Franck; Strohl; Poulenc; La Tombelle - Cello Sonatas (Edgar Moreau; David Kadouch)

Information

Composer: César Franck; Rita Strohl; Francis Poulenc; Fernand de La Tombelle

CD1:

• Strohl - Titus et Bérénice, grande sonate dramatique pour violoncelle & piano
• Poulenc - Cello Sonata, FP 143

CD2:

• Franck - Violin Sonata in A Major, FWV 8 (arr. Jules Delsart)
• La Tombelle - Andante Espressivo
• Poulenc - Souvenirs

Edgar Moreau, cello

David Kadouch, piano

Date: 2017

Label: Erato

https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/franck-strohl-poulenc-la-tombelle

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Review

There’s a nice feel of continuity and development to this two-disc celebration of the 19th-century French cello school from the young French cellist Edgar Moreau. His championing of under- and unrecorded repertoire continues with him giving the same treatment here, for instance, to Rita Strohl and Fernand de la Tombelle that he gave to Platti and Graziani on his ‘Giovincello’ disc of 18th-century cello concertos (12/15). This is also his first recital recording since his debut of musical shorts, ‘Play’ (6/14), meaning we get to hear how he fashions a programme of weightier musical fare.

It’s a fantastic programme, too. From a lesser-spotted repertoire perspective, Strohl’s Titus et Bérénice sonata is a cracker with its 35-minute, four-movement dramatic depiction of the ancient Roman tale. De la Tombelle’s gentle Andante espressivo, meanwhile, is as exquisite as it is brief, as is the disc’s premiere recording, Poulenc’s poignant miniature Souvenirs, which was published posthumously only in 2014 having been rediscovered.

Still, the great thing we’re learning about Moreau in the recording studio is that, while under-recorded repertoire has been something of a calling card thus far, ultimately this is just the icing on an overall story of a cellist whose recordings are worth hearing whatever he’s playing. Take Titus et Bérénice, where he manages to capture its Parisian grand opéra-esque ardent drama with beautiful chamber intimacy. Likewise, his Poulenc and Franck sonatas stand out for their subtlety and poise. Also to be enjoyed are his exquisitely barely-there pianissimos and his glowing tone.

It’s also a pleasure to hear Moreau in a sustained programme of emotionally meaty, slower-tempo works. On stage he’s shown himself to be an eager virtuoso, and in fact ‘Giovincello’ featured the most dizzyingly fast third movement of Haydn’s First Cello Concerto I’ve ever heard. Here though, in pyrotechnics-free repertoire relying entirely on the artist’s ability to convey poetry, we can really appreciate his ability to sustain cantabile lines, to craft musical arguments and indeed to employ all that finger agility towards both overall stylishness and magical moments such as the delicate flutterings of the Poulenc Sonata’s ‘Ballabile’.

The partnership with Kadouch is also a fine thing, the two of them clearly singing from the same hymn sheet. The beginnings of a partnership akin to Erato’s longstanding cello-pianist team, Gautier Capuçon and Frank Braley, perhaps? Who knows. What I can say with confidence is that this is a standout album.

-- Charlotte Gardner, Gramophone

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Edgar Moreau (born 3 April 1994 in Paris) is a French classical cellist. He began studying the cello at age four with Carlos Beyris and Xavier Gagnepain, then continuing his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris in the class of Philippe Muller (cello) and Claire Désert (chamber music). At the age of 15, Moreau won the Young Soloist Prize at the Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch and at 17, the second prize of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. In 2013 he signed an exclusive contract with Erato, and his first recording, a recital of pieces for cello and piano with Pierre-Yves Hodique, was published in 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Moreau

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David Kadouch (born 7 December 1985 in Nice) is a French pianist and chamber musician. He studied at the Conservatoire de Nice, the Conservatoire de Paris, and the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, where his teachers include Jacques Rouvier, Dmitri Bashkirov and Márta Gulyás. His international career began early when, at age 13, he was in concert with Itzhak Perlman in New York. A finalist in several competitions, he was named Young Artist of the Year at the International Classical Music Awards in 2011. Kadouch has performed and recorded with a focus on chamber and contemporary music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kadouch

https://davidkadouch.com/

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