Sergei Rachmaninov; Frédéric Chopin - Cello Sonatas (Alisa Weilerstein; Inon Barnatan)

Information

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov; Frédéric Chopin

• Rachmaninov - Sonata for cello and piano in G minor, Op. 19
• Rachmaninov - Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14
• Chopin - Sonata for cello and piano in G minor, Op. 65
• Chopin - Étude in C sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 7 (arr. Auguste Franchomme)
• Chopin - Introduction et Polonaise brillante for piano and cello in C major, Op. 3
• Rachmaninov - Romance in F minor
• Chopin - Prélude in A major, Op. 28 No. 7 (arr. Auguste Franchomme)

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Inon Barnatan, piano

Date: 2015

Label: Decca

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Review

It’s a bold musician who dares to duet with Alisa Weilerstein. So much is out of the question: complacency, clichés, safety nets. So much relies on emotional extremes and instincts as quick as this American cellist’s. Who has the stamina, and the stomach, for it?

Inon Barnatan fits the bill, judging from this Rachmaninov and Chopin programme; it’s hard to imagine many cellist-pianist duos more mutually fond of risk-taking. They certainly don’t hold back in Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata, often pushing it to the brink of breaking point. That’s what makes the first-movement climax so intoxicating, and why the second communicates with such fire-bellied urgency. But it’s at the opposite end of the spectrum that they really make their mark. In the third movement Barnatan finds a delicate songfulness to rival even Stephen Hough’s. And neither Mischa Maisky nor Natalie Clein can match Weilerstein’s sense of mystery in the first.

What emerges is an interpretation in which no single colour outstays its welcome. The same goes for Chopin’s Cello Sonata, whose sense of restlessness suits this duo well: just listen to them dart between the thunderous outbursts and the tranquil oases of the first movement. Then sample Weilerstein’s tone at 1'58" into the second movement, as it melts into something beyond recognition. Occasionally you feel they’ve missed a trick, for example in the reflections of the third movement, where cellist Alban Gerhardt and pianist Steven Osborne plumb greater depths. For the most part, though, this latest release leaves few notes unexamined.

That’s just as true of the smaller-scale works, in which Weilerstein and Barnatan reject received ideas. In Rachmaninov’s ‘Vocalise’ they avoid the predictable swellings that can reduce this piece to a hackneyed stocking-filler. In Auguste Franchomme’s arrangement of Chopin’s C sharp minor Etude they eschew over-indulgence in favour of honest simplicity. And in their hands Chopin’s Polonaise brillante sounds both poised and soulful, not just a piece of ‘glitter for the drawing room’, as its composer self-deprecatingly dismissed it.

-- Hannah Nepil

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. His music was influenced by Tchaikovsky, Arensky and Taneyev. Rachmaninov wrote five works for piano and orchestra: four concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He also composed a number of works for orchestra alone, including three symphonies, the Symphonic Dances Op. 45, and four symphonic poems.

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Alisa Weilerstein (born 14 April 1982) is an American cellist. She made her debut at age 13 with the Cleveland Orchestra, and since then has performed with a number of other major orchestras on four continents. Weilerstein is also active in chamber music and performs with her parents as the Weilerstein Trio, as well as in duo recitals with pianist Inon Barnatan. A champion of contemporary music, she has worked extensively with composers Osvaldo Golijov, Lera Auerbach and Joseph Hallman. Her discography includes chart-topping albums and the winner of BBC Music's "Recording of the Year" award.

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Inon Barnatan (born 1979 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an American/Israeli classical pianist. He studied with Victor Derevianko, Maria Curcio and Christopher Elton at The Royal Academy of Music. As a soloist, Barnatan is a regular performer with many of the world's foremost orchestras and conductors. He also regularly collaborates with world-class partners such as Renée Fleming and Alisa Weilerstein. His passion for contemporary music has resulted in commissions and performances of many living composers. Barnatan has received many awards, including an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2009 and the Andrew Wolf Memorial Award.

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