Schubert and Chopin—two men of genius who had much in common: ultimately tragic figures who both died in their thirties; both miraculously inventive; both masters of smaller forms, through which they transformed musical genres—in Schubert’s case that of song, in Chopin’s that of piano music. Both composers possessed a gift for melody that has won them places deep in the hearts of music lovers. Cellists have cause to be thankful for the impracticality and swift demise of the arpeggione, which allowed the appropriation of Schubert’s wonderful sonata for their own instrument. Dénes Várjon’s 1851 Érard piano lends characterful zest both here and in Chopin’s Cello Sonata, while bonuses include Steven Isserlis’s own transcriptions of songs by both composers.
Cello Works of Chopin & Schubert – Steven Isserlis, Dénes Várjan
