Anton Rubinstein
Recorded 2003 on MDG Gold
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Winner, Echo Klassik Prize |
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Alban Gerhardt, cello
George Hanson, conductor
Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra |
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Ballet Music for Orchestra from his opera The Demon |
| 1. |
First Dance. Allegro (7:42) |
| 2. |
Second Dance. Moderato (5:26) |
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Concerto for violoncello and orchestra op.63 |
| 3. |
Moderato con moto (9:40) |
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 MP3 Audio |
| 4. |
Adagio (9:13) |
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MP3 Audio |
| 5. |
Allegro con fuoco (10:03) |
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MP3 Audio |
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Don Quixote op.87 |
| 6. |
Musical Picture (18:20) |
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Playing time: 61 minutes |
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 …Especially the technically challenging cello concerto with its catchy tunes may be recommended as a valuable expansion of the repertoire. The outer movements are highly virtuoso…Gerhardt is superior to the challenge as to the manner born, although his stupendous technique doesn‘t end in itself at all. The slow, melancholic movement with its tenderly slavic touch reminds one of the Adagio in the Dvorak Concerto. Here the cellist impresses with the beauty of his legato and his long breath of phrasing… 
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| —Das Orchester, April 2004 |
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| The bow of the cello is in best hands, in those of Alban Gerhardt…He asserted himself as one of the leading musicians of his generation…The concerto for cello and orchestra may be proof for what one can bring out of a composition. As if the score gave wings to the young cellist, the listener experiences tremendous control of the instrument. The sound is full, the speed one could call in some section breakneck, and the range explores the limits of the instrument. Just as the interpretation. What comes from the loudspeakers to the ears gives evidence of an extraordinary virtuosity paired with a playful individuality… |
| —Klassik.com, January 2004 |
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| …The cello concerto op.63 for which soloist Alban Gerhardt brings the necessary understanding to mediate between German transparence and Slavic palatable delight. Gerhardt has got temperament, but he doesn‘t bet on a exhibition virtuosity. Instead he manages to sing out even sensitive beauties without the dangerous portamenti, while his phrasings are always well thought through. Which makes this rehabilitiation of Rubinstein twice as valuable. |
| —Rondo, March 2003 |
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| …The interpretation at issue distinguishes itself by artistic care; cellist Alban Gerhardt attracts attention with his elegiac sound as well as with his instrumental virtuosity... |
| —Fonoforum, August 2003 |
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| Gerhardt with Rubinstein |
| ...And in this really beautiful cello concerto the orchestra convinces us with passionate playing in which Alban Gerhardt's lyrical as well as virtuoso cello is embedded. Gerhardt goes for it in the first and third movements and makes his extraordinary slender and fine sounding cello sing in the slow middle movement. With a sololist like this the Rubinstein concerto becomes a fascinating piece of music... |
| —Pizzicato, Juni 2003 |
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| The First Cello Concerto, a terrific find for anybody in search of an addition to a repertoire by no means overstockes, is conspicuously modelled on Schumann's, even down to the A minor key and various turns of phrase. That fine young cellist Alban Gerhardt pvoes a passionate champion, with a conuctor sharing his dramatic flair and lyrical panache... |
| —Daily Telegraph, June 2003 |
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| ...Rubinstein doesn't indulge indifferently in grand pathos, but he developes his original and at times surprisingly modern appearing themes with much wit and distinguished delicate sense. The performers plead with heart, verve and full commitment for this composer, especially Alban Gerhardt, who knows how to make in unsurpassable manner his cello sing in the highest register, but also the Wuppertal Symphony, exquisitely conducted by George Hanson - they articulate so precisely, play so warm as if they were the Berlin Philharmonic. |
| —Jens Hagestedt, July 2003 |
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