Liszt: Elegie No. 2, S131

“Underrated, like most of Bloch's music, they are played here with aristocratic dignity by Emmanuelle Bertrand.” The Guardian

“The enthusiastic playing of Bertrand and Amoyel captures Saint-Saëns’ characteristic youthful vigour and gleeful virtuosity.” Classic FM Magazine

This recording is a welcome reissue of Liszt’s own transcriptions of his piano works for cello and piano. Rian de Waal, who unfortunately passed away last year, was famous for his Liszt interpretations. Together with Harro Ruysenaars, who was the first cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for many years, he recorded this program, which is unique in its kind. There are only very few recordings available and thus is this set a very welcome addition to the catalogue again.

This release features the complete works for Cello and piano beautifully performed by the Pantillen brothers, Christophe and Marc. Christophe Pantillen is an acclaimed Swiss cellist who now resides in Vienna and is the first cellist of the Wiener Kammer Orchester and the founder of the Aron Quartett. The CD contains many rarities and will be of great interest to cello, piano and Liszt admirers alike.

Schumann’s Cello Concerto was long regarded as a minor achievement; it has also been accused of treating the solo instrument unfavourably. As is often the case with the compositions of Schumann’s middle and late periods, interpreters must to understand its singularity in order to bring it out. It is thanks to great performers such as the legendary cellist Pablo Casals, for whom Schumann’s Cello Concerto was “one of the finest works one could wish to hear – sublime music from beginning to end”, that this work now at last has its rightful place in the repertoire.

Although relations between Schumann and Liszt were often clouded by Clara’s lack of understanding, and even jealousy, Liszt recognised his friend’s genius better than anyone, and at Weimar conducted scores that had not been understood when they were first performed. We do not know whether or not Liszt knew the Cello Concerto, but he was reliant on transcriptions as a source of incme. Ophélie Gaillard has chosen five pieces for cello and piano: two were originally songs with piano accompaniment written in his youth; the other three pieces, dating from the end of Liszt’s life, show the soberness and bold language that characterise his late works. Although a Baroque specialist, Gaillard is also very fond of Romantic repertoire. Her recording for Ambroisie of the complete cello works of Schumann, Fauré, then Chopin were highly acclaimed by the press, while the solo album Dreams (Aparté), made at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, proved to be a great public success.

Ophélie Gaillard plays a cello by Francesco Goffriller (1737), generously loaned to her by CIC, and also an anonymous Flemish violoncello piccolo.

This first CD in Katsaris’ Liszt series illustrates five aspects of Liszt, all equally fascinating.

Separated onto two CDS, Disc 1 is themed ‘Gipsy and Romantic’ and Disc 2 ‘Avant-Garde’, ‘Homage a Wagner’ and ‘The Philosopher’.

Many of Liszt’s works were transcribed for other instruments; both by the composer himself and other musicians. These hauntingly beautiful pieces for cello and piano were originally written for piano solo or the voice. They are from the final period of his life and are the product of his old age and his quest for spirituality. Far from the virtuoso brilliance of his earlier works, their intense and romantic melodies express melancholy and desolation, the sparse textures and harmonic instability daringly looking forward to the twentieth century.

The rich and warm expressive qualities of the cello undoubtedly make these pieces even more effective. The most significant work in this collection is La lugubre gondola, a compelling piece written after Liszt had a premonition of Wagner’s death. It was inspired by the Venetian gondola funeral processions he observed during a visit to the city to see Wagner. The music conveys the stillness of a Venetian lagoon, the unsettling harmonies also evoking the underlying darkness and despair. Another work with a very personal connection is the nostalgic Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, a transcription of one of his songs. Nonnenwerth was an island in the Rhine where Liszt spent time with Marie d’Agoult and their children, and his fondness for the work resulted in many different versions for solo piano, voice and piano duet as well as this version for cello and piano. There are also transcriptions for cello and piano by other musicians of some of his most popular piano works, including the six Consolations, Angelus!

From the third volume of Années de Pelèrinages and the Liebestraum No.3. The performers of this moving collection of works are the Italian cellist Francesco Dillon and the pianist Emanuele Torquati. Francesco Dillon performs as a soloist and with chamber groups all over the world and has made several recordings of unusual cello repertoire, including an album of Schumann rarities for Brilliant Classics.

Friedemann Eichhorn is a German violinist with the unique gift of projecting into different musical idioms. While generally not known as a composer of chamber music, Liszt wrote music for violin and piano throughout his career. While several pieces are arrangements of songs or works originally composed for piano solo, many are original compositions and explore the same stylistic explorations that can be found in Liszt's more famous compositions - including the use of folk materials, harmonic and melodic experimentations and cyclical forms.