Alexander Kniazev (cello) & Plamena Mangova (piano)
CD
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After years of fruitful cooperation with Evgeni Kissin, Nikolaï Luganski and Boris Berezovski, Alexander Kniazev has found in Plamena Mangova a worthy partner for this tribute to the Franco-Belgian school, and in particular to the outstanding violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. Ysaÿe, to whom the César Franck Sonata was dedicated and who created it, enjoyed playing the cello –and did so very competently – when he played music at home with friends.
The warm and powerful sound of Ysaÿe gave the Franck Sonata the feel of a cathedral and very soon the Sonata was published in a version for cello authorized by the composer and carried out by Jules Delsart. In his turn, Kniazev proposes his vision of a few other pages by Franck and Ysaÿe, amongst which the magnificent Poème élégiaque, source of Chausson’s Poème, is a première on disc in a beautifully suited new form.
Sonate En La Majeur: I. Allegro Ben Moderato
Sonate En La Majeur: II. Allegro
Sonate En La Majeur: III. Recitativo - Fantasia, Ben Moderato
Sonate En La Majeur: IV. Allegro Poco Mosso
Nocturne
Berceuse, Op. 20
Poème Élégiaque, Op. 12
Cesar Franck: Nocturne, M. 85 (arr. for cello and piano)
Nocturne, M. 85 (arr. for cello and piano)
Eugene Ysaye: Berceuse, Op. 20 (arr. for cello and piano)
Berceuse, Op. 20 (arr. for cello and piano)
Eugene Ysaye: Poeme elegiaque, Op. 12 (arr. for cello and piano)
Poeme elegiaque, Op. 12 (arr. for cello and piano)
January 2012
“Franck himself approved of the cello arrangement of his Violin Sonata made by Jules Delsart, and this is a performance to convince any doubters...[Kniazev] and Mangova make [the first movement] into a deeply reflective meditation, exploiting the lower range of the cello...Though the recording balance tends to favour the cello, that seems apt enough on an attractive disc.”
April 2013
“Kniazev’s performance slows the opening Allegretto [of the Franck] to a grandiose showcase of his remarkable sound, a torrent of extraordinarily rich legato tone redolent of Oistrakh and Rostropovich. It really is something to behold - whenever the Sonata obliges, Kniazev opens the taps and that sound comes out. It results, however, in a monolithic performance, basking in the glory of these edifices but revealing disappointingly little of the music’s drama”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
Sonate En La Majeur: I. Allegro Ben Moderato
