Catalogue

Summary:

“this recording boasts some of the most beautiful cello playing I have heard in years. The highlight for me is their brilliant account of Märchenbilder, Schumann’s ‘fairy tale pictures’ for viola: this is by far the best recorded account of that work on cello… Spellbinding, too, is this reading of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata: the slow movement has gleaming surface, the first passage work a violin-like finesse.” – BBC Music magazine ★★★★★

“Meneses negotiates the Arpeggione Sonata’s dauntingly high tessitura with no sense of strain… He’s a true virtuoso, as the fast passages in the Arpeggione and the third of the Märchenbilder amply demonstrate… Gérard Wyss, as an experienced Lieder accompanist, has a similar eye for illustrative detail; his touch is unusually sensitive, with chords always beautifully balanced” – Gramophone

Brazilian cellist Antonio Meneses, Beaux Arts Trio member and a frequent collaborator of the world’s greatest conductors and orchestras, made an indelible impression with his recording of J S Bach’s Six Cello Suites (AV0052). A consistently strong seller, it garnered a Benchmark accolade from BBC Music Magazine. In this release of works by Schubert and Schumann, Antonio revels in romantic ardour and the composer’s lyrical qualities. Together with his accompanist, Gérard Wyss, Antonio’s consummate artistry results in performances that are so elegant it’s hard to believe that all but one of the works, Stücke im Volkston, were originally written for instruments other than the cello.

Tracklist:

ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1856)

Adagio & Allegro in A flat, Op. 70 (9:45)
1. I. Langsam, mit innigem Ausdruck (4:30)
2. II. Rasch und feurig (5:15)

Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 (11:14)
3. I. Zart und mit Ausdruck (3:20)
4. II. Lebhaft, leicht (3:31)
5. III. Rasch und mit Feuer (4:23)

Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102 (16:02)
6. I. Mit Humor (2:56)
7. II. Langsam (3:41)
8. III. Nicht schnell, mit viel Ton zu spielen (4:20)
9. IV. Nicht zu rasch (2:04)
10.V. Stark und markiert (3:01)

Märchenbilder, Op. 113 (15:43)
transcribed by Alfredo Piatti, edited by Christian Bellisario
11. I. Nicht schnell (3:37)
12. II. Lebhaft (4:16)
13. III. Rasch (2:45)
14. IV. Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck (5:05)

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828)

Arpeggione Sonata in A minor, D821 (25:22)
15. I. Allegro moderato (11:50)
16. II. Adagio (4:31)
17. III. Allegretto (9:01)

Total duration: 78:51

Recorded at Potton Hall, Suffolk, England, 26-28 May 2006
Produced and engineered by Simon Fox-Gál
Editing: Sebastian Schubert