Sonatas for Cello and Piano (Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Britten)

"For the cellist Pieter Wispelwey, these three great 20-century cello sonatas have one thing in common - 'an element of alienation: in Shostakovich's case it's the tension between romanticism and modernism, in Prokofiev's the balancing in the verge of parody and in Britten's it's the alchemistic way in which he makes the musical material undergo all kinds of metamorphoses.' An outstanding cellist and a really wonderful musician, Wispelwey imbues each with tremendous intensity."
- Editor's Choice (Gramophone September 2003)

According to cellist PIETER WISPELWEY, the three works on this cd belong to the great gifts of the twentieth century. Pieces to get one's teeth into, to live in, bulging with character and individuality. Dramatic and meaningful music with plenty of suspense and theatrics. Inevitably they
differ considerably, as far as style, cast of characters and the situations those characters have to face are concerned. After all we are dealing with three unique artists and with compositions written over a period of almost three decades.

What all three of them possess, in Wispelwey's perception, is an element of alienation: in Shostakovich's case it's the tension between romanticism and modernism, in Prokofjev's the balancing on the verge of parody and in Bri tten's it's the alchemistic way in which he makes the
musical material undergo all kinds of metamorphoses.

Channel Classics' recordings with Pieter Pieter Wispelwey have all been highly acclaimed by the international press, and no less than seven have won international awards, including three Edison Awards.

This new CD-release teams Pieter again with pianist Dejan Lazic , with whom he recorded the famous "Davidoff" transcriptions for cello and piano of Waltzes by Chopin. Dejan Lazic was born in Zagreb in 1977 and grew up in Salzburg where he studied at the "Mozarteum". He began his
piano studies at the age of 7, clarinet studies at 9, and at the age of 10 he already wrote his first compositions. With Channel Classics he made three recordings. His fourth, with Beethoven Concerto #3 and Haydn Sonatas will be released after the summer. A tour through the Australian capital cities with the Australian Chamber Orchestra was
a triumph.
A typical review in Melbourne's 'The Age', ushered in a cellist for the 21st century when it reported: "To say Pieter Wispelwey's musicmaking is ravishing is to utter an understatement of huge proportions...the concert did everything to confirm him as one of the world's greatest cellists. As a soloist, he played like a man possessed; his face, his whole body seemed consumed by a musical spirit whose familiar is the cello."