Interview, Steven Isserlis on CPE Bach and Haydn

Renowned British cellist Steven Isserlis has been focusing on the Romantic repertoire lately, with recordings of Elgar's ever-popular concerto and Brahms's Double last year and both of Dvořák's in 2013. His latest album sees him turn his attention to earlier works, with the two surviving concertos of Haydn and one by CPE Bach. I spoke to him about the contrasts between these works and how he approached the complex task of leading the performances from the cello…

Haydn appears to have been guided by the respective personalities and playing-styles of Weigl and Kraft when writing these works, with the result that they emphasise different aspects of the instrument’s character. Did you find that you had to take a different approach to the two concertos – getting under the skin of each dedicatee, so to speak?

In a way, yes; but I think that the most striking difference between them is that the writing in the C major concerto is so instrumental, in the D major so operatic. Maybe Kraft was an opera buff!

The CPE Bach concerto veers between musical witticisms worthy of Haydn at his most jocular and a slow movement of profound pathos. How do you reconcile these two very different moods and fashion a coherent whole out of the work?

Interesting question... well, somehow there is a cohesion to the work - each movement being quirky in a different way. And yes, that slow movement is quite extraordinary, isn't it? One of the most beautiful slow movements in any cello concerto.

This recording sees you take on a relatively rare role among cellists – that of conductor, as well as soloist. Can you tell us a little about the experience of conducting from the cello?

Well, I'd call my role that of a director, not a conductor; I never picked up a baton! But yes, it was slightly unusual, I suppose. On the other hand, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie can play perfectly well without any direction, so it was more a question of discussion; the atmosphere was really one of chamber music.

Your transcription of Mozart’s aria ‘Geme la tortorella’ is one of two smaller works that you’ve interspersed between the concertos. What drew you particularly to this aria, out of the hundreds of tuneful operatic numbers Mozart produced?

I went to hear my friend Robin Ticciati conducting La finta giardiniera at Glyndebourne, and was struck by how wonderful a piece it was; and when the area 'Geme la tortorella' started (beautifully sung), it immediately came into my mind that it would fit perfectly on the cello (and that the words wouldn't be missed!) so I spent the next few days arranging it - I love it! And it's not that famous, so I didn't feel as if I was merely recreating a 'lollipop'.

Your comments in the sleeve-notes hint at perhaps a slight disappointment that you weren’t able to fit a fourth concerto onto the disc. There are other works by these composers to explore, of course – two more by CPE Bach and a full dozen by Boccherini! Will you be sticking with the Classical concerto repertoire for your next recordings?

If I weren't so lazy about learning new pieces, perhaps... I would love to learn some more Boccherini especially; I have made a start on one of them - such gorgeous music. Incidentally (stray fact) it seems that the CPE Bach Concerto in Bb was the only cello concerto that Carlos Kleiber ever conducted. Anyway, my next three recordings are all going to be of sonatas - with three (very) different pianists: Connie Shih, Denes Varjon and Olli Mustonen.

Other recent recordings by Steven Isserlis