Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
Soldanella – Works for Violoncello Solo / Julius Berger
Wergo

Soldanella – Works for Violoncello Solo / Julius Berger

$20.99

Details

Composer
Adolf Busch, Walter Courvoisier, Max Reger, Donald Francis Tovey
Artist
Julius Berger
Format
CD
Label
Wergo
Released
Apr 07, 2023
Catalog #
WER74092
UPC
4010228740929

About

When Pablo Casals rediscovered the cello suites of Bach at the beginning of the 20th century, the novel thing about it was that he played them "senza basso", i.e. without piano accompaniment. In a time of music-historical over-maturity and experimentation, renowned composers soon came up with their own attempts, among them most famously Max Reger's "Solo Suites" and Kodály's "Solo Sonata", both written in 1915. The cellist Julius Berger has made amazing discoveries especially in this early history of new cello solo music and presents them here as a performer in a most lively way. In the accompanying booklet, he enriches the production by adding exciting and witty stories worth knowing about the composers recorded here and their works. The introduction and transition to the new discoveries is made with the second of Reger's three suites, which Julius Berger comments on in an informative and very personal way.

Adolf Busch, on the one hand an eminent musician of the best German (emigrant) tradition, a world-famous violinist, and on the other hand a composer who is at the same time a highly experienced instrumentalist, wrote a Suite dedicated to his cellist brother Hermann in 1914, which is beyond neo-baroque models as regards the character of its movements, as well as a "Prelude and Fugue" from 1922, such as often composed by Bach, but not for cello. The British composer and musicologist Sir Donald Francis Tovey was a friend of the Busch brothers and admired as a genius by Casals. His expansive "Passacaglia" reminiscent of Bach's "Ciaconna" is admirably mastered with regard to its large-scale form and dates from 1910. The program is completed by a suite that makes reference to baroque movement types by Swiss composer and Munich composition teacher Walter Courvoisier from 1921, which Julius Berger premiered as recently as 1 October 2022.

Tracklist 18 tracks

  1. 1 I. Prelude: Largo 05:33
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Prelude: Largo
    Duration
    05:33
    Composer
    Max Reger
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  2. 2 II. Gavotte: Allegretto 04:40
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Gavotte: Allegretto
    Duration
    04:40
    Composer
    Max Reger
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  3. 3 III. Largo 06:20
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Largo
    Duration
    06:20
    Composer
    Max Reger
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  4. 4 IV. Gigue: Vivace 04:08
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Gigue: Vivace
    Duration
    04:08
    Composer
    Max Reger
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  5. 5 Sonata for Solo Cello in D Major, Op. 30: III. Passacaglia 20:03
    Track
    5
    Title
    Sonata for Solo Cello in D Major, Op. 30: III. Passacaglia
    Duration
    20:03
    Composer
    Donald Francis Tovey
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  6. 6 I. Prelude: Andante 02:46
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Prelude: Andante
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Adolf Busch
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  7. 7 II. Scherzo: Vivace assai 01:38
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Scherzo: Vivace assai
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    Adolf Busch
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  8. 8 III. Romanze: Andante 02:56
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Romanze: Andante
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Adolf Busch
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  9. 9 IV. Tarantelle 03:12
    Track
    9
    Title
    IV. Tarantelle
    Duration
    03:12
    Composer
    Adolf Busch
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  10. 10 Prelude 02:49
    Track
    10
    Title
    Prelude
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Adolf Busch
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  11. 11 Fugue 01:57
    Track
    11
    Title
    Fugue
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Adolf Busch
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  12. 12 I. Appassionato 03:14
    Track
    12
    Title
    I. Appassionato
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Walter Courvoisier
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  13. 13 II. Allemande 03:39
    Track
    13
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    03:39
    Composer
    Walter Courvoisier
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  14. 14 III. Courante 02:07
    Track
    14
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    Walter Courvoisier
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  15. 15 IV. Sarabande 03:56
    Track
    15
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Walter Courvoisier
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  16. 16 V. Bourrée 02:10
    Track
    16
    Title
    V. Bourrée
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Walter Courvoisier
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  17. 17 VI. Menuetto I-II 04:24
    Track
    17
    Title
    VI. Menuetto I-II
    Duration
    04:24
    Composer
    Walter Courvoisier
    Performer
    Julius Berger
  18. 18 VII. Gigue 02:37
    Track
    18
    Title
    VII. Gigue
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Walter Courvoisier
    Performer
    Julius Berger