Notes and Editorial Reviews
"Bruns’s take on the Schumann is definitely his own. Where others tend to linger over the score’s somber, rhapsody-in-gray character, Bruns adopts a quicker-than-usual pace—at 21:47, his performance is one of the fleetest I know—and lightens up on his bowing so as to achieve an almost balletic gracefulness in passages that often lumber in lugubrious longueurs. Conductor Gregor Nowak shares Bruns’s vision, drawing from the Leipzig ensemble such transparency of sound that it makes a strong case against the long-held opinion of Schumann’s orchestration as opaque. The performance may not replace other favorites, but it deserves to stand among them for casting new light on an oft-played and over-recorded work.
Why Robert
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Volkmann’s 1855 A-Minor Cello Concerto hasn’t taken its place in the repertoire alongside Schumann’s and Dvo?ák’s concertos is a mystery. It’s a beautiful piece, and structured in a single continuous movement spanning, in Bruns’s performance, just 16 and a half minutes, it doesn’t suffer from the repetitive phraseology of the Schumann or the discursive note-spinning of the Dvo?ák. In fact, the cello concerto it most closely resembles—anticipates would be more accurate—is the A Minor by Saint-Saëns of 17 years later. Launched immediately by a bold and gorgeous melody, like its Saint-Saëns successor, Volkmann’s concerto alternates between arching lyrical passages and enough virtuosic fireworks to challenge the most accomplished cellist and satisfy the most persistent pyromaniac. Bruns sets his instrument aflame."
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
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Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Cello in A minor, Op. 129 by Robert Schumann
Performer:
Peter Bruns (Cello)
Conductor:
Jürgen Bruns
Period: Romantic
Written: 1850; Germany
Date of Recording: 09/07/2008
Venue: Live Gewandhaus Leipzig
Length: 21 Minutes 7 Secs.
2.
Concerto for Cello in A minor, Op. 33 by Robert Volkmann
Performer:
Peter Bruns (Cello)
Conductor:
Jürgen Bruns
Period: Romantic
Written: Germany
Venue: Bethanienkirche Leipzig
Length: 16 Minutes 35 Secs.
4.
Andante with Variations, for 3 cellos by Robert Volkmann
Performer:
Grzegorz Nowak (Cello),
Jakob Stepp (Cello),
Peter Bruns (Cello)
Written: 1836
Venue: Deutschlandradio, Berlin, Siemens-Villa,
Length: 6 Minutes 31 Secs.
6.
Capriccio for cello & piano, Op. 74 by Robert Volkmann
Performer:
Peter Bruns (Cello),
Annegret Kuttner (Piano)
Venue: Deutschlandradio, Berlin, Siemens-Villa,
Length: 3 Minutes 43 Secs.
Sound Samples
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129: I. Nicht zu schnell
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129: II. Langsam
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129: III. Sehr lebhaft
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33
12 Klavierstucke, Op. 85 (arr. P. Bruns): 12 Klavierstucke, Op. 85: No. 12. Abendlied (arr. P. Bruns)
Chant du Troubadour, Op. 10
Romance in E major, Op. 7
12 Klavierstucke, Op. 85 (arr. P. Casals): 12 Klavierstucke, Op. 85: No. 12. Abendlied (arr. P. Casals)
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