Mstislav Rostropovich, Claude Debussy, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Benjamin Britten - Schubert, Debussy / Rostropovich, Britten
Band: Mstislav Rostropovich, Claude Debussy, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Benjamin Britten Title: Schubert, Debussy / Rostropovich, Britten Rating: Release Date: 10 August, 1999 Media: Audio CD
Tracks: 1: Sonata For Arpeggione And Piano, D821: I. Allegro moderato 2: Sonata For Arpeggione And Piano, D821: II. Adagio 3: Sonata For Arpeggione And Piano, D821: III. Allegretto 4: Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102: I. Mit Humor 5: Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102: II. Langsam 6: Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102: III. Nicht schnell 7: Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102: IV. Nicht zu rasch 8: Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102: V. Stark und markiert 9: Sonata For Cello And Piano: I. Prologue 10: Sonata For Cello And Piano: II. Serenade 11: Sonata For Cello And Piano: III. Finale
Customer Reviews One of my favorite cello recordings My favorite of the three is Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata. Any one of the three pieces on this recording is worth the price of the enitire cd. I find it simply one of the most beautiful and sad pieces of music ever written. Until recently I didn't realize the depth and highly poetic nature of Schubert's music, especially his chamber and piano works. The fact that he died at a relatively young age is a true loss for humanity.
The musicianship on this recording is world class. Rostropovitch is my all-time favorite cellist, and then pairing his expressive playing with the piano accompaniment of Benjamin Britten, one of the great musical minds of the 20th century,. . . what more can one ask? Ok, a recording of high sound quality, which is also the case here. .
magisterial recordings from 1968 and 1961 The front cover of this Decca Legends CD reissue is a little misleading about these dates, but the inside pages are clear and awesomely complete about this info and more on the technical processes, with the welcome bonus of reproductions of the two original LP covers from which these three pieces are culled. These are indeed magisterial readings, actually dating from 1961 (Schumann and Debussy) and 1968 (Schubert), in superb transfers.
They are ample, highly-charged romantic readings, leisurely in tempo, hightlighting the brooding wistfulness of Schubert's sonata rather than its youthful geniality, with warm, lyrical, indeed vocal tone and a wealth of nuances from the cellist, magnificent attention to dynamics and articulation from the pianist and superb listening of each other. How can anyone hearing this call the arpeggione sonata a "minor" work eludes me. The same values are applied to the Debussy sonata, resulting in a highly original and convincing interpretation, far removed from the relative dryness that characterized the French tradition of interpretation of that piece (witness Maréchal and Casadesus 1946 recording, reissued by Sony in their complete Casadesus collection). Ample, brooding, profound, harrowing, conjuring an enigmatic sound-world, with the second movement cello pizzicatos explosive like a menacing jazz double-bass: at their hands the sonata sounds like a meditation on approaching death (this was indeed one of Debussy's last compositions) - almost like a composition of Britten, one is tempted to say, and it is hard to imagine it played otherwise after that experience.
Decca's reissue poses a tricky problem of coupling and duplication, though. The Debussy and Schumann originally came on an LP with Britten's cello/piano sonata, and the Schubert was initially paired with Frank Bridge's cello/piano sonata. Now Decca has aptly reissued the Britten in an homogeneous coupling with the composer's two first solo cello suites, performed again by Rostropovich, an indispensable disc for any Britten and/or Rostropovich admirer - or just music lover ([[ASIN:B0000041UY Cello Suites]]). But the Bridge they have reissued on CD again with the Schubert, as in the original LP - an understandable choice if not very generous in terms of timing (52'), but one that imposes on the record buyer an irksome duplication with the present disc ([[ASIN:B00000424D Schubert: Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano; Bridge: Sonata for Cello and Piano]]).
Bridge was Britten's teacher, so the latter's advocacy of his music is perhaps understandable, yet the cello sonata sounds to me like a broodingly romantic but ultiately impersonal and dull affair, and if forced to chose I would rather be with Schubert-Schumann-Debussy (more favorable in timing too, with 59') than with Schubert-Bridge. However, if like I do you consider that anything recorded by Britten and Rostropovich is of significance, Decca has reissued the Bridge sonata in one of their "British Music Collection" (470-189-2), paired - not very generously in terms of timing (57') - with 3 tone poems recorded in 1996 by the Academy of Saint-Martin in the Fields led by Neville Marriner (originally published in a collection called English Seasons, with tone poems by Bax, Delius, Foulds and Grainger), plus a short song by Kathleen Ferrier. It seems available only from Amazon. uk, though.
Anyway - yes, this Schubert-Schumann-Debussy is indeed of legendary stature.
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Great recording of lesser works. The arrangement for cello and piano is perhaps the most famous. The highlight of this recording is the Schubert sonata for the Arpegione,the obsoleteness of which resulted in a free-for-all competition for transcriptions. And in this recording,Rostropovich and Britten's excellent mastery of the work makes it sound as if Schubert had written this sonata for the cello. The beautiful cantabile inspirations are played with astounding expressiveness from both Rostropovich are Britten. the Arpegione Sonata is perhaps not a great masterpiece. But with stupendously beautiful playing from these 2 artists of the highest calibre at their highest achievements,the sonata really becomes a chef-d'oeuvre. The Schumann Cello Pieces and the Debussy Cello Sonata are pretty much the same case. They are lesser known works from both composers. But under Rostropovich and Britten's marvellous playing,one must wonder why these 2 works can ever be considered as a sign of the dwindling of the composing powers of Schumann and Debussy.
