Previn, Shostakovich & Berauer: Works for Cello & Piano
7/1/2014, 8 Tracks, 1:04:52
Featuring
Matthias Bartolomey
Clemens Zeilinger
André Previn
Dmitri Shostakovich
Johannes Berauer
Did you know?
1/7
Composer Biography
André Previn, born in Berlin in 1929, fled Germany with his Russian-Jewish family in 1938 due to National Socialist persecution, eventually settling near Los Angeles.
Historical Context
Virtuoso cellists like Pablo Casals, Mstislaw Rostropowitsch, and Siegfried Palm significantly increased the cello's popularity, often commissioning works and inspiring composers.
Historical Context
Shostakovich's Cello Sonata predates the period when his music became an expression of political debate, specifically the 1936 "Chaos instead of Music" article in Pravda, which condemned his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and led to the composer fearing for his life.
Historical Context
The cello became one of the most important solo instruments in 20th-century music, partly because its design suited modern stylistic developments and new musical innovations like atonality.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Johannes Berauer, a young Austrian composer, blends classical art music and jazz, creating pieces that exist in versions allowing for both classical performance and improvisation.
Composition History
Dmitri Shostakovich's Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40, was his first major chamber music work and premiered in 1934 with the composer at the piano and dedicatee Viktor Kubatsky on cello.
Composer Biography
André Previn had a versatile career, becoming a respected jazz musician who collaborated with artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holiday, and a successful Hollywood film composer, arranger, and conductor.
