SOLO SUITE BEFORE BACHJACQUES BUISSON; LE SEIUR DE MACHY; NICOLAS HOTMAN; MARIN MARAIS;SAINTE-COLOMBE THE ELDER CHARLES MEDLAM - BASS VIOL FLEUR DE LYS - THE SOLO SUITE BEFORE BACH - FRENCH BASS VIOLSUITES 1660 - 1700JACQUES BUISSON: SUITE IN D MINORLE SEIUR DE MACHY: SUITE NO 4 IN G MAJORNICOLAS HOTMAN: SUITE IN D MINORMARIN MARAIS: TOMBEAU POUR MONSIEUR DE SAINTE-COLOMBESAINTE-COLOMBE THE ELDER: SUITE IN D MINOR

The Hungarian Emanuel Moór enjoyed huge success in Europe at the beginning of the 20C, associated with the great musicians of the day, writing for Ysaÿe, Cortot, Thibaud and Casals, who called him 'a genius'. Two sonatas, dedicated to Piatti and to Casals are heard alongside the 1909 Quartet for 4 cellos, first performed by Pablo Casals, Joseph Salmon, André Hekking and Diran Alexanian. Today this music is largely neglected, and this Cd, recorded by artists who have embraced the works and re-introduced them to the concert public, will help to restore the reputation of a once revered composer. Programme essay by Andrew Stewart.

Mendelssohn: Complete Works for Cello & Piano

Klengel was one of the most important figures in the history of the cello.

Julius Klengel (1859-1933) was one of the most important figures in the history of the cello. He studied composition in his native Leipzig with Salomon Jadassohn (who taught Grieg and Delius) and whose own music has been recorded, very successfully, of late. Klengel made his debut at 17 whilst a member of the Leipzig Gewandhaus, whose ranks he had joined two years earlier. His pupils at the Leipzig Conservatoire included some of the most prominent players of the twentieth century: Feuermann, Suggia, Piatigorsky, Edmund Kurtz, Paul Grümmer and William Pleeth amongst them. He composed quite widely, and was the recipient of many dedications and gave many premieres. Reger was a particularly good colleague but he was a good friend of Brahms, as well as Taneyev amongst many others.
 
This celebratory disc intersperses some of Klengel’s own 78 discs between original compositions and adds up to a fine portrait. His Capriccio was written in 1905 and dedicated to his most flamboyant student, Guilhermina Suggia. It makes appropriately strong demands whilst basing itself strongly on the introduction of Schumann’s Op.121 Violin Sonata. There then follow some testing variations, and serious investigations of every aspect of left and right hand technique. No wonder it used to be a competition favourite.
 
Three Pieces for two cellos and organ was published in 1931. There’s a definite sense of poignancy as the two cellos entwine supported by the organ - and a strong element of spiritual sensitivity too, as well as quiet charm. The Little Suite is in five movements, Klengel ensuring the three cellist’s parts are cleverly distributed and not tangled up. There’s a coquettish Gavotte, a Borodin or maybe even Taneyev-like Largo and a confident Fughette to end. He goes one better in the Impromptu for four cellos, which opens as a hymnal affair but then bursts into the Wedding March most unexpectedly and most amusingly. The final piece is the poignant Hymnus, for twelve cellos, dedicated to the memory of the conductor Artur Nikisch at whose funeral it was played in 1922. It exemplifies his gift for beautiful part writing and rich romanticism.
 
Klengel’s own playing can be heard in four works - his portamenti are pervasive, often promoting pathos (as in the Tartini Adagio), rhythm solid, technique powerful (try the tricksy Crossmann Taranetlla) and reasonable tone. I wish the examples had been dated with full discographic details however. The Bach Sarabande is a fine performance and I know was recorded in 1927.
 
Raphael Wallfisch takes on the finger and wrist crunching challenges of the Capriccio on a theme of Schumann. His cellistic and other colleagues named in the head note and those in the twelve-strong Cello Classics Ensemble perform admirably and have been well recorded. The booklet is attractive. Maybe it’s time for some large-scale Klengel works to be recorded. How about his Double Concerto for starters?
 
-- Jonathan Woolf , MusicWeb International

Twice a winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition, Alexander Rudin is arguably the foremost cellist playing in Russia today. Already featured in 'Great Moments', Rudin brings to Cello Classics a stunning recording of the complete works for cello by the much neglected Soviet composer Nikolai Miaskovsky. Spanning from the 1st Sonata of 1911 to the Concerto of 1944 the works reflect the composers natural gift of melody and deep emotional expression. This ravishing recording is played with great eloquence by performers entirely at one with the genre.

This unusual programme highlights an area of cello repertoire largely unexplored on CD. There is a substantial body of fine music written throughout the ages for two cellos by leading composers and virtuosi of the instrument. This recording will surprise and delight listeners more accustomed to the sound world of the cello sonata.

The Englishman Stephen Paxton flourished in London in the late 18th century. Famous as a composer of glees and catches he wrote a large number of works for his own instrument, the cello. Mostly recorded here for the first time Sebastian Comberti brings these forgotten works to light accompanied by a continuo team of Ruth Alford and Maggie Cole, with The Pantheon Band.

HAYDN Cello Concertos: in C; in D. ZUMSTEEG Cello Concerto in A • Sebastian Comberti (vc); O of the Age of Enlightenment • CELLO CC 1023 (69:05)


The trouble with second-rate composers is that typically they seem to be trying just as hard as the geniuses. It’s a strain for us, and must have been for them. So I am happy to report that Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (1760–1802), whose shorter life was tucked inside the years of Haydn’s (1732–1809), has written a charming, melodically satisfying, and unpretentious cello concerto. It is evidently a student work; it is certainly a work without angst. Its Andante, though, is lovely. There are no churning depths, but don’t some creatures look ravishing just wading? The other good news is that Sebastian Comberti is a consummate cellist with a beautiful tone and taste, and the orchestra is equally adept and musical. Of course, few listeners will be buying this disc for the Zumsteeg. The two Haydn concertos have often been recorded; for years the only recordings of the Concerto in D in my collection were by Fournier and by Feuermann. Since then, Rostropovich made them one of his specialties and there are famous recordings as well by Jacqueline du Pre and by early-music specialists such as Christophe Coin. Still, there is much to recommend in this new recording, including the bright, clear recorded sound, which is better than the sound on any of the above; the polished orchestral playing; and the tasteful, warm-hearted soloist. Comberti has energy, humor, and taste that make these recordings sound really like Haydn, and not Mozart manqué . Then there’s the Zumsteeg instead of the more typical addition, the Boccherini, whose charms would be limited even if Boccherini had composed every note.


FANFARE: Michael Ullman

Award-winning Chinese/Australian cellist Li-Wei makes his first Cd for Cello Classics with a programme that draws on his formidable talents, including a specially commissioned work by Ho Chee Kong.

Comprising six of the finest cellists in South Africa, I Grandi Violoncellisti have made this kind of repertoire their own. Working for many years with some of South Africa's finest composers they present an eclectic mix of new commissions and repertoire works, centring on a common theme of dance. Led by British-born Peter Martens, the group explores the sumptuous sound of 6 cellos to its full potential.

Capriccioso

Includes work(s) for cello by Jean Balthasar Tricklir. Ensemble: Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Alexander Rudin. Soloist: Alexander Rudin.

Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata - written 'in the style of a concerto' - has long been considered one of the great challenges in the chamber music repertoire. Here a recently discovered transcription by the composer's pupil and friend Carl Czerny receives its world premiere recording by the distinguished partnership of Raphael Wallfisch and John York. Coupled with Beethoven's own transcription of his Horn Sonata and the rarely heard 'Eyeglass' Duet with Yuko Inoue, this Cd fulfils Cello Classics' remit to bring rare and neglected repertoire to the world stage.

Includes work(s) for cello by Domenico Gabrielli and others. Soloists: Richard Tunnicliffe, James Johnstone, Paula Chateauneuf, Sebastian Comberti.

Brahms: Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34 - Weber: String Qui