The Romantic Cello Concerto Vol.1

Alban Gerhardt, cello
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, conductor


Label: Hyperion, CDA67544
UPC: 034571175447
ASIN: B000A38Z18
CD Release: September 2005
Recording Type: DDD, Stereo, Studio
Recording Date: December 2004
Venue: Caird Hall, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom
Running Time: 1 08' 23''



Hyperion is delighted to introduce the highly sought-after German cellist Alban Gerhardt to the label with these dazzling performances of three cello concertos written within the span of five years either side of the close of the nineteenth century. This disc is a fitting start to Hyperion’s new series of Romantic Cello Concertos; a follow-up to the highly successful Romantic Piano Concerto series and Romantic Violin Concerto series. The Slovak-born Dohnányi grew up with the sound of the cello in his ears – his father was an excellent amateur cellist – and his understanding of instrument shows in his Konzertstück Op 12; its lyricism and emotional urgency suggest an acquaintance with Mahler’s music but there is also more than a hint of Brahms and a splashing of Hungarian folksong. The Symphonie concertante, Op 8 is an astonishingly assured composition produced by the Romanian-born George Enescu in his late teens. The piece is an innovative and virtuosic masterpiece, with luminous orchestral textures. The talented composer was also a fine cellist. D’Albert was born in Glasgow in 1864 into a prestigious family. His ancestors included the composer Domenico Alberti, after whom the Alberti bass takes its name, and his paternal grandfather was an adjutant to Napoleon I. He was taught composition by Arthur Sullivan and his pianistic skills were hailed by none other than Liszt when he went to study with the great master in Vienna. His cello concerto, written in 1899, is unusual in that it opens with the principal theme played by the oboe and then clarinet before finally passing to the soloist. Interestingly all three composers use the single-movement structure subdivided into sections of differing tempi created by Liszt in his symphonic poems. As befits a solo instrument of such vocal quality, long lines of unfolding melody are common to all the works, and all are beautifully ‘sung’ by the soloist accompanied by stalwarts of the concerto repertoire, the BBCSSO, on top form as ever.



Ernö Dohnányi (1877-1960)
Konzertstück in D major, Op 12
1 Movement 1: Allegro non troppo
2 Movement 2: Adagio
3 Movement 3: Tempo I, ma molto più tranquillo

George Enescu (1881-1955)
Symphonie concertante in B flat minor, Op 8
4 Movement 1a: Assez lent – Un peu plus animé
5 Movement 1b: Tempo I
6 Movement 2: Majestueux – Plus vite

Eugen d' Albert (1864-1932)
Cello Concerto in C major, Op 20
7 Movement 1: Allegro moderato – Animato – Allegro – Molto tranquillo
8 Movement 2: Andante con moto
9 Movement 3: Allegro vivace – Allegro molto



'Gerhardt's playing, with its richly hued tone, gets right to the heart of this music and brilliantly ignites the fireworks that the Enescu and d'Albert pieces have up their sleeves'
–The Daily Telegraph

'It would be difficult to find a more enticing choice of repertory for the first volume in Hyperion's enterprising Romantic Cello Concerto series than the three sumptuous late 19th-century compositions on offer here … Gerhardt's warmly recorded performance lays claim to being the most convincing of all [previous recordings], not least for the passion and sensitivity of his playing as well as the committed contribution of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Carlos Kalmar'
–BBC Music Magazine

'The lush lyricism and engaging virtuosity of the idiomatic solo writing is graced by a quite superb soloist of whom I hope we shall be hearing much more'
–Classic FM Magazine

'Enescu's Symphonie Concertante predictably provides sturdier pleasure, with its unstoppable torrents of cello song, intermittent Romanian colouring, and music of symphonic fibre'
–The Times

'Alban Gerhardt is the superb soloist in the lovely Dohnanyi piece, and he introduces the no less impressive concerto by d'Albert and Enescu's early Symphonie concertante'
–The Independent

'As one has come to expect of him, the cellist Alban Gerhardt has delivered this CD of little-known repertory with consummate virtuosity and style. But it's not just technical élan that marks out his playing, for the lyrical and unswervingly Romantic melodic material of the Dohnányi is captivatingly sculpted with full-blooded intensity. Add to that a remarkably clear recording together with an excellent and sensitive orchestral partnership, and the discs seems self-recommending'
–The Strad

'Alban Gerhardt's light-fingered and forward-moving, but never pushy, performances - elegant in tone, eloquent in phrasing, deft in rhythm - stand out for their freshness and their evident enthusiasm for the music. Orchestral support and engineering are both excellent, and Martin Anderson's notes are a pleasure to read. An auspicious release'
–International Record Review

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