Francis Poulenc was a fluent writer of sonatas for solo wind instruments with piano, but, after some difficulties in completing the Cello Sonata, he enlisted the help of the work’s dedicatee, Pierre Fournier, who enabled him to finish the piece. Samuel Barber’s stormy Cello Sonata has close links with Brahms through its passionate declamations from the cello and meaningful counterpoint in the piano. The influence of Brahms is also deeply felt in Ernő Dohnányi’s Cello Sonata with its tense standoffs, beautiful lines and jubilant conclusion.