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Bach, Britten, Kodály
Recorded 2004 on Oehms Classics |
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Alban Gerhardt, solo cello |
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Benjamin Britten |
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Suite No. 1 for cello solo Op. 72 |
| 1. |
Canto (2:25) |
| 2. |
Fuga (3:35) |
| 3. |
Lamento (2:30) |
| 4. |
Canto Seconda (1:11) |
| 5. |
Serenata (1:56) |
| 6. |
Marcia (3:06) |
| 7. |
Canto Terzo (2:15) |
| 8. |
Bordone (3:32) |
| 9. |
Moto perpetuo e Canto (3:21) |
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 MP3 Audio |
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Johann Sebastian Bach |
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Suite No. 5 in C minor for cello solo BWV 1011 |
| 10. |
Prelude (5:18) |
| 11. |
Allemande (3:49) |
| 12. |
Courante (2:00) |
| 13. |
Sarabande (4:09) |
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MP3 Audio |
| 14. |
Gavotte I - Gavotte II - Gavotte I da capo (2:06) |
| 15. |
Gigue (2:06) |
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Zoltán Kodály |
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Sonata for cello solo Op. 8 |
| 16. |
Allegro maestoso (8:31) |
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MP3 Audio |
| 17. |
Adagio (12:19) |
| 18. |
Allegro molto vivace (10:19) |
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Playing time: 76 minutes |
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| Five Stars for Interpretation and Sound |
 Alban Gerhardt doesn‘t make it easy for himself. For his first recording with Oehms he chose a solo program which poses technically, intelletually and musically extreme demands. With a maximum of concentration and inner piece he immersed himself in the abstract of world of Britten, traces the clear lines of Bach, explores the mental labyrinth of Kodaly, a kaleidoscope of emotions from dreamy forlorness to frenzy. Gerhardt‘s playing possesses a focus and power of suction which literally forces you to listen. The sound engineering captured the in all registered well-rounded, physically virtually soothing cello sound very present and natural.  |
| —Norbert Hornig, Fonoforum, May 2004 |
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| Dark sound worlds |
| …Alban Gerhardt’s most recent cd “Bach, Britten, Kodaly” is a revelation…Gerhardt’s technique is tremendous – whereas his playing is far from technocratic. His vivid recording shines in the most varying, partly symphonically rich sound colours while there is always a deep pensiveness in the gloss. Amazing how smoothly the 5th Bachsuite fits in between both modern pieces without grinding at the margins. The transition from Britten to Bach is flexible, and also the Kodaly Solosonate, at times brusque and quasi untameably galopping, at times mystical and introvertedly murmuring, is a unevitable, precisely placed conclusion. |
| —Wormser Zeitung, March 27, 2004 |
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| …After a long search he found an adequate instrument out of which he draws an incredible variety of sounds…It must have something to do with his musical heritage, his love for singing, a fair bit of talent (not to forget discipline and diligence!), the enormously expressive old ‘Venetian’ and his courage to take risks, interpretations which are genuinely felt different: Alban Gerhardt’s cello mutates from a percussive instrument to a guitar, sounds sometimes like a mature bass voice, sometimes like a warm alto, switches between viola and violin. His most recent recording doesn’t feel like almost 80 minutes (!) cello solo, but this musical journey through 250 years passes like nothing… He prefers a different sound for the Bach Suite, clear and very dark, he lets the musical contents of the single movements speak for themselves without interference or self-projection. Alban Gerhardt dives into an infectious whirlpool of musical emotions and highly virtuoso passion in the Kodaly Sonata. His cello unfolds the entire resounding splendour, the sound is direct of full of depth, Alban Gerhardt doesn’t play the cello, he lives it. |
| —Kathrin Feldmann, Munich’s cultural magazine Applaus, April 2004 |
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| ...the soloist’s performance is both brilliant and dedicated. |
| —Grammophone, August 2003 |
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