Complete Works for Cello by Ella van Poucke / Phion Orchestra / Günter Neuhold / Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden

Robert Schumann

Ella van Poucke / Phion Orchestra / Günter Neuhold / Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden

Complete Works for Cello

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917287127
Catnr: CC 72871
Release date: 03 September 2021
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917287127

Catalogue number
CC 72871

Release date
03 September 2021

"Ella van Poucke offers with great generosity the pure and tight lyricism of the German composer."

Sonograma, 29-9-2021

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Ella van Poucke. Winner of the prestigious Premio Chigiana 2017 and recently awarded the Grachtenfestival Prize, the 27 year old Dutch cellist belongs to the top rank of today's generation of cellists.

She is the first prize winner of the International Isang Yun cello competition 2015, the Leopoldinum Award 2015, Prix Nicolas Firmenich 2013, Elisabeth Everts Award 2014, Prix Academie Maurice Ravel 2012, Dutch Musician of the Year 2012, first prize winner of the 2008 Princess Christina Competition and recipient of the special prize in “recognition of an outstanding performance at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann 2014.

Schumann composed his Cello Concerto in about two weeks during November 1850. Before Schumann, few major composers had written cello concertos. Schumann avoids technical display for its own sake, allowing his characteristic poetic expression, intimacy and fantasy to prevail.

Schumann originally scored the Fantasiestücke Opus 73 (1849) for clarinet and piano but simultaneously provided alternative arrangements for violin or cello. In his choice of clarinet Schumann was typically innovative. The three pieces are melodically interrelated, creating a unity underlined by the absence of breaks between them.

Schumann's Adagio and Allegro in A flat major, Opus 70 dates from a week after the Fantasiestucke Opus 73. He originally intended his Opus 70 for the new valve horn, though he named cello, violin or viola as alternative instruments. The piece is fully characteristic of Schumann's Romantic spirit. The expansive and dreamily romantic Adagio gives way to an Allegro with a leaping, joyful main theme.

Just as Schumann had wanted “popular elements” to prevail in his Rhenish Symphony (1850), the Fünf stücke im Volkston (1849) are correspondingly simple, tuneful and accessible. Nevertheless Schumann's creative imagination and wide expressive range are no less apparent.

Op het album ‘Complete Works for Cello’ nodigt de 27-jarige Nederlandse celliste Ella van Poucke je uit in haar zo geliefde fantasierijke wereld van Robert Schumanns muziek. Als kind was Ella al geïntrigeerd door de magische intimiteit van zijn muziek. Jaren later begreep ze waarom deze muziek haar als kind intuïtief had aangetrokken: de rijke fantasie van sprookjes en folklore voert de luisteraar mee naar betoverende werelden of naar de diepste uithoeken van de ziel.

Wellicht was het Schumanns strijd tegen zijn manisch depressieve aandoening dat hij diep emotionele en kwetsbare gevoelens aanboorde in zijn werken. In zijn 'Cello Concerto, Opus 129', dat hij in 1850 in ongeveer twee weken componeerde, voert deze karakteristieke poëtische expressie de boventoon. De ‘Fantasiestücke Opus 73’ en het ‘Adagio en Allegro in A majeur, Opus 70’ zijn oorspronkelijk niet voor cello geschreven maar Schumann schreef de cello als alternatief instrument voor. Ook al speelde de cello geen hoofdrol in zijn vroege oeuvre, voor cellisten behoren zijn werken zoals ‘5 Stücke im Volkston, Opus 102’ tot het ijzeren repertoire.

Ella van Poucke. Als Gewinnerin des prestigeträchtigen Premio Chigiana 2017 und kürzlich mit dem Grachtenfestival-Preis ausgezeichnet, gehört die 27-jährige niederländische Cellistin zur Spitzengruppe der heutigen Cellistengeneration.

Sie ist erste Preisträgerin des Internationalen Isang Yun-Cellowettbewerbs 2015, des Leopoldinum Award 2015, des Prix Nicolas Firmenich 2013, des Elisabeth Everts Award 2014, des Prix Academie Maurice Ravel 2012, niederländische Musikerin des Jahres 2012, erste Preisträgerin des Prinzessin-Christina-Wettbewerbs 2008 und Empfängerin des Sonderpreises in "Anerkennung einer herausragenden Leistung beim Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann 2014.

Schumann komponierte sein Cellokonzert in etwa zwei Wochen im November 1850. Vor Schumann hatten nur wenige bedeutende Komponisten Cellokonzerte geschrieben. Schumann vermeidet technische Zurschaustellung um ihrer selbst willen und lässt seinen charakteristischen poetischen Ausdruck, Intimität und Fantasie vorherrschen.

Schumann hat die Fantasiestücke Opus 73 (1849) ursprünglich für Klarinette und Klavier komponiert, aber gleichzeitig alternative Bearbeitungen für Violine oder Cello vorgelegt. In seiner Wahl der Klarinette war Schumann typisch innovativ. Die drei Stücke sind melodisch miteinander verbunden und bilden eine Einheit, die durch das Fehlen von Pausen zwischen ihnen unterstrichen wird.
Schumanns Adagio und Allegro in As-Dur, Opus 70, entstand eine Woche nach den Fantasiestücken Opus 73. Ursprünglich hatte er sein Opus 70 für das neue Ventilhorn vorgesehen, obwohl er als alternative Instrumente Cello, Violine oder Bratsche nannte. Das Stück ist ganz charakteristisch für Schumanns romantischen Geist. Das ausgedehnte und verträumt-romantische Adagio weicht einem Allegro mit einem hüpfenden, freudigen Hauptthema.
So wie Schumann in seiner Rheinischen Sinfonie (1850) "volkstümliche Elemente" vorherrschen lassen wollte, so sind auch die Fünf Stücken im Volkston (1849) entsprechend einfach, melodisch und zugänglich. Dennoch sind Schumanns schöpferische Phantasie und seine große Ausdruckspalette nicht weniger offensichtlich.

Artist(s)

Ella van Poucke (cello)

Born in Amsterdam in 1994, she is one of the leading cellists of her generation. Praised for her musical integrity, flawless instrumental abilities as well as her performing presence and intensity, the 28 year old Dutch cellist belongs to the top rank of today’s generation of cellists. She is the winner of the prestigious Premio Chigiana 2017, the first prize winner of the International Isang Yun cello competition 2015, Grachtenfestival Prize, the Leopoldinum Award 2015, Prix Nicolas Firmenich 2013, Elisabeth Everts Award 2014, Prix Academie Maurice Ravel 2012, Dutch Musician of the Year 2012, first prize winner of the 2008 Princess Christina Competition and recipient of the special prize in “recognition of an outstanding performance at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann 2014.
After making her debut at the Concertgebouw at the age of 10 she has been performing in all the major halls of the Netherlands, in many top halls in Europe and in the U.S and Asia.
As a soloist Ella has performed with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, HR-Sinfonie Orchester, Brussels Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Rotterdam Philharmonic Strings, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Orchestre della Toscana, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Havana Youth Orchestra, Varsovia Chamber Orchestra, Symfonie Orchestra of Vlaanderen Polish Chamber Orchestra, Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Hamburger Camerata, Tongyeong Festival Orchestra and collaborated with artists as Michael Sanderling and Christoph Eschenbach among others.
In November 2012 she premiered a new cello concerto, which was written for her by the Finnish composer Uljas Pulkkis during the International Cello Biennale in Amsterdam. In September 2013 she premiered the same work in Germany at the Kronberg Festival, with members of the HR-Sinfonie Orchester Frankfurt. Ella regularly appears on Dutch Radio and Television and has performed for ARTE TV in Germany and France. She appeared in Germany’s “Stars von Morgen” hosted by Rolando Villazon.
As a passionate chamber musician Ella has performed with Andras Schiff, Gary Hoffman, Nobuko Imai, Tabea Zimmermann, Christian Tetzlaff, Viviane Hagner, Gidon Kremer, Colin Carr, Pavel Vernikov, Andreas Reiner, Vilde Frang, Simone Lamsma, Christiaan Bor, Philippe Graffin, Prazak quartet, Schumann quartett among many others. Since many years she regularly performs in recital with pianist Jean-Claude vanden Eynden and with her brother Nicolas van Poucke.
She has been guest in numerous international festivals such as Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Krzyzowa Music, Chigiana International Festival, Kaposfest Hungary, Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht, Grachten Festival Amsterdam, Kronberg Festival, Cello Biennale Amsterdam and was invited to participate in Verbier Festival Academy in 2009, 2013 and 2014.
As a Dutch ‘Rising Star’ Ella was invited to give two Carte Blanche concerts in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2013-14. In the summer of 2017 she was Artist in Residence with the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands and in August 2018 Ella was Artist in Residence of the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam. In 2019 Ella performed the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam together with her brother Nicolas among other venues. In 2018 she toured with all the Bach suites.
This year she is Artist in Residence at the Avrotros Vrijdagconcert where she will perform several times with the Radio Filharmonisch orkest and with her musical friends and inspirations including Gary Hoffman.
Born into a family of musicians, Ella began playing the cello at the age of six. Entered the Royal Conservatory of The Hague at the age of 10 and later continued her studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Godfried Hoogeveen. She has taken masterclasses and worked with Andras Schiff, Miklos Perenyi, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Steven Isserlis, Anner Bijlsma, Bernard Greenhouse, Mischa Maisky, the Emerson Quartet among others.
From 2009-2016 Ella studied with professor Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy Masters in Germany. From 2016-2019 she was an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, where she studied with Gary Hoffman. Ella plays on a 1620 Maggini cello, kindly lend to her by an anonymus benefactor.

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Phíon Orchestra

Günter Neuhold (conductor)

Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden (piano)

Composer(s)

Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.
Schumann's published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many Lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Works such as Carnaval, Symphonic Studies, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and the Fantasie in C are among his most famous. His writings about music appeared mostly in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music), a Leipzig-based publication which he jointly founded.
In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara, against the wishes of her father, following a long and acrimonious legal battle, which found in favour of Clara and Robert. Clara also composed music and had a considerable concert career as a pianist, the earnings from which, before her marriage, formed a substantial part of her father's fortune.
Schumann suffered from a mental disorder, first manifesting itself in 1833 as a severe melancholic depressive episode, which recurred several times alternating with phases of ‘exaltation’ and increasingly also delusional ideas of being poisoned or threatened with metallic items. After a suicide attempt in 1854, Schumann was admitted to a mental asylum, at his own request, in Endenich near Bonn. Diagnosed with "psychotic melancholia", Schumann died two years later in 1856 without having recovered from his mental illness.

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Press

Ella van Poucke offers with great generosity the pure and tight lyricism of the German composer.
Sonograma, 29-9-2021

Van Pouck plays beautifully. In the Finale, van Pouck and company are exciting. The recorded sound is excellent. In the chamber pieces, the balance between the instruments is very fine and van Pouck’s cello exhibits a well-rounded sonority with a close-in perspective. If you are looking for the “complete” Schumann works for cello, this is a good choice.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-3-2022

Freedom mixed with tenderness, transparency, the most evolved and refined classicism of Ella Van Poucke is nevertheless worth the detour.
Diapason, 01-2-2022

Ella van Poucke and the pianist Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden play with authentic chamber music sensibility and they capture this poetic intensity very well.
Classic Voice, 01-2-2022

There have been numerous recordings of this lovely music over the years, but this one is well worth considering.
American Record Guide, 15-12-2021

A richly successful Schumann album
Luister, 01-11-2021

Hard work and a little luck
Luister, 01-11-2021

This is an impressive debut album from a soloist whose performances I look forward to hearing more of in the future.
Gramophone, 01-11-2021

She has emerged thriumphant in an impresive list of competitions
Gramophone, 01-11-2021

She conjures a beautiful, song-rich, honey-like tone from her instrument, which is sweet and bitter at the same time, striking the composer's tormented romantic personality at the heart.
Het Parool, 14-10-2021

It suits her perfectly: Schumann's enchanting fantasy world, the romantic but light touch, the cantabile playing and, somewhat to my surprise, she received convincing support from the Phion in the Cello Concerto [...] No wonder that the conclusion can only be that it has become a wonderful album...
Opus Klassiek, 01-10-2021

In the Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 and the delightful 5 Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102 they explore diverse atmospheres and moods with apparent playful ease and without unnecessary frills. This is music to listen to carefully, because it veils its great depth with modesty – like the slow second piece of opus 102: fairytale beauty that takes your breath away.
NRC, 22-9-2021