Joachim Raff - Complete Works for Cello & Piano (Christoph Croisé; Oxana Shevchenko)

Information

Composer: Joachim Raff

• Duo for Piano and Cello, Op. 59
• 2 Fantasie-stücke for Cello and Piano, Op. 86
• 2 Romances, Op. 182
• Sonata for Piano and Cello in D Major, Op. 183

Christoph Croisé, cello

Oxana Shevchenko, piano

Date: 2022

Label: Avie

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Review

Pity Joachim Raff. Pity any fine second-rank composer who had the misfortune to work within the orbit of Liszt, Brahms and the Schumanns – and, moreover, who happened to be prolific. ‘It can hardly be avoided that insignificant material also reaches the public’, wrote one contemporary critic, of Raff’s Cello Sonata, Op 183. ‘We would include in this category the aforementioned sonata.’

Ouch. I don’t think anyone who listened to this new recording by Christoph Croisé and Oxana Shevchenko would agree with that appraisal. Yes, the sonata’s style is closer to Mendelssohn than one might expect from a work premiered in 1873, but those Mendelssohnian qualities – lyricism, transparency and verve (just listen to that bravura opening) – are overlaid with a virtuosity (particularly in the piano-writing) and a largeness of spirit that admit the influence of Liszt without being overwhelmed by it. There’s a wonderfully vivid musical imagination at work here, and the Two Fantasy Pieces, as well as the sweeping Duo, Op 59 – a sonata by any other name – belong to the high-Romantic world of Schumann’s cello music.

Croisé and Shevchenko are wholly inside Raff’s world; Croisé’s focused, almost viola-like upper register is complemented by gloriously mellow G and C strings, and while Shevchenko supplies glittering waterfalls of tone at Raff’s more exultant climaxes, the two of them also have the measure of the more tender moments. Their phrasing ebbs and flows but never wallows, and they bring a touching Innigkeit to the Two Romances, Op 182 (originally written for horn). In all, it’s a thoroughly engaging 70 minutes of music-making, with the pair’s unforced eloquence giving them the edge over their closest rivals on disc, Joseph Mendoes and Taeyeon Lim (Toccata Classics).

— Richard Bratby

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Joachim Raff (27 May 1822 —  24 or 25 June 1882) was a German composer and teacher who was greatly celebrated in his lifetime but nearly forgotten by the late 20th century. Initially a self-taught musician, he was influenced by Mendelssohn and Schumann before aligning with Liszt and Wagner's "New German School". He served as Liszt's assistant in Weimar and later taught piano in Wiesbaden. From 1877, he directed the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. A prolific composer, Raff wrote 11 symphonies, concertos, operas, choral, chamber and piano music. Many of these works are now commercially recorded.

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Christoph Croisé (born 1993) is a French-German-Swiss cellist and composer. He studied in Berlin, Weimar, and with renowned mentors including Nicolas Altstaedt and Alexander Neustroev. A multiple international competition winner, he has received major prizes such as the Swiss Ambassador's Award (2017) and the Prix Jeune Soliste (2019). Croisé debuted at Carnegie Hall at 17 and has since performed at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide, collaborating with leading conductors, orchestras and chamber partners. His recordings on AVIE, Quartz and Genuin have earned high acclaim from the international press.

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Oxana Shevchenko (born 1987 in Almaty) is a Kazakh classical pianist. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, she furthered her studies in London, Lausanne and Rome. She debuted as a soloist at age nine and has won numerous international competitions, including the Scottish International Piano Competition (2010) and the Premio Franz Liszt Competition (2015). She has performed with major orchestras worldwide and appeared at prestigious venues like the Sydney Opera House and Wigmore Hall. Also a passionate chamber musician, she collaborates with renowned artists including Ray Chen and Christoph Croisé.

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