * Trilogie (1957/65)
 * Voyages (1985)
 * Maknongan (1976)
 * Gerhard Schedl
 * Aus Zwei Stücke aus der Schatz-Truhe
 * Peter Schickele (P. D. Q. Bach)
 * Vermillion Suite (1987)
 * Suite No. 1 All By Its Lonesome
 * Suite No. 2 All By Its Lonesome
 * Josef Schillinger
 * Dance Suite for solo cello, Op.20 (1928)
 * Thomas Daniel Schlee
 * Three Signs, Op. 53 (2002)
 * Friedemann Schmidt-Mechau
 * Aposiopesis Music for violoncello (1990)
 * Morgenlachen (Morning Laughter) Music for violoncello (1997)
 * Fehlversteck (Flawed Hide-Out) Five musical sketches for a cellist (2007)
 * Ent-Gegnung (Re-Tort) music for cello (2020)
 * Artur Schnabel (1882–1951)
 * Sonata (in four movements) (1931)
 * Alfred Schnittke
 * Klingende Buchstaben (Sounding Letters) (1988)
 * Madrigal in Memoriam Oleg Kagan (1990)
 * Improvisation (1993)
 * Franz Schubert
 * Erlkönig - Le Roi des Aulnes (The Erlking or Elf King; adapted in 1890 by Bernhard Cossmann
 * Gunther Schuller
 * Fantasy, Op. 19 (1960)
 * Laura Schwendinger
 * All the Pretty Horses (2009)
 * Primavera Trasformata(2020)
 * Salvatore Sciarrino
 * Due Studi (1947)
 * Ai Limiti Della Notte (1984)
 * Peter Sculthorpe
 * Requiem (1979)
 * Threnody (In memory of Stuart Challender) (1991)
 * Into the Dreaming (1993)
 * Tailitnama Song (1997)
 * Roger Sessions
 * Six Pieces (1966)
 * Rodion Shchedrin
 * Russian Tunes (Russkie Naigryshi), Op. 79 (1990)
 * Alexander Shchetynsky
 * Sonata (2001)
 * Bright Sheng
 * Diu Diu Dong (Seven Tunes Heard in China) (1995)
 * Makoto Shinohara
 * Evolution (1986–90)
 * Jean Sibelius
 * Theme and Variations in D minor (written in 1887, discovered in 1995)
 * Sergei Slonimsky
 * 3 Pieces for solo cello (1964)
 * Haskell Small
 * Suite
 * Dmitry Smirnov
 * Monogram, Op. 58A (1990)
 * Elegy in memory of Edison Denisov, Op. 97a (1997)
 * Family Portrait, Op. 108 (1998)
 * Postlude in memory of Alfred Schnittke, Op. 112A (2000)
 * Bagatelle, Op. 128A (2001)
 * Saga to S.A. Gubaidulina, Op. 130 (2001)
 * Naresh Sohal
 * Monody (1976)
 * Shades III
 * Shades IV (1983)
 * Giovanni Sollima
 * La luna (1986)
 * 6 Caprices (1987)
 * Segno (1992)
 * Anno uno (1993)
 * The Songlines (1993)
 * Lamentatio (1998)
 * Pasolini fragments (1998)
 * Alone (1999)
 * Halsey Stevens
 * Sonata (five movements - Introduction, Ciaccona, Scherzo, Notturno, Finale) (1958)
 * Peter Vukmirovic Stevens
 * August Ruins (2010)
 * Tempus Edax Rerum (2011)
 * Etude for Raising the Dead (2011)
 * Versatile Hammers (2011)
 * Thunder, Perfect Mind (2012)
 * Mark Summer
 * Julie-O
 * Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
 * Kablimba (all pizzicato)
 * Viktor Suslin
 * Chanson contre raison Sonata (1984)
 * Schatz-insel (1990)
 * Randall Svane
 * Suite No. 1 (1979)
 * Suite No. 2 (1982)
 * Suite No. 3 (1988)
 * Takehiko Sueoka
 * Cello Sonata Unaccompanied (1997)

T

 * Emil Tabakov
 * Bis (1982)
 * Josef Tal
 * Suite for cello (1937)
 * Sonata for cello (1937)
 * Treatise for cello (1973)
 * In Memoriam of a Dear Friend for cello (1985)
 * Giuseppe Tartini
 * L'Arte dell'Arco (The Art of the Bow) 50 variations on Corelli's Gavotte from Op.5, No.10 (1758) (transcribed by Paul Bazelaire)
 * John Tavener
 * Thrinos (1990)
 * Chant (1995)
 * Boris Tchaikovsky
 * Suite  (in six movements) (1946)
 * Suite in five movements (1960)
 * Alexander Tcherepnin
 * Suite, Op. 76 (1946)
 * James Tenney
 * Cellogram for Joel Krosnick (1971)
 * Dimitri Terzakis
 * Omega 1 (1978)
 * Dialog der Seele mit ihrem Schatten (1991; for Siegfried Palm)
 * Augusta Read Thomas
 * Spring Song (1995)
 * Jukka Tiensuu
 * Balzo
 * Ton That Tiet
 * Bois terre
 * Boris Tishchenko
 * Sonata No. 1, Op. 18 (1960)
 * Sonata No. 2, Op. 76 (1979)
 * Ernst Toch
 * Impromptu in three movements, Op. 90c (1963)
 * Glosa (2004)
 * Javier Torres Maldonado
 * Tiento (2000; also version for cello and electronics, 2003)
 * Paul Tortelier
 * Suite in D minor (1944)
 * Donald Tovey
 * Solo Cello Sonata in D, Op. 50
 * Sulkhan Tsintsadze
 * Chonguri (Tchonguri) (1978)
 * Sonata (1975)

U

 * Chinary Ung
 * Kshe Buon (1981)

V

 * Fabio Vacchi
 * In alba mia, dir... (1995)
 * Johanna Varner
 * The Windmill, MCV 2001 (2019)
 * Pēteris Vasks
 * Gramata cellam (Das Buch) (1978)
 * Sándor Veress
 * Sonata (1935)
 * Carl Vine
 * Inner World (1994)
 * Param Vir
 * Flame (1997)
 * Giovanni Battista Vitali
 * Partite per il Violone (1680)
 * Partita sopra diverse Sonate
 * Antonio Vivaldi
 * Cello Sonatas RV 38-47 (c. 1720-1730)
 * Vladimir Vlasov
 * Ballade for solo cello
 * Improvisation for solo cello
 * Wladimir Vogel
 * Poeme (1974)

W

 * Wolfram Wagner
 * Sonata, Op. 31 (1990)
 * Gwyneth Walker
 * In Memoriam (1980)
 * William Walton
 * Passacaglia (1980)
 * Rodney Waschka II
 * Ravel Remembers Fascism (1991)
 * Graham Waterhouse
 * Three Pieces for Solo Cello, Op. 28 (1992)
 * Threnody (2002)
 * in nomine for cello solo (2013)
 * Variations for Cello Solo (2019)
 * Ben Weber
 * Dance, Op. 28 (1948)
 * Dance, Op. 31 (1949)
 * Mieczysław Weinberg (or Vainberg)
 * Solo Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 72 (1960)
 * Solo Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 86 (1965)
 * Solo Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 106 (1971)
 * Solo Cello Sonata No. 4, Op. 140 (1986)
 * Twenty-four Preludes, Op. 100 (1968)
 * Egon Wellesz
 * Cello Sonata, Op. 31 (1920)
 * Suite op. 39 (1924)
 * Richard Wernick
 * Suite No. 1 (2003)
 * Suite No. 2 (2007)
 * David Wilde
 * The Cellist of Sarajevo - A Lament in Rondo Form, Op. 12
 * Adrian Williams
 * Solo Cello Sonata (1976–77)
 * John Williams
 * Three Pieces  (2001)
 * Richard Edward Wilson
 * Lord Chesterfield to his Son (1987)
 * Music  (1971)
 * Stefan Wolpe
 * Piece Alone (1966)
 * William Wordsworth
 * Sonata for Violoncello (1961)
 * Charles Wuorinen
 * Cello Variations I to Fred Sherry (1970)
 * Cello Variations II (1975)
 * Cello Variations III (1997)

X

 * Iannis Xenakis
 * Kottos (1977)
 * Nomos Alpha (1966)

Y

 * James Yannatos
 * Sonata
 * Yehuda Yannay
 * I can't fathom it... and projections (1993)
 * Tangoul Morṭii (Tango of Death) (1997)
 * Eugène Ysaÿe
 * Cello Sonata, Op. 28 (1924)
 * Isang Yun
 * Glissées (1970) for Siegfried Palm
 * Seven Etudes (1993)
 * Ludmilla Yurina
 * Irrlicht for solo cello (2000)
 * Iraida Yusupova
 * Dreams' Music for solo cello (1990)

Z

 * Edson Zampronha
 * Elegia and electroacoustics (2009)
 * Two Takes (2008)
 * Toccata (1989)
 * Bernd Alois Zimmermann
 * Sonata (1959–60)
 * Short Studies (4)  (1970)
 * Sergei Zhukov
 * Sonata-Capriccio for solo cello (1980)
 * Paraphrase on van Eyck's poem De Tuinman en de Dood for solo cello (2003)
 * Vassily Zverev
 * Sonata-Fantasy for solo cello