The Sonata was written in 1963 when Weisgarber’s interest in Japanese music was in its infancy. Although its predominant style reflects his earlier work in familiar 20th-century idioms, the Sonata does contain a hint of the cultural immersion that was to come. The piece Weisgarber himself regarded as his first « cross-cultural » work (his Sonata for Violoncello Unaccompanied) was not written until 1965.