The Romantic Cello Concerto Vol.2

Robert Volkmann (1815-1883) • Albert Dietrich (1829–1908)
Friedrich Gernsheim (1839–1916) • Robert Schumann (1810–1856)


Alban Gerhardt, cello
Rundfunk-sinfonieorchester Berlin
Hannu Lintu, conductor

Label: Hyperion, CDA67583
UPC: 034571175836
ASIN: B000LV6CLE
CD Release: March 20, 2007
Recording Type: DDD, Stereo, Studio
Recording Date: March 14-16, 2006
Venue: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin
Running Time: 1 13' 43''



This is Volume Two of a series of recordings of mostly rare Romantic cello concerti played by cellist Alban Gerhardt accompanied by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu. Of course the Schumann Cello Concerto, included on this disc, is hardly rare but it doesn't figure among the commonest cello concerti one hears in concert either. From the time of its premiere in 1860 – ten years after it was written – it has also taken plenty of hits from critics sniping at its thick orchestration and formal oddities. But there are marvelous recordings by the likes of Rostropovich and du Pré. Those recordings tend to present the concerto as Important Music and thus are played with emphasis and great emotion. This performance by Gerhardt tends to be a bit lighter and less self-important. That is an acceptable approach and indeed I think the concerto may gain by it. The three other concerti, though, are almost completely forgotten, unjustly so. They may not require frequent outings but they do deserve to be heard as all three of them contain memorable, enjoyable music. The concerto by Robert Volkmann (1815-1883), written shortly after Schumann's but actually premiered before it, is in four linked movements played without pause. It is possibly the most virtuosic of the three non-Schumann works here. Albert Dietrich (1839-1916) wrote his concerto in the 1870s. It is the most dramatic of the three non-Schumann concerti but doesn't actually dig too deeply. Friedrich Gernsheim's concerto was written in 1906 but could easily have been written fifty years earlier. It is tuneful and neatly written for the solo instrument. It is brief, with three movements lasting only thirteen minutes. Although in G minor it does not display much of the drama or anxiety often heard in late romantic music. One cannot praise highly enough Alban Gerhardt's playing. He is a cellist with big tone, suave phrasing and deep musical insight. The orchestral accompaniment is excellent and in good sound. He certainly makes the best possible case for these concerti, and since there are no easily available recordings of those by Gernsheim, Volkmann and Friedrich and the performance of the Schumann is a bit unusual and quite lovely, this CD is recommended for cello fanciers and lovers of romantic concerti



Robert Volkmann (1815-1883)
Cello Concerto in A minor Op.33 (1853-1855)
01. Allegro moderato — Tranquillo e ben in tempo —Più allegro — Allegro vivace — Tempo I

Albert Dietrich (1829–1908)
Cello Concerto in G minor Op.32 (c.1876)
02. Allegro
03. Romanze: Andante Espressivo
04. Finale: Allegro, Un Poco Maestoso - Cadenza - A Tempo

Friedrich Gernsheim (1839–1916)
Cello Concerto in E minor Op.78 (1907)
05. Allegro Non Troppo - Vivo E Con Fuoco
06. Larghetto
07. Vivo E Con Fuoco (Come Sopra) - Animato, Ma Non Troppo

Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Cello Concerto in A minor Op.129 (1850-1854)
08. Nicht Zu Schnell
09. Langsam
10. Sehr Lebhaft


The common denominator on this disc is the unseen Brahms; not that we have four cello concertos sounding like the music of a composer who wrote none - the double concerto notwithstanding - far from it. Each of them is fairly distinguishable from the other. Neither does the best known of them, the Schumann, overshadow the others because of his or its reputation. On the contrary, even if his concerto was held as a model, it also remains the most problematic and unsatisfying of them all. It took him the best part of four years before he had completed his revisions and then he did not live to hear the first performance which took place another four years after his death. Volkmann’s concerto, like Schumann’s unified into a single movement and sharing the same A minor key, is a highly attractive work, and like his third Serenade and First Symphony, enjoyed much popularity during his life. Richter lent his imprimatur to Volkmann’s music by performing it in Vienna and London. The Cello Concerto was played at St James’s Hall on 31 May 1880 by Bürger, and the Yorkshire Post critic Herbert Thompson timed it in his diary at 20’ rather than the 14?’ we have here; perhaps it was slow tempi which prompted the critic of the Athanaeum to dismiss it as ‘unsympathetic and not likely to endure’. Two of the works had particular soloists in mind, Karl Schlesinger (Volkmann), and Friedrich Grützmacher (Dietrich), while Schumann may have intended his for Christian Reimers, principal cellist of the Düsseldorf orchestra, though Ludwig Ebert actually premiered it in 1860. Gernsheim’s is also in a single movement, so one wonders if these three composers may have felt that the instrument lends itself to such a concise and compact structure. The music throughout is glorious, the Dietrich concerto (its cadenza by Grützmacher) is a revelation, although after its first performance it remained unpublished and has an unknown performance history. Gernsheim’s is the ‘youngest’ by half a century of the four, and though written a decade after his friend Brahms’s death, maintains a link in many places by dint of its muscularity and orchestral textures, even similar thematic outlines in places.

All the works show the considerable demands made upon the soloists of the day. Casals espoused the Schumann concerto and probably single-handedly ensured it a permanent place in the repertory; would that he had done the same with the other three. The virtuosic Alban Gerhardt certainly gets around the notes on this excellent Hyperion recording - another triumph for Andrew Keener and Simon Eadon who use the Berlin church’s generous acoustic to splendid effect. Despite an occasional blandness in colour, he is passionate when passion is called for, while at its most lyrical he responds with warmth and tenderness. His instrument is an 18th century Gofriller, a maker whose cellos are much sought after. Casals played one for sixty years, other owners include Piatti, Feuermann, Lalo, Rose, Starker and du Pré. Gerhardt has done a splendid job in making a case for this music, as has Hannu Lintu at the head of the excellent Berlin Radio Orchestra. One suspects, however, that the two hitherto unknown concertos may not make it beyond CD collections and radio stations to concert platforms. One can but hope to be proved wrong.

Download - Link Rapidshare