Cello

Live performances of the laureates of the 2017 first Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition. This album contains orchestral performances of the final with the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Stéphane Denève, as well as Haydn’s Cello concertos of the semi-final session with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie conducted by Frank Braley. Chamber music performances during the first round and the semi-final session can also be heard, solo or with piano / cello accompaniment. The 2017 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition was won by the French cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière, the Japanese Yuya Okamoto was ranked 2nd and the Columbian Santiago Cañón-Valencia 3rd; they are followed in the ranking by Aurélien Pascal (France, 4th Prize), Ivan Karizna (Belarus, 5th Prize) and Brannon Cho (USA, 6th Prize). The 6 other laureates, as well as 3 semi-finalists, are completing the program of this album.

Antonio Vivaldi composed several sonatas for cello and continuo. A set of six cello sonatas, written between 1720 and 1730, was published in Paris in 1740. He wrote at least four other cello sonatas, with two manuscripts kept in Naples, another in Wiesentheid, and one known to be lost.

A second recording of J.S. Bach’s 6 suites for solo cello Universal Music/Decca, after the first release for EMI in 2004.

Raaf Hekkema: Since I started teaching at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, I have become more conscious of my self-chosen mission: to create a place for the saxophone within the classical music tradition. One way to do this is to forge a stronger bond between the players and the classical tradition, in the knowledge that the saxophone repertoire too is indebted to the great composers of the past. The most influential of them all is, without a doubt, Johann Sebastian Bach.

„Magie faszinierender Cellokünste“, „kontemplative Tiefe“, „Vorschein erfüllter ästhetischer Utopie“,
schrieb die „Süddeutsche Zeitung“ über das Cellospiel von David Stromberg.

The Six Cello Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach are part of the Old Testament of cello literature. Every cellist who looks at the music senses immediately how naturally the notes are arranged around the strings of the instrument. Yet there are many questions and discussions about these ‘Suites a Violoncello Solo senza Basso’. Did Bach really write the music for cello, or for cello alone? When did he write this music – at the court of Cöthen or earlier?

The Six Suites for Solo Cello by J S Bach composed around 1720, are generally regarded as the first and greatest masterpieces ever written for the instrument.

The Six Suites for Solo Cello by J S Bach composed around 1720, are generally regarded as the first and greatest masterpieces ever written for the instrument.Their scope is vast and ingenious. Although most of the time, only one note is played, occasional chords and masterful melodies imply harmony and counterpoint.