Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans (1895-1952) was one of the most active musicians in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the Netherlands. To preserve the freedom of her compositional output and the impartiality of her works, Bosmans refused to join or teach any official musical institution. While all the other musicians were struggling to create pieces from the framework of German romanticism, she successfully incorporated the German romanticism into her pieces yet set a unique style of herself.

In the early life of Bosmans, she composed pieces for her fellow musicians. “Sonata for Cello and Piano” was dedicated to her cellist friend Matrix Loevensohn (1880-1943) in 1919. The compact design of structures, expressive singing melodies, the contrasting color of major and minor keys, and the use of whole tone scales stand out in this composition. In addition, the development of motives among all four movements and the echo of the first theme in the coda of the last movement enhances the integrity of the music. Being both a composer and a pianist, she notated in the perspective of both identities. Therefore, her use of musical terminology and indications supports and clarifies her musical intentions.

This study consists of four chapters. First chapter is an introduction to the study which includes the motivation, the purpose to the research, and the life of Henriette Bosmans. Second chapter is an analysis of the musical form and motives among the four movements. As a result of the analysis, the third chapter discusses the interpretation and issues that may be considered during performance. Fourth chapter concludes the research.

The researcher is hoping that through this study will give more awareness to the beauty of the work, creating interest in performing this sonata; also, to bring forth lesser-known composers and compositions that are not performed any more by musicians these days.