Music for cello & piano

"Isserlis's passion for Schumann overcomes the composer's threadbare cello repertoire with this selection of works. The Fantasiestücke for clarinet plays somewhat muddily in the cello register, and the rarely heard Violin Sonata is again somewhat lost in transcription. But Abendlied still charms, an octave down, and the Stücke im Volkston is a blast of untranscribed Technicolor, picked out with vigour, charisma and delicacy." The Times, 28th February 2009 ***

Gramophone Magazine - Editor's Choice - May 2009

"Schumann ranks among those composers Steven Isserlis considers closest to his heart. This music sings and soars, flying to the instrument's highest reaches with dreamy eloquence and a sense of rightness, even though some of the works were intended for other instruments. Isserlis has arranged the beguiling violin sonata No 3 in A minor, with its Brahmsian intermezzo slow movement. Other works include the Fantasiestücke Op 73 and Romances Op 94. Alternating between two Strad cellos, Isserlis invites us to guess which is which. On whichever, with pianist Dénes Várjon as equal partner, he plays with fierceness and soul." The Observer, 21st February 2009

"The really exciting performance here is Steven Isserlis's transcription of Schumann's valedictory Third Sonata: it's as if he's been preparing all his life to launch into its dark storm. This fabulously virtuosic and psychologically complex work forces his musicianship up to a new level. It's full of fiendish passages, lying extremely awkwardly on the instrument, but, even in the Finale, Isserlis masters these explosive flourishes and has the vital impetus to make an eccentric work feel whole." BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 *****