Christian Erben performs on a cello crafted by George Panormo in London in 1840.
Compositional Technique
The restriction to a four-string instrument for these suites allowed Reger to 'distill' his musical language, avoiding excessive polyphony and harmonic excesses, resulting in a focused musical will.
Composition History
Max Reger began composing these solo cello suites in autumn 1914, shortly after the outbreak of World War I and following a health setback in February of that year.
Compositional Technique
Reger's cello suites combine late-romantic chromaticism and expansive harmonies with clear baroque forms like Prelude, Fugue, Gavotte, and Gigue, reflecting his reverence for Bach.
Composition History
During a spa stay where he was forbidden to compose, Max Reger turned to writing solo literature for string instruments, including these cello suites, as he had no piano in his room.
Performer Biography
Christian Erben, the cellist on this album, has been a member of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra since 1989 and grew up in a musical family with a solo cellist father and piano lecturer mother.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Max Reger saw his solo string sonatas as 'educationally immensely valuable' for 'musical chastity,' focusing on the essential aspects of his musical language.
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