Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1, Cello Sonata Op
) | Label: harmonia mundi Catalog: HMC 902142 Format: CD Emmanuelle Bertrand (cello), Pascal Amoyel (piano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Pascal RophéCountertenor Arias from Tamerlano, Ariodante, Teseo, Amadigi di Gaula, Giulio Cesare & Ottone Written 25 years apart, the two masterpieces for cello by Shostakovich recorded here were represent very different periods in the composer's career. The audaciously insolent Cello Sonata of 1934 is contemporary with Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District - the opera soon to plunge Shostakovich into disgrace with Stalin. It is paired with the bitter and self-questioning Cello Concerto No.1 from 1959, a work by a traumatized humorist who had long since learned not to laugh. Soloist Emmanuelle Bertrand is joined by pianist Pascal Amoyel for the sonata and by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales led by Pascal Rophé for the concerto.  Price: $20.98 |