Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 & Works by Popper, Debussy & Scriabin
2/1/2017, 8 Tracks, 43:31
Featuring
Mstislav Rostropovich
Alexander Dedyukhin
Johannes Brahms
David Popper
Claude Debussy
Alexander Scriabin
Did you know?
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Compositional Technique
Unlike some composers who treated the cello like a violin, Brahms fully utilized the instrument's lower register, often as an independent bass to the piano.
Composer Biography
Alexander Scriabin wrote his 12 Etudes of Op. 8, including the one on this album, before the age of 25, showing an early love for Chopin.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in 1957 at Studio No.3, Abbey Road, London, and was originally released in 1959 as HMV ALP 1690.
Performer Biography
David Popper, a German-Bohemian, was a celebrated cellist whose "Dance of the Elves" is so difficult that only a brilliant performer would dare to write it.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Brahms aimed to elevate the musical medium itself, ensuring his music sounded as if it sprang from the instruments rather than being forced into them.
Composition History
Johannes Brahms composed his F major Cello Sonata, Op. 99, in 1886, a year after his Fourth Symphony.
Compositional Technique
Brahms viewed the combination of piano and another instrument as creating a "third entity" with unique properties and challenges, rather than just a piano accompaniment.
