IDAGIO | Joachim Raff – Complete Works for Cello & Piano 822252249026

Featuring

Christoph Croisé
Oxana Shevchenko
Joseph Joachim Raff

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Historical Context

While working as an assistant to Franz Liszt in Weimar from 1850 to 1856, Raff had access to outstanding musicians who played and disseminated his chamber music.

Performer Biography

Christoph Croisé, the cellist on this album, made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall at age 17 and has performed in many renowned concert halls worldwide.

Composer Biography

Joachim Raff composed for the cello primarily during two periods: the first half of the 1850s and the early 1870s.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Raff's cello and piano works blend Classical genres, influenced by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, with virtuosic salon music, a genre he cultivated "with rather more success than some colleagues."

Composition History

Raff's Duo for piano and cello Op. 59 underwent multiple revisions, with the composer considerably shortening it for its 1867 publication; the early version is no longer extant.

Critical Reception

Raff's Cello Sonata Op. 183 was considered a "flop" at its 1873 premiere, with critics from Vossische Zeitung finding its ideas uninteresting, unlike his popular Cello Concerto No. 1.

Composer Biography

Bernhard Cossmann (1822-1910), a cellist in Raff's circle, was described in an obituary as "the [Joseph] Joachim of the cello" and played string quartets with Joseph Joachim in the 1840s.