A. Borodin; S. Rachmaninov; D. Shostakovich - Cello Sonatas (A. Chaushian; Y. Sudbin)

Information

Composer: Alexander Borodin; Sergei Rachmaninov; Dmitri Shostakovich

• (01) Rachmaninov - Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19
• (05) Borodin - Cello Sonata in B minor
• (08) Shostakovich - Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40
• (12) Rachmaninov - Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14 (trans. Anatoly Brandukov)

Alexander Chaushian, cello

Yevgeny Sudbin, piano

Date: 2011

Label: BIS

https://bis.se/performers/chaushian-alexander/russian-cello-sonatas

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Review

Three sonatas and the popular Vocalise in performances it would be hard to fault

Who is going to turn up their noses at 82 and a half minutes of Russian cello-and-piano classics, delivered with complete technical aplomb and sureness of idiomatic touch by one of the finest partnerships around? Not me. Chaushian and Sudbin show that it is actually possible to deliver Rachmaninov’s Sonata full-throatedly without making it sound like a piano concerto with cello accompaniment. And they demonstrate equally that Shostakovich’s Sonata does not need hysterical exaggeration of its subtexts in order to be richly communicative.

That brace of sonatas alone would have made for a worthwhile disc. Borodin’s B minor Sonata, a fragmentary early-ish work completed by Mikhail Goldstein, admittedly promises rather more than it delivers, and, not knowing the manuscript, I have no idea which hand is responsible for the bits of the Second Symphony and allusions to other composers dotted throughout the somewhat chaotic structure – Goldstein was, after all, a notorious spoofer. There have been other recordings of this curiosity but, if you fancy having it in your library, you would be lucky to find it played half as well as it is here.

In the Rachmaninov I hear still more range of colour and attack – and in general a more rapturous responsiveness – from Mørk and Thibaudet, and for the Shostakovich I would certainly want to turn from time to time to larger-than-life personalities such as Rostropovich and the composer (whose 1957 recording comes and goes on various labels but is rarely long absent from the catalogue). Chaushian is also non-indulgent to a fault in the famous Vocalise. But for reference versions of this repertoire, distinguished by impeccable taste and top-notch sound, I would be greatly reassured to have this new disc on my shelves, too.

-- David Fanning, Gramophone

More reviews:

Classics Today  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/June11/Russian_cello_BISSACD1858.htm

https://www.allmusic.com/album/borodin-rachmaninov-shostakovich-cello-sonatas-mw0002119452

https://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Borodin-Shostakovich-Alexander-Chaushian/dp/B01K8L7IX2

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Alexander Borodin (12 November 1833 – 27 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer of Georgian origin, as well as a doctor and a chemist.  He was one of the prominent 19th-century group of composers known as The Mighty Handful, or The Five. Borodin is best known for his symphonies, his two string quartets, the tone poem 'In the Steppes of Central Asia' and his opera 'Prince Igor'. A notable advocate of women's rights, Borodin was a promoter of education in Russia and founded the School of Medicine for Women in Saint Petersburg. As a chemist, he is best known for his work in organic synthesis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Borodin

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered as one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Some of his works are among the most popular in the romantic repertoire. His style is notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff

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Dmitri Shostakovich (25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Russian composer, and a prominent figure of 20th-century music. Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Shostakovich's music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and by the post-Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler. Shostakovich's works include 15 symphonies, 15 string quartets, and a substantial quantity of film music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

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The cellist Alexander Chaushian studied in Armenia, then at the Menuhin School, the London Guildhall, and the Berlin Hochschule. He held a Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music in London with the Kempf Trio and now teaches there. His many prizes include the Pierre Fournier Award (jointly), the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and the ARD Competition. He has performed as soloist with the London Mozart Players, Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia in London, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Armenian Philharmonic.
https://www.naxos.com/person/Alexander_Chaushian/6273.htm

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Yevgeny Sudbin (born 19 April 1980 in St. Petersburg) is a Russian pianist. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, the Purcell School and the Royal Academy of Music. Among his teachers are Christopher Elton, Murray Perahia, Leon Fleisher, Stephen Kovacevich, Dmitri Bashkirov, Fou Ts'ong and Stephen Hough. Sudbin's recordings of music by Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Medtner, Scarlatti and Scriabin for BIS have met with critical acclaim and are regularly featured as CD of the Month by BBC Music Magazine or Editor’s Choice by Gramophone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Sudbin
http://www.yevgenysudbin.com/

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