Albums exploring the cello from different musical angles are featured this week. Louise Dubin continues to champion the work of cellist-composer Auguste Franchomme, along with other rarely performed French music. Gautier Capuçon unites cello works across the ages under a common theme of nature and harmony. Jonathan Aasgaard is the soloist in William Walton’s Cello Concerto alongside The Sinfonia of London (conducted by Joh Wilson). Rounding up the cello celebration is the cello/piano duo of Gleb Pyšniak and Rokas Zubovas, presenting works by the Lithuanian cultural figure Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis alongside other Baltic composers. Finally, WFMT continues the march towards the holidays with a new recording of Alessandro Scarlatti’s sacred works for Christmas time, including Messa per la Notte di Natale.
New Releases Nov. 11: Cello Celebration
The Sinfonia of London conducted by John Wilson present their second volume of works by Sir William Walton featuring Jonathan Aasgaard as soloist in the Cello Concerto. Walton’s First Symphony was universally acclaimed as an outstanding success, with John Ireland commenting: “unlike any other English symphony, this is in the real line of symphonic tradition. It is simply colossal, grand, original, and moving to the emotions to the most extreme degree … It has established you as the most vital and original genius in Europe.” Walton’s reputation suffered in the 1950s, with a poor reception given to his opera Troilus & Cressida and equally negative opinions of his Cello Concerto, which was considered embarrassingly old-fashioned. First performed in Boston under Charles Munch in 1957, the Cello Concerto is now widely perceived as one of Walton’s most important late scores.
A celebration of nature and renewal, cellist Gautier Capuçon’s new album brings together works that reflect the beauty and resilience of our world. With his signature warmth and intensity, Capuçon invites listeners on a journey that is both intimate and universal: music that resonates deeply with today’s need for harmony and hope. The album features 17 works from 16 contemporary composers, all inspired by the world’s fragile beauty: Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, Joe Hisaishi, Bryce Dessner, Armand Amar, Olivia Belli, Xavier Foley, Gabriela Montero, Jasmine Arielle Barnes, Nico Muhly, Quenton Blache, Missy Mazzoli, Michael Canitrot, Abel Selaocoe, and JB Dunckel.
Cellist Gleb Pyšniak and pianist Rokas Zubovas present works by Lithuanian composer, choirmaster, painter, author, and cultural figure Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (arranged for cello and piano by Lithuanian cellist Juozas Čelkauskas). Čiurlionis composed in a style that blended late Romanticism with early modernism, incorporating Lithuanian folk music into his works and foreshadowing atonal techniques like serialism. His music is often described as symbolic and mystical, reflecting his work as a painter. The album includes new works by composers from each of the Baltic nations: Mihkel Kerem (Estonia), Zibuokle Martinaityte (Lithuania), and Arturs Maskats (Latvia).
In the heart of Baroque Rome, the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the principal Marian sanctuary of the Eternal City. For centuries it has guarded not only the relics of Jesus’s cradle and swaddling-clothes, but also the celebrated marble Nativity Scene by Arnolfo di Cambio (1291), the first of its kind in the history of art, thus earning it the title of “Bethlehem of the West.” Here, in 1707, Alessandro Scarlatti was employed as maestro di cappella. Though a brief appointment – it lasted little more than a year – it was long enough to leave a deep impression, above all on the repertoire for Christmas. Alessandro Scarlatti died on October 22, 17255 at age 65. For the 300th anniversary of the composer’s death, Giulio Prandi and the Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri dedicate their new album to Scarlatti’s concerted choral works for a Roman Christmas including the Messa per il Santissimo Natale, the Messa per la Notte di Natale, the Cantata pastorale, and two motets: “Beata Mater” and “O magnum myeterium.”
Cellist Louise Dubin is a renowned performer and champion of the music of cellist-composer Auguste Franchomme (1808-1884). Following her acclaimed album The Franchomme, which included world premiere recordings of works by Franchomme and Chopin that she discovered in archives in France, Dubin presents her new album featuring cello duos by Franchomme, Fauré, and contemporary composer Philippe Hersant with Julia Bruskin (cellist of the Claremont Trio). The album also includes Charles Koechlin’s rarely played sonata, the beloved Debussy sonata, and shorter works by Chopin, Franchomme, and Poulenc with pianist Spencer Myer.
