Cello Sonatas by Audun Sandvik & Sveinung Bjelland

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Dmitri Shostakovich

Audun Sandvik & Sveinung Bjelland

Cello Sonatas

Format: CD
Label: Lawo Classics
UPC: 7090020181530
Catnr: LWC 1131
Release date: 06 October 2017
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Label
Lawo Classics

UPC
7090020181530

Catalogue number
LWC 1131

Release date
06 October 2017

"The Norwegian performers present powerful and genuine interpretations for both works, emphasizing the lyrical character of the sonatas."

Pizzicato, 10-1-2018

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

We know that our seafaring ancestors cultivated a strong tradition of singing. And Russian singing, especially in a religious context, is a renowned hallmark of the country’s rich culture. Both composers featured on this album were partial to the human voice.

Many regard the cello as one of the instruments best able to reproduce the human voice. It is tempting to presume that both Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich were motivated by the cello’s matchless range of expression when each wrote his powerful sonata — and, mind you, with the piano as wholly equal partner. Each was considered one of the most outstanding piano virtuososof his generation and knew his instrument through and through.

Shostakovich’s cello sonata (opus 40) was his first instrumental sonata. Rachmaninoff’s (opus 19), on the other hand, was his last in this genre and his last chamber music work altogether. The sonata was overshadowed by the immense success of his second piano concerto, which had been premiered only one month earlier. We find many musical similarities between the two works. Following this glittering period, Rachmaninoff devoted himself to pure piano music, and to larger works for choir or orchestra.

We hope that the Russian sonatas — in Norwegian renderings — can show that the human spirit transcends cultural and national boundaries. All that remains is to listen. Perhaps we may perceive the sounds of our ancestors singing together. In music — humanity’s home — we all share the same mother tongue.

Wir wissen, dass unsere Vorfahren aus der Seefahrt eine starke Gesangstradition pflegten. Und der russische Gesang, vor allem im religiösen Kontext, ist ein bekanntes Kennzeichen der reichen Kultur des Landes. Beide Komponisten auf diesem Album waren der menschlichen Stimme sehr zugetan.
Viele betrachten das Cello als eines der Instrumente, die am besten in der Lage sind, die menschliche Stimme zu reproduzieren. Es ist verlockend anzunehmen, dass sowohl Rachmaninoff als auch Schostakowitsch vom unvergleichlichen Ausdrucksspektrum des Cellos motiviert waren, als jeder seine kraftvolle Sonate schrieb - und zwar mit dem Klavier als vollwertigem Partner. Jeder galt als einer der herausragenden Klaviervirtuosen seiner Generation und kannte sein Instrument durch und durch.
Schostakowitschs Cellosonate (opus 40) war seine erste instrumentale Sonate. Rachmaninoffs (opus 19) dagegen war sein letztes Werk in dieser Gattung und sein letztes Kammermusikwerk überhaupt. Die Sonate stand im Schatten des großen Erfolgs seines erst einen Monat zuvor uraufgeführten zweiten Klavierkonzertes. Wir finden viele musikalische Ähnlichkeiten zwischen den beiden Werken. Nach dieser glanzvollen Zeit widmete sich Rachmaninoff der reinen Klaviermusik und größeren Werken für Chor oder Orchester.
Wir hoffen, dass die russischen Sonaten - in norwegischer Wiedergabe - zeigen können, dass der menschliche Geist kulturelle und nationale Grenzen überschreitet. Jetzt müssen wir nur noch zuhören. Vielleicht können wir den Klang unserer Vorfahren wahrnehmen, sie zusammen singen hören. In der Musik - der Heimat der Menschheit - haben wir alle die gleiche Muttersprache.

Artist(s)

Audun Sandvik (cello)

Audun Sandvik’s heartfelt playing and lively performances make him a much in-demand soloist, orchestral musician, chamber musician and cello teacher. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, as well as frequent appearances at Norwegian and international chamber music festivals. Together with pianist Sveinung Bjelland, he garnered international attention with the release of “Rachmaninoff / Shostakovich: Cello Sonatas” (LWC1131, 2017). Audun is currently a cellist with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. From 2005 through 2019 he held the position of Co-Principal Cello in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. He also performs with leading artists within the genres of jazz, pop and rock. He is employed as Professor of Cello...

Audun is currently a cellist with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. From 2005 through 2019 he held the position of Co-Principal Cello in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. He also performs with leading artists within the genres of jazz, pop and rock. He is employed as Professor of Cello at the Norwegian Arctic University in Tromsø, where he is cultivating a positive and thriving milieu, following on from the work he undertook in his many years as a cello teacher at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Audun is the Artistic Director of the classical Gloppen Music Festival. The cello he plays was built in Rome in 1695 by Giorgio Taninger.

“A musician for today and a first-rate soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician” was the jury’s verdict when Audun was honoured with “The Lindeman Prize for Young Musicians”

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Sveinung Bjelland (piano)

The award-winning pianist Sveinung Bjelland from Stavanger studied with Professor Hans Leygraf at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts (Mozarteum) in Salzburg and at the Berlin University of the Arts, from which he graduated with highest honors. In 1999 he was the recipient of Concerts Norway’s “Young Soloist of the Year” award. In the international press he is described as an outstanding lieder pianist. He is Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the University of Agder. Bjelland can look back on an extensive career as soloist, on international concert stages as well as on numerous recordings. His album of sonatas of Scarlatti and Mendelssohn is testimony to his exquisite sense of style and sound. His previous release...

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Composer(s)

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov was a Russian pianist, composer, and conductor of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the classical repertoire.
Born into a musical family, Rachmaninov took up the piano at age four. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892 and had composed several piano and orchestral pieces by this time. In 1897, following the critical reaction to his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff entered a four-year depression and composed little until successful therapy allowed him to complete his enthusiastically received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia and resided in the United States, first in New York City. Demanding piano concert tour schedules caused his output as composer to slow tremendously; between 1918 and 1943, he completed just six compositions, including Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No. 3, and Symphonic Dances. In 1942, Rachmaninov moved to Beverly Hills, California. One month before his death from advanced melanoma, Rachmaninov acquired American citizenship.
Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers gave way to a personal style notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors.[3] The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninov's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.

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Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian pianist and composer of the Soviet period. He is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century.
Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Soviet chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Nevertheless, he received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947–1962) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death).
A polystylist, Shostakovich developed a hybrid voice, combining a variety of different musical techniques into his works. His music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and (especially in his symphonies) by the late Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler.
Shostakovich's orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti. His chamber output includes 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, two piano trios, and two pieces for string octet. His solo piano works include two sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include three operas, several song cycles, ballets, and a substantial quantity of film music; especially well known is The Second Waltz, Op. 99, music to the film The First Echelon (1955–1956), as well as the suites of music composed for The Gadfly.

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Press

The Norwegian performers present powerful and genuine interpretations for both works, emphasizing the lyrical character of the sonatas.
Pizzicato, 10-1-2018

Cello and piano are equal partners on this disc, and both players find an admirable delicacy. Compelling interpretations of 20th-century Russian cello classics.
BBC Music Magazine, 02-1-2018