Artist: Sol Gabetta, Bertrand Chamayou
Title: Mendelssohn
Year Of Release: 2024
Label: Sony Classical
Genre: Classical
Quality: FLAC 24bit - 96kHz (tracks)
Total Time: 01:23:50
Total Size: 388 MB

As was the case with their earlier Schumann album, cellist and pianist have opted to record these works on historical instruments in order to capture Mendelssohn’s musical language as authentically as possible and to achieve the best tonal balance between the two instruments. Both instruments were chosen specifically for this recording and are the famous Bonamy Dobrée-Suggia cello made by Stradivari in 1717 and strung with gut strings, and a historical concert grand made by Julius Blüthner in Leipzig in 1856.

In order to provide Mendelssohn’s historical works with a poetic modern counterpart, Sol Gabetta has invited four outstanding composers from our own day to compose their own personal Songs Without Words for cello and piano. They are Heinz Holliger (*1939), Wolfgang Rihm (*1952), Jörg Widmann (*1973) and Francisco Coll (*1985). All four were keen to take part in this project, with the result that the present album includes not only the five pieces by Mendelssohn but also four new works that are being heard for the first time here. “Formally speaking, a Song Without Words is always a miniature art form,” says Sol Gabetta. “What I found particularly inspiring was to work on this form with four living composers.” These contemporary works were recorded on a cello by Matteo Goffriller with steel strings and on a modern concert grand by Steinway & Sons.

Tracklist:

CD1
1. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : I. Thema (1:06)
2. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : II. Variation I (0:30)
3. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : III. Variation II (0:30)
4. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : IV. Più vivace Variation (0:32)
5. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : V. Allegro con fuoco Variation (0:36)
6. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : VI. L'istesso tempo Variation I (0:41)
7. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : VII. L'istesso tempo Variation II (0:32)
8. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : VIII. Presto ed agitato Variation (1:34)
9. Variations concertantes, Op. 17/MWV Q 19 : IX. Tempo I. Coda. Più animato (3:08)
10. Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 45/MWV Q 27 : I. Allegro vivace (12:24)
11. Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 45/MWV Q 27 : II. Andante (6:18)
12. Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 45/MWV Q 27 : III. Allegro assai (6:28)
13. Assai tranquillo in B Minor, MWV Q 25 (3:06)
14. Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 58/MWV Q 32 : I. Allegro assai vivace (7:57)
15. Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 58/MWV Q 32 : II. Allegretto scherzando (5:31)
16. Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 58/MWV Q 32 : III. Adagio (4:07)
17. Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 58/MWV Q 32 : IV. Molto Allegro e vivace (6:49)
18. Lied ohne Worte, Op. 109 (4:23)

CD2
1. Lied ohne Worte (3:46)
2. Lieder ohne Worte II, No. 3: (...fern...), Arr. for Cello & Piano (1:44)
3. Lieder ohne Worte II, No. 6: (...sam), Arr. for Cello & Piano (1:52)
4. Lieder ohne Worte II, No. 5: (Flammen...Schnee), Arr. for Cello & Piano (2:45)
5. Dialog ohne Worte (2:27)
6. Lied ohne Worte (2:46)
7. Verschwundene Worte (2:32)

Sol Gabetta is one of the best and most successful cellists today, with a remarkable international career as a soloist and highly praised recordings, all of them bestsellers. Her recordings for Sony Classical have received numerous awards, including Gramophone, Echo Klassik and Diapason d'Or.

For this album Sol Gabetta teams up with excellent French pianist Betrand Chamayou, with whom she plays sold out concerts in major concert halls. The album features Mendelssohn's complete works for cello and piano (CD 1) and new, short pieces written by famous contemporary composers Wolfgang Rihm, Heinz Holliger, Francisco Coll and Jörg Widman specifically for this album, all of which were inspired by Mendelssohn’s beautiful Lied ohne Worte, Op. 109 (CD 2). The album was recorded at the famous new Philharmonie de Paris.