Composer: Gabriel Urbain Fauré, César Auguste Franck, Francis Poulenc, Charles Camille Saint-Saëns
Performer: Bruno Philippe, Tanguy de Williencourt
Orchestra: Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Christoph Eschenbach
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Catalogue: HMM902316
Release: 2023
Size: 1.42 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Fauré: Romance in A major for cello & piano, Op. 69
Franck: Cello Sonata in A major
02. I. Allegretto ben moderato
03. II. Allegro
04. III. Recitativo-Fantasia. Ben moderato – Molto lento
05. IV. Allegretto poco mosso
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 33
06. I. Allegro non troppo
07. II. Allegretto con moto
08. III. Molto allegro
09. Fauré: Papillon, Op. 77
Poulenc: Cello Sonata, Op. 143
10. I. Allegro – Tempo di Marcia
11. II. Cavatine
12. III. Ballabile
13. IV. Finale
14. Fauré: Après un rêve, Op. 7 No. 1
Saint-Saëns: Le carnaval des animaux
15. Le Cygne
From the overt Romanticism of Saint-Saëns to the nostalgia-laden modernity of Poulenc, Bruno Philippe takes us on a journey through (almost) a century of French cello music.
Alongside Tanguy de Williencourt, he also performs the cello version of Franck’s famous Violin Sonata, one of the absolute peaks of nineteenth century chamber music.
Of the various young cellists contending for the crown these days, Bruno Philippe is among the strongest, with a highly varied palette of tone production. He applies the full power of the instrument sparingly, keeping a light touch in lyrical sections and making details clear even at the growling bottom of the instrument’s range. The large pieces here are perhaps of varying quality, but they serve Philippe well. The Violin Sonata in A major of César Franck was transcribed for cello with the composer’s approval, but it is a different work lower down, losing the soaring quality of the finale’s melodies. Still, it fits Philippe’s way with a tune nicely, and he applies a good deal of tempo rubato in a way that holds the interest. Philippe keeps the cello lines clear in Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 (the mix of cello-and-piano works with a cello concerto is entirely characteristic of what might have been offered in these composers’ own era), featuring the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Francis Poulenc’s Cello Sonata was sketched out by the composer in 1940, laid aside, and completed only reluctantly in 1948. The composer disparaged it, and no one would pick it as top-grade Poulenc, but for all that, it has a remarkable Cavatine slow movement that displays Philippe’s lyrical gifts to the hilt. Serving as intermezzi among these works are short pieces by Fauré, and these, too, show Philippe as the possessor of a remarkable cantabile. Philippe is ably accompanied by the veteran pianist Tanguy de Williencourt; they make an effective pair, with the pianist’s restrained style seeming to keep the young Philippe within bounds. Harmonia Mundi contributes idiomatic chamber music sound from the Hessische Rundfunk studios in Frankfurt on an album that will appeal to any lover of French chamber music.