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Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher
$14.99CDBrilliant Classics
Nov 21, 2025BRI96975 -
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Weinberg: Piano Trio; Violin Sonatina; Double Bass Sonata
$18.99CDCPO
Apr 29, 2014777804-2 -
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Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 - Ravel: Piano Concerto in
$14.99CDIdil Biret Archive
Sep 29, 20098571272 -
BACH CELLO SUITES 1-6 PABLO CASALS
$15.99CDIMPORTS
Sep 11, 2012IMT1007777.2 -
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Bach: Complete Cello Suites (The 2023 Sessions) / Queyras
$25.61CDHARMONIA MUNDI
Oct 18, 2024HMF90238890.2 -
BACH: CELLO SUITES
$14.38CDELOQUENCE AUSTRALIA
Nov 15, 2019ELOA8285235.2 -
Daniel Shafran Vol 2 - Bach: 6 Suites For Cello Solo
$40.99CDDoremi
May 06, 2003DHR-7833-4 -
SIX CELLO SUITES
$19.99CDVOX
Sep 18, 2015VXRD7911.2 -
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CALLING THE MUSE (LP)
$20.99VinylAlpha
Aug 24, 2018ALPHA429 -
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On SaleBeethoven: Cello Sonatas / Weilerstein, Barnatan
CD$29.99$22.99PENTATONE
Jun 10, 2022PTC5186884 -
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Bach: Organ Works / Guillou
$37.99CDSono Luminus
Feb 23, 2010DSL-92104 -
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On SaleBach: Sonatas, Partitas & Suites / Roed
CD$18.99$14.99Ondine
Jun 08, 2018ODE 1323-2D -
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On SaleHommage A Zuzana Ruzickova
CD$28.99$21.99Supraphon
Jan 29, 2013SU4117-2
Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher
Weinberg: Piano Trio; Violin Sonatina; Double Bass Sonata
WEINBERG Piano Trio. 1,2,4 Sonatina for Violin and Piano. 1,3 Sonata for Solo Bass 5 • 1 Elisaveta Blumina (pn); 2 Kolja Blacher (vn); 3 Erez Ofer (vn); 4 Johannes Moser (vc); 5 Nabil Shehata (db) • CPO 777804-2 (68:23)
The music of Mieczys?aw Weinberg continues to be issued, and continues to impress. Like his British counterpart, York Bowen, Weinberg was a composer trapped in time and place, and it is good that their very different musics are now coming to the fore with such regularity. One of the wonderful things about this disc, aside from the committed, intense playing of the instrumentalists, is the sound: crisp and clear, with only a very little reverb, which brings the sound of the instruments into sharp focus and makes the listener pay attention to the music.
Like Bowen, Weinberg was largely a tonal composer, although heavily influenced by Bartók and his personal friend Shostakovich. Unlike Shostakovich, however, Weinberg seldom engaged in whining, overwrought musical breast-beating; his aesthetic was geared at bringing out intense personal feelings, but always with good taste and a less mocking or posturing tone. The piano trio that opens this disc is a perfect example. Weinberg immediately grabs our attention with a strident forte tremolo on the violin, and this sets the pace for the musical marvels that follow. The intensity of this piece was inspired, so the notes suggest, by Weinberg’s sight of Polish mothers with their children hugging the legs of Russian horses, begging the Soviet soldiers to let them come over because the Nazis were after them. It was that horrible, that terrifying, and the first movement of this trio reflects that mood. So, too, does the raw power of the ensuing Toccata, which builds up to a powerful fugue; and even the slow movement (“Poem”), which begins softly, still has an undercurrent of menace and unrest, which breaks out in the middle of the movement into an ostinato piano figure, receding in volume and intensity to a quiet, almost submissive ending with the violin playing soft, muted passages. The finale does not toy with a fugue, as did the second movement, but builds up through its quiet opening into a really complex and powerful fugue—oddly enough, based on entirely different thematic material from the opening, which sounds like a Bachian fugue theme. This is clearly one of Weinberg’s masterpieces.
Where do we go from here? To the sonatina for violin and piano from 1946, a piece that sounds like the diametric opposite of the trio. Set primarily in D Minor, but vacillating in and out of F major, the sonatina has touches of melancholy about it, but is primarily a lyrical work with what may be termed episodes of sadness. Here, too, some of the melancholy passages sound related to Jewish folk music without ever really using genuine themes. But ever and anon, Weinberg holds your interest through his amazingly creative sense of construction (would that many of our modern-day American wunderkind composers listen to his work and pay heed to what he does). Nothing in Weinberg’s work is ever flippant, thoughtless, or peripheral; he thinks in terms of the whole picture without sacrificing the detail of internal episodes.
One should be forgiven for thinking in advance that to end this disc with a solo sonata for the rather lugubrious-sounding double bass would be a bit of a downer; after all, solo bass sonatas don’t exactly grow on trees. Yet, after an almost predictably slow first movement, Weinberg becomes much more involved in writing music and not necessarily just writing for the bass, if you know what I mean. His creative forces flowed in one direction, which was towards the creation of fascinating musical forms, and never towards empty virtuosity or just “filling space” with his music. Thus the potential interpreter needs to stay focused not so much on the technical challenges (and there are many in this sonata) as on the musical progression and what it means in terms of expressive content. (I fond it interesting, in the notes, to read that bassist Shehata thinks of it as more “similar to a suite in which each movement is structured very clearly thematically.”) I also noted that, aside from its musical marvels, Weinberg manages to elicit some very interesting sounds from the bass, including percussive effects that almost make it resound like an organ—or, in the last movement, pushing it up into the cello range.
The playing of each musician on this disc, from pianist-director Blumina to double bassist Shehata, is simply astonishing, so deeply rooted in the music that it seems to be an extension of the notes on the page, not an extension of a virtuoso who says to the listener, “Look at me, I’m wonderful!” It is virtuosity that consistently serves the composer and his message, not the ego of the performer. This is a truly great disc.
FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 - Ravel: Piano Concerto in
BACH CELLO SUITES 1-6 PABLO CASALS
Bach: Complete Cello Suites (The 2023 Sessions) / Queyras
BACH: CELLO SUITES
Daniel Shafran Vol 2 - Bach: 6 Suites For Cello Solo
SIX CELLO SUITES
CALLING THE MUSE (LP)
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas / Weilerstein, Barnatan
Cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan present a complete recording of Beethoven’s cello sonatas. Composed over a span of nearly twenty years, these works not only contain some of the most appealing and lyrical music Beethoven wrote, but also allow the listener to trace his exceptional artistic development. The third sonata, moreover, is a watershed in sonata writing, arguably presenting the cello and piano as fully equal partners for the first time in music history. The richness of these works fully comes to life in the interpretation of Weilerstein and Barnatan, who have – besides glorious solo careers – also proven to be one of the most congenial chamber music tandems of our times. Their wonderful musical partnership and profound friendship shines through in each of these sonatas.
Since signing an exclusive contract with PENTATONE, Alisa Weilerstein has released Transfigured Night (2018) as well as Bach’s Cello Suites (2020), while also featuring on Old Souls (2019) and Inon Barnatan’s Beethoven Piano Concertos Part 1 (2019), on which she performed the composer’s Triple Concerto. This album was part of Inon Barnatan’s complete Beethoven piano concertos recordings on PENTATONE, of which Part 2 appeared in 2020. 2021 saw the release of his solo album Time Traveler’s Suite.
REVIEWS:
Cellist Alisa Weilerstein has recorded major repertory works and seems to be ascending into the top rank of the world's cellists. This set of Beethoven's five cello sonatas should hasten that process. Weilerstein is accompanied here by her usual partner Inon Barnatan, and their long experience as collaborators shows up in the extremely careful balances they achieve in these sonatas and their shifting relationships between the cello and the piano. Yet even more compelling is the sense of musical narrative they create here. A standout reading of these much-recorded works.
-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)
The test piece for anyone sampling these excellent sets is the best known sonata, No 3 in A major Op 69, in which piano and cello find full equality. A peerless technician, Weilerstein embraces both the expansive lyricism and fragile intensity of this work, the singing melodies contrasted with explosive “middle period” drama. She is compelling, too, in the Op 102 sonatas.
-- The Guardian (Fiona Maddocks)
Bach: Organ Works / Guillou
This is a reissue of six separate discs Jean Guillou recorded for Dorian in 1987 (1 and 6) and 1990 (2–5), issued separately in 1990 and 1993. I couldn’t find reviews of them in the Fanfare Archive, which doesn’t go back that far. Elsewhere on the Internet, however, one finds both lavish praise and caveats, the latter because these are not strict readings of Bach’s music but contain moments in which Guillou, himself a composer, dares to improvise certain notes or passages, which brings the listener to decide whether or not such an approach is valid.
One online review said that Guillou plays these works much like Glenn Gould played Bach on piano, but where Gould’s reinterpretations extended only to tempo and phrasing, Guillou also adds or changes the music. As you can expect, reactions to this vary widely, from one Amazon reviewer who said (as I would) that “he improvises in such a way that casual listeners never suspect … that what they are hearing is not part of the piece they think they are hearing,” to Joel Warren Lidz, Ph.D., who flatly states that “his Dorian recordings are a joke in my opinion.” Both reactions are possible depending on your perspective. On the one hand, improvisation was accepted Baroque practice in solo instrumental music. Yehuda Hanani recorded Bach’s cello suites in a similar manner. But on the other hand, Bach’s music is considered sacrosanct; what one is permitted to do in Couperin, Scarlatti, or Vivaldi is simply not done in Bach. His works are considered complete and immutable.
In the final analysis, however, the most important question is, does it work, or is it really obtrusive? That must be left to the decision of each auditor. I say that it works. Should, or could, this approach be applied to other works by Bach? I think so, particularly in A Musical Offering and Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2. But, again, this is purely subjective and speculative.
As for Guillou’s playing there can be no argument. He is not only a virtuoso of the first rank, but shows a remarkable grasp of line and structure, rhythm and color. His feet and fingers fly so swiftly over the instrument that one is left in awe that he is also able to change registration, sometimes in the very middle of a passage. His playing is indeed relative to Gould’s in the sense that quick tempos and rhythmic acuity (almost a little clipped at times, like Gould) are hallmarks of his style. But also like Gould at various stages of his career, Guillou does not slough off or rush legato passages, but lingers a bit over them (as in the Trio Sonata BWV 525) with loving affection. He is, above all, French, and therefore brings a very Gallic sensibility to this music. Indeed, going through this set, one may be struck, as I was, by the sheer variety of moods he is able to evoke. Guillot clearly views Bach’s organ music as both evocative and structural, and so does not ignore either aspect of the music.
Of course, this set only includes about half of Bach’s organ music, not counting the concertos or spurious works given BWV numbers. Guillot made a second, complete, set issued by Philips on 12 CDs in 1999. You can find reference to it, and a photo of the box, at bach-cantatas.com/NVP/Guillou.htm#Organ2, but neither a catalog number nor an outlet where you can buy it outside of Amazon. The fact that it appears to be available only in Bach’s home country tells me that the Germans love his playing a lot more than American or British musicological pedants do.
Considering that the set is incomplete, I wondered why one whole disc was devoted to the Goldberg Variations rather than more of the bona-fide organ music. Listening explained why. Not only does Guillou view this music as an opportunity to (literally) pull out all the stops, but the score also gives him license to improvise beyond one’s expectations or belief. He turns the very first variation, for instance, into a two-part contrapuntal dialogue, taken at a rapid clip, but nothing in the entire boxed set prepared me for his playing of Variation 14. This will absolutely blow you away—I haven’t heard its like in 40 years of listening to organ playing, Bach, the Goldberg Variations , or any combination thereof. When it started, I thought for sure this was speeded up from the original tape for release. It seemed to me impossible that any human being, particularly one in his 70s at the time of recording, could play this fast. But there it is.
Two organs are used, discs 2–5 being recorded at the Tonhalle, Zurich, while discs 1 and 6 (the Goldberg Variations ) were recorded on the special Klueker organ that Guillou himself designed at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in Alpe d’Huez, France. Both are modern in sound, with a wide variety of stops and registrations that add considerable color. The sound quality is spectacular, combining both a close perspective for brilliant passages and atmospheric roominess for quieter and more muted ones. If you insist on authentic-organ performances, there are not one but two series by Helmut Walcha, in a 10-CD set (mono) on Deutsche Grammophon 000185602 and a 12-disc set (stereo) on Archiv 463712; or the much better-recorded (and less dryly performed) 11-CD set by George Ritchie on Raven 875, possibly your best buy at around $60. Yet my personal recommendation for a “straight” set played by a master on older organs goes to the great Marie-Claire Alain (her third and last set, 14 CDs on Erato 96358, by all accounts her finest).
Your decision to acquire this Guillou set will, of course, depend on the issues described above, but I really think you owe it to yourself to hear it. Besides, it is a bargain, selling for a little more than the price of two of the single discs, if you can find them (not all are still in print). I recommend it, even as the only set you may want of Bach’s organ works, unless you are a purist or a completist.
FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley
This six-CD set presents J. S. Bach’s great works for organ performed by Jean Guillou, a leading exponent of his instrument. The discs were recorded in 1987 and 1990 on the Kleuer organ of the Eglise Notre-Dame des Neiges at l’Alpe d’Huez and on the Kleuker-Steinmeyer organ of the Tonhalle in Zurich. These are both exceptionally fine instruments, with focused, clear tone throughout the range and well-differentiated voicing. Guillou’s performances are extremely intelligent, with well-thought-out registration and an excellent resultant layering of sound. Individual voices are brought appropriately to the foreground and the climaxes are solid, though never clogged with redundant sound. The use of registration is particularly refreshing in the context of the better-known works - Guillou’s sense of dialogue in the closing paragraph of the Toccata of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 is palpable, lending a new perspective to a work that is so often characterised by an indulgent wash of sound. The delineation of voices can be heard to good advantage, too, in the Chorale Preludes - the chorale melody occupies the foreground to a sufficient extent to be evident, but still at a level of translucency that allows Bach’s often startlingly innovative harmonic interpretation to shine through. Listen to In dulci jubilo, BWV 608 and An Wasserflüssen Babylon, BWV 653, for particularly interesting examples of this. Striking harmonic piquancy is imparted through judicious use of the Sesquialtera on the Positif, which some listeners may find disturbing at first; but once the ear has accustomed itself to this slightly unusual colour, it will be perceived as an enhancement to the harmonic color and as an excitingly innovative dimension to the sound-landscape.
Guillou’s employment of rhythm as an expressive medium is also impressive, and results in a momentum that is essentially horizontal: he allows the music’s harmonic characteristic to inform the vertical element and thus brings the melodic element to the fore. Such an interpretation becomes at once a celebration of Bach’s contrapuntal art and a realisation of its basis in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century vocal polyphony.
The booklet notes are clear and well-written, with the works appropriately grouped according to type; although those unfamiliar with musicological research connected with this music might appreciate a brief explanation of the credentials of the ubiquitously mentioned Peter Williams. There is enough technical detail to provide ‘signposts’ to guide a listener through the works; and informative historical data, too; as well as some enjoyable anecdotes (such as Hubert Parry’s word-setting of the subject of the G minor Fugue). Fascinating notes on the organs and full specifications of both are given, pleasingly enough. An authoritative and fascinating set of discs.
-- Em Marshall, MusicWeb International
Bach: Sonatas, Partitas & Suites / Roed
This new Ondine release by Danish-born recorder player Bolette Roed includes the music of Johann Sebastian Bach arranged for solo recorder. The works were arranged by Frans Brüggen (1934–2014), famous Dutch recorder player and conductor who was of the greatest importance to the movement of the historically informed performance practice. With the exception of his Partita BWV 1013, Bach wrote relatively few works for the recorder. However, composers like Bach and Vivaldi did themselves arrange many of their works for different instruments. From this point of view the work of arranging Bach’s solo cello and violin pieces for recorder is something what Bach himself could have done, had he been inspired by a talented recorder player himself at the time of his compositions. For this recording several different recorders were being chosen. For the 11 movements written for the violin original keys were kept by changing the recorders accordingly. The cello suites are being played by one recorder only by transposing the original keys down a minor second. Bolette Roed is an award-winning artist who regularly performs with major Danish orchestras as well as with early music ensembles and baroque orchestras in various countries. Roed strives to extend the instrument’s repertoire beyond its established role in Early Music, towards new frontiers of improvisation, folk, and world music. She further aspires to adapt canonical classical works to the recorder and stays in constant dialogue with and commissions new works from today’s composers.
Hommage A Zuzana Ruzickova
J. S. Bach – Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903, French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816, Concerto for Harpsichord No. 9 in G major, Op. 4 No. 1, BWV 980 Domenico Scarlatti – Sonatas (selection)* Manuel de Falla – Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello * Viktor Kalabis – Sei invenzioni canonici per cembalo, Op. 20 * Francis Poulenc – Concert champêtre – Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra * Jan Rychlík – Hommaggi gravicembalistici for Harpsichord * Bohuslav Martin? – Concerto for Harpsichord and Small Orchestra, H 246 * First time on CD
