Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Sonata No.1 in E minor for Cello and Piano Op.38 (1862) [26:30]
Sonata No.2 in F major for Cello and Piano Op.99 (1886) [27:54]
Sonata in D major (arr. from Violin Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78, 1878-79)
[27:18]
Torlief Thedéen (cello)
Roland Pöntinen (piano)
rec. June 2006, Nybrokajen 11 (former Academy of Music), Stockholm, Sweden
BIS-SACD-1606 [82:26]
There are quite a few recordings of Brahms’ two magnificent cello sonatas
around and they couple well on record, their contrasting character and content
making for a good programme. Op.38 has a good deal of counterpoint and fugal
writing, relating to Bach as well as owing a debt to the model of Beethoven
in the weight given to the first movement. Relative to its more profoundly
conceived counterpart, the mighty Op.99, the Sonata No.1 is musically
clear almost to a fault, the only real enigma being an Adagio movement
which was removed by Brahms and subsequently lost. My main reference for these
pieces has for a long time been the 1992 Sony recording by Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel
Ax, which I have as part of a meagre collection of mini-discs: remember them?
This is a fine recording and a good performance, but the richer texture of
Torlief Thedéen’s cello means that the material in the lower registers has
more substance, projecting a little better through the piano in the frequent
places where it takes a greater melodic role. These are both pieces which
demand equality in balance, the piano having every much a solo function as
the cello, and in this regard the BIS engineering is truly excellent. The
cello is not too close, but there is still a certain amount of ‘glancing’,
where notes from different registers sometimes pop in from different channels
through what is quite a stunning and wide stereo image. This is less apparent
in the more rounded effect of a surround set-up, where the acoustic plays
a greater role and the ear is tricked ‘into the room’ rather than being presented
with a frontal stage.
The Sonata No.2 is a wonderful piece, and the Adagio affettuoso
is a favourite Brahms movement which is played very well here. There is
a certain amount of sniffing from Thedéen but he’s not the only cellist who
does this. The ‘concerto’ nature of the music in the outer movements is tackled
head on by both players, with some deep digging going on but always proportionate
to the intent of the composer. Without going for a blow-by-blow account of
each section, I am impressed by the way in which these players seem to intensify
the character of each theme and gesture without ballooning them into a kind
of stereotypical musical grandstand. To sum up, they’ve ‘nailed’ this and
all the other pieces on this disc, and if you are open to Brahms’ eloquent
message and even already familiar with this repertoire, this is a recording
which will sweep you further than you might have expected to be swept.
The Ma/Ax disc is also coupled with a violin sonata, but in their case this
is the D minor Op.108, and Thedéen and Pöntinen opt for an arrangement
of the even more substantial Sonata in D major, originally the Violin
Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78. This is also known as the Regenlied Sonata
for its references to songs from Brahms’ Op.59 Acht Lieder und Gesänge.
As soon as the melodic charm of the opening takes effect you know pretty much
what you are in for - wonderful, though adjusting from familiarity with the
original tonality and different range and colour of the same musical material
on violin may take a few beats. You can quite easily divest yourself of any
discomfort, the playing soon creating a convincing argument for this as a
‘new’ piece for which this setting was always the prime intention after all.
The exchange of ideas between instruments works differently here than with
the other two sonatas, the instruments having more give and take rather than
meeting as unified or challenging equals, the piano having on occasions a
more accompanying role, which makes you realise just how richly intense the
compositional integrity is of the original cello sonatas. This is powerful
stuff however, and a tremendous, often darkly forceful performance.
This is a highly desirable disc on almost every level, with very fine performances
and a state of the art recording. My only minor downer is the cover photo,
which is dour and looks dated, and not a reflection of the resonant vibe from
the disc itself. Stiff competition may present doubts to those who already
have one or other version of this music, and the Stephens Isserlis and Hough
is still reckoned to be a leading contender in any roundup (see review).
At over 82 minutes I think this is the longest single CD I have ever come
across, so there are no complaints with regard to value for money. This is
a recording full of genuinely passionate and remarkably immediate playing,
including some stamping of feet, for instance at 1:11 into the Allegro
passionato third movement of Op.99. My personal opinion is that
this is now the standard against which other recordings, beloved old classics
such as Jaqueline du Pré and Rostropovich aside, will now be judged.
Dominy Clements