Benjamin Godard; Léon Boëllmann - Cello Sonatas (Mats Lidström; Bengt Forsberg)

Information

Composer: Benjamin Godard; Léon Boëllmann

• Godard - Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 104
• Godard - Two Pieces for cello & piano, Op. 61
• Boëllmann - Two Pieces for cello & piano, Op. 31
• Boëllmann - Cello Sonata in A minor, Op. 40

Mats Lidström, cello

Bengt Forsberg, piano

Date: 1996

Label: Hyperion

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA66888

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Review

“The sonatas on this recording are two works to which we seem to return continually,” writes Mats Lidstrom in the context of Hyperion’s booklet. He continues: “They belong to the truly grand sonatas: Brahms’s F major Sonata is another one. Maybe one day they will be played as often as the Brahms.” A point well made, though ‘truly grand’ is no substitute for truly great, which is why the Brahms has gained a secure foothold in the repertory, and both the Godard and the Boellmann still languish in relative obscurity. Godard’s offering plays for over half an hour, with Lisztian swirls in the first movement, a Schumannesque Adagio non troppo and a finale that suggests Brahms and, occasionally, Faure. Were it not that the performers on the present CD are so exceptionally adroit, I doubt thatI would have returned to the work; but I did, mainly because their enthusiasm and expertise proved so infectious.

I was even more taken with the Boellmann, and not just because of the playing. Here the ideas seem far bolder (Franck and Wagner thicken the mix), while the first movement’s bracing Allegro con fuoco suggests Grieg in folkish mood (a connection that obviously wasn’t lost on these particular performers). Again, the reading is especially compelling, with plenty of cut and thrust from Lidstrom backed by a warmly cosseting piano line (the two players have been performing together for some 16 years). All four of the shorter pieces deserve a place in the ‘encore’ folio although Boellmann’s “Menuet” sounds to me more like a Valse noble (or at least a lusty mazurka).

Cellists should rejoice, and so should those who know Benjamin Godard only from the Jocelyn “Berceuse” and Leon Boellmann from the Suite gothique. As in days of old, second-rate music can still fare well if played by first-rate musicians; although nowadays, both can enjoy the additional advantages of first-rate digital sound. Annotation by Roger Nichols is excellent.'

-- Gramophone

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Benjamin Godard (18 August 1849 – 10 January 1895) was a French violinist and composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Henri Vieuxtemps (violin) and Napoléon Henri Reber (harmony). Godard's long list of works includes eight operas, five symphonies, two piano concertos, three string quartets, four sonatas for violin and piano, a sonata for cello and piano, two piano trios, and various other orchestral works. Godard was opposed to the music of Richard Wagner and also highly critical of Wagner's antisemitism. His style was more in tune with those of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Godard

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Léon Boëllmann (25 September 1862 – 11 October 1897) was a French composer. During the sixteen years of his professional life, Boëllmann composed about 160 pieces in all genres. His best-known composition is Suite gothique (1895), now a staple of the organ repertoire, especially its concluding Toccata with a dramatic minor theme and a rhythmic emphasis that made it popular even in Boëllmann's day. Boëllmann also wrote motets and art songs, works for piano, a symphony, works for cello, orchestra and organ as well as a cello sonata (dedicated to Jules Delsart), and other chamber works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Boëllmann

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Mats Lidström (born 1959) is a Swedish solo cellist, recording artist, chamber musician, composer, teacher and publisher. He studied with Maja Vogl in Gothenburg, then with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. Lidström has performed and recorded as a soloist and principal cellist with some of the world's major orchestras and conductors. He often seeks out neglected but beautiful music for the cello and has produced several highly acclaimed and award-winning CDs for EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, BIS, Hyperion, as well as on his own label CelloLid.com. Lidström plays the "Grützmacher" Rocca (Giuseppe Rocca 1857).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mats_Lidström

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Bengt Forsberg (born 1952 in Edsleskog) is a Swedish pianist. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Gothenburg, then continued his training with Peter Feuchtwanger in London and Herman D. Koppel in Copenhagen. Forsberg is one of Sweden's leading pianists and is particularly esteemed as a recital accompanist. He has become known for his wide repertoire and his constant interest in finding neglected music. Forsberg may be the most esteemed and in-demand accompanists. Among the artists he regularly accompanies are cellist Mats Lidström and violinist Nils-Erik Sparf, as well as mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.

https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Forsberg-Bengt.htm

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