Schumann Cello

Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler already enjoyed a worldwide legendary standing during his lifetime he was considered the German conductor and performances were greeted with rapturous applause. Today, more than 50 years after his death, Wilhelm Furtwängler is still an icon and his work has become an integral part of the music scene.

The Beethoven Triple Concerto is a strange work, with the most important–-or at least prominent–-solos given to the cello; it is the instrument which introduces each movement. The remarkable Martha Argerich wisely allows Mischa Maisky to shine in his solos and leading position, but her contribution is anything but back seat. Her customary virtuosity is everywhere in evidence, and, in a way, she turns the piano into the spinal column of the work, with the violin and cello playing around her. Every time Maisky is about to lapse into a mannerism which might detract–-too much sliding, a dynamic slightly exaggerated–-Argerich brings him back, and both of them play with handsome tone. Capucon's violin is recorded a bit stridently (this was taped live in Lugano), but his playing is equally stunning. Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky leads the orchestra matter-of-factly until the final movement, when he catches the proper fire. In the Schumann A minor concerto Argerich is wonderful the solo passages and a fine partner in orchestrated ones and she really makes much of both the lyrical runs and the dance-like passages in the last movement. Recommended.

This debut album opens with cellist Taeguk Mun - winner of the 2014 Pablo Casals International Cello Competition and the 2016 János Starker Foundation Award - playing Bach's Suite for Solo Cello No 1. He is then joined by the pianist Chi Ho Han, another multi-award-winning musician from South Korea, for Beethoven's Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Major and short pieces by Schumann, Schubert, Rubinstein and Pablo Casals.

Live performances by one of Europe's most respected cellists are featured on PIERRE FOURNIER. Fournier became well-known throughout the world after the Second World War for his skill on the cello, and was particularly praised for his bowing technique. With this collection of recorded performances from Fournier's prime, latter-day audiences are afforded the opportunity to watch the cellist's technical skill as well as appreciate the low, melodious sound of his instrument.

This box of Schumann's chamber works makes a superb package, and is often available at bargain price. It is a bit like one of Martha Argerich's box sets from Lugano, except that here she is present in a large number of the formations. All of the works where she features, including the Piano Quintet, the 2nd Violin Sonata and the Marchenbilder, are unmissable and full of passion and excitement, conveying a continuous sense of transport. Where she is not the pianist Alexandre Rabinovitch takes over at the keyboard and also gives us some superlative versions.