Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello, BWV 1007–1012, have become the touchstone for the modern cellist. When first approached, they are the Mount Everest of cello works: difficult to conquer and stay on top of. Once conquered, however, they aren’t
My music
A wonderful phrase about the Ysaÿe Quartet is that they have a unity that never becomes uniformity. Unity of expression is sought, but never at the price of homogeneity of sound. In this recording of all of Beethoven’s string quartets,
After their first recording of Beethoven‘s piano trios, described as the biggest project a piano trio could undertake, the Trio Sōra then decided to tackle the next biggest challenge: Brahms’ complete piano trios. Trio Sōra takes its name from a
As we all know, the 2020–2022 COVID-19 lockdown produced many new musical works, inspired by both the time to make some unusual arrangements and by utter boredom, and a sense of playfulness. The Leleu brothers, Romain (trumpet) and Thomas (tuba),
In a tribute to the places she considers home, violinist Eva Zavaro, joined by pianist Clément Lefebvre, presents works by Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937) and Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924). The recording includes both composers’ violin sonatas (Szymanowski No.1 and Fauré No. 2)
With its full title, La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre (The sea, three symphonic sketches for orchestra), we can understand what Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was trying to show in his 1905 orchestral work. I. De l’aube à midi sur
The idea of the piano miniature has largely faded from the scene, but in the 19th century, particularly fuelled by the rise in home ownership of pianos, composers by the score wrote little consequential pieces for their audience. French pianist
After the invention and development of the Nocturne in the hands of John Field and Frédéric Chopin, it wasn’t until Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) took up the genre that it grew out of its romantic past and became part of the