Grand Duo concertant (Chopin and Franchomme)

The Grand Duo concertant in E major, B. 70 is a composition for piano and cello, written jointly by Frédéric Chopin and Auguste Franchomme. It was written in 1832 and published in 1833.[1]

Chopin had initially been contracted by his publishers to write a work for piano based on Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Robert le diable. He had attended a performance and liked the work, but was disinclined to write a "fantasia" (as he put it in a letter to his family) on another composer's music. However, his friend Franchomme persuaded him to jointly write a piece for cello and piano, using themes from the opera. Chopin devised the general structure of the piece and wrote the piano part, with Franchomme writing the cello part.[2] The piece was published under both their names, and was favourably reviewed by Robert Schumann.[3] Chopin later dedicated his Cello Sonata in G minor to Franchomme,[4] and they remained close friends until Chopin's death in 1849.[4]

The piece appears in catalogues of Chopin's works as B. 70.