Gabriel Fauré began working on a cello and piano sonata in 1880 and, as it was his usual costume, first wrote the slow movement. It is likely that this movement was premiered that same year, but eventually Fauré gave up his plans of writing a sonata and, in 1883, published and re-premiered the piece with the new title Élégie, Op. 24. Even though the first version kept the cello and piano instrumentation, the work was later scored for orchestra by Fauré. This new version both appeared in print and was premiered in 1901. The piece is dedicated to Jules Loeb, who also happened to be the cellist who premiered the piece. A normal performance takes around 7 minutes.
