Pierre Fournier

‘In the Brahms, Oistrakh and Fournier make an incomparable team. The eloquence of Fournier’s phrasing and Oistrakh’s golden tone are beyond praise. Helped by a first-class recording and excellent orchestral playing, Oistrakh’s performance of the Bruch is a winner.’ (The Gramophone)

“Of all the great cellists, Pierre Fournier came closer to the heart of the music than almost any other. He seems to have possessed all the virtues of his fellow cellists without yielding to any of their self-indulgences. He could be brilliant in execution – his technique was second to none, as he proves throughout this set – profound in utterance, aristocratic in poise and wonderfully coherent in his understanding of Bach's articulation and phrases.
We need look no further than the Prelude of the First Suite in G major to find the supreme artistry which characterises each and every moment of these performances. There are very occasionally notes which fail to reach their centre but they're few and far between, and Fournier's intonation compares favourably with that of some of his virtuoso companions.
Fournier's rubato is held tightly in rein and when he does apply it, it's in the interests of enlivening aspects of Bach's formal writing.
He can sparkle too, as he does in many of the faster dance-orientated movements such as courantes, gavottes and bourrées; in the sarabandes, he invariably strikes a note of grandeur coupled with a concentration amounting at times almost to abstraction. Above all, his Bach playing is crowned with an eloquence, a lyricism and a grasp of the music's formal and stylistic content which will not easily be matched.
Fine recorded sound and strongly commended on virtually all counts.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Fournier and Szell's Cello Concerto performance is high pressure but quite wonderful. In the Eight Symphony Kubelik balances introspection and uproarious merriment superbly.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 *****

“Despite old-fashioned sound - clear and well-balanced but artificially spotlit - these performances remain alert, elegant and firmly etched.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 ****

“The combination of French clarity and elegance and Viennese intelligence and humanity in these artists results in interpretations which avoid all self-conscious earnestness and hieratic pose (the bane of all Beethoven performance) but achieve maturity, freshness and subtlety. Rarely have two artists formed a more sensitive team.” Gramophone Magazine