Prokofiev wrote the Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. True, the sonata is tightly argued, formal in design and full of studious effects. Its form can be easily discerned. But it also radiates barely reined-in passion as freely as a sparkler throws out sparks. Form doesn't mean feeble.
Musicians can get back at bureaucrats in more ways than one.
The Shostakovich Sonata in D Minor for Cello and Piano, Po. 40 is also humorous and quizzical, but more tongue in cheek than the Prokofiev. Searching, probing and philosophical as it is, it's also divinely positive and hopeful. Shostakovich had an arduous artistic life, but he seldom lost confidence in the power of art to touch and heal. The sonata is one of the cornerstones of the repertoire, and Finckel and Han have played it for years.