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Rachmaninov: Cello Works / Harrell, Ashkenazy


Release Date: 10/19/2007 
Label:  Decca   Catalog #: 414340   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Sergei Rachmaninov,  Modest Altschuler
Performer:  Lynn Harrell,  Vladimir Ashkenazy
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
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This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.

Notes and Editorial Reviews

Strong, bold and exuberant. Both players have the feel of the music in outline as well as in the detail, and they make out an excellent case for the Rachmaninov as a major romantic cello sonata.

Rachmaninov's lengthy, not to say protracted, Cello Sonata was written for his friend Anatoly Brandukov, an evidently gifted and delightful man who had been a pupil of Tchaikovsky (and was also the dedicatee of Tchaikovsky's Pezzo capriccioso). It certainly reflects his magisterial technique; but a good deal more is required of the pianist. The sonata is a big, romantic work in which a good deal of the material derives from Rachmaninov's own style and technique, which were, of course, closely bound up with his extraordinary Read more pianistic gifts. For much of the time, the material seems piano-inspired, and suits the keyboard rather than the cello; while in places there are severe balance problems, even though naturally these can be solved in a recording as sensitive as this.

But there need be no reservations about the performance, which is strong, bold and exuberant. Both players have the feel of the music in outline as well as in the detail, and they make out an excellent case for the work as a major romantic cello sonata. They do, however, seem rather more at ease with the smaller pieces, which is not really surprising. These are often charming, always charmingly played.

-- John Warrack, Gramophone [8/1986]
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Works on This Recording

1.
Pieces (2) for Cello and Piano, Op. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:  Lynn Harrell (Cello), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Piano)
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1892; Russia 
2.
Romance for Cello and Piano in F minor by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:  Lynn Harrell (Cello), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Piano)
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1890; Russia 
3.
Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:  Vladimir Ashkenazy (Piano), Lynn Harrell (Cello)
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1901; Russia 
4.
Songs (14), Op. 34: no 14, Vocalise by Sergei Rachmaninov
Performer:  Lynn Harrell (Cello), Vladimir Ashkenazy (Piano)
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1912-1915; Russia 
 Notes: Composition written: Russia (1912 - 1915). 
5.
Melody on a Theme of Rachmaninov by Modest Altschuler
Performer:  Vladimir Ashkenazy (Piano), Lynn Harrell (Cello)
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1940s; USA 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 awful May 12, 2016 By Michael J S. (Silver City, NM) See All My Reviews "I could scarcely believe I was not being subjected to a high school music practice! Possibly the most incompetent performance I have ever had the displeasure of hearing. I think these guys were half asleep or hung over! Basically, I threw this CD in the trash. A total waste of money!" Report Abuse
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