Johannes Brahms - Cello Sonatas (Mstislav Rostropovich; Rudolf Serkin)

Information

Composer: Johannes Brahms

1. Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38: 1. Allegro non troppo
2. Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38: 2. Allegretto quasi minuetto
3. Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38: 3. Allegro - Più presto
4. Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99: 1. Allegro vivace
5. Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99: 2. Adagio affettuoso
6. Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99: 3. Allegro passionato
7. Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99: 4. Allegro molto

Mstislav Rostropovich, cello
Rudolf Serkin, piano

Date: 1983
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4105102

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Review

GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE

Our younger generation of cello soloists seems to favour a tone production which balances a refined upper range with a middle and lower register that’s strong and well focused, rather than expansively rich and resonant. Readers will not need to be told that Rostropovich’s solo image is definitely not of this ilk: his musical personality is in every sense larger than life and in this magnificent coupling of the cello sonatas, in partnership with Rudolf Serkin, the very forward balance of the recording exaggerates this impression in the most vivid way. By comparison the piano image – to the right of and behind the cello – is more reticent in timbre and seldom matches Rostropovich’s rich flood of sound, which isn’t, of course, to suggest that Serkin fails to project the music, merely that the microphone placing makes Rostropovich very much the dominating artist. This passionately warm-hearted and ripely Brahmsian music-making almost overwhelms the listener in its sheer impact. But with playing of this calibre, with both artists wonderfully attuned to each other’s responses, every nuance tells and Brahms’s bold melodic lines soar out from the speakers to capture the imagination, and provide an enthralling musical experience in each and every work.

-- Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brahms-Cello-Sonatas-Johannes/dp/B000001G4M
http://www.amazon.com/Brahms-The-Cello-Sonatas-Johannes/dp/B000001G4M

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Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable. Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished. Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters, with a highly romantic nature embedded within.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Brahms

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Mstislav Rostropovich (March 27, 1927 – April 27, 2007), was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered to be one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enlarged the cello repertoire more than any cellist before or since. He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces, forming long-standing friendships and artistic partnerships with composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutosławski, Olivier Messiaen and Benjamin Britten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mstislav_Rostropovich

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Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born pianist. Serkin studied piano with Richard Robert and composition with Joseph Mar and Arnold Schoenberg. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Serkin made numerous recordings from the 1940s into the 1980s, most of them for Columbia Masterworks, some are for RCA, Deutsche Grammophon and Telarc. He was also revered as a musician's musician, a father figure to a legion of younger players who came to the Marlboro School and Festival, which he and Adolf Busch founded in 1951.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Serkin

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