Cello Sonatas

"Jamie Walton's mature cello timbre and perceptiveness in matters of interpretation are winningly applied to this coupling of two 19th-century sonatas. His musical partnership with Daniel Grimwood brings special immediacy and finesse to these performances...Finely honed stylistic judgment here goes hand in hand with re-creative panache."
(Daily Telegraph)

"intensely passionate performances of two of the most overtly romantic cello sonatas. The Saint-Saens Second is here full of heroic power, its long lyric passages sweeping forward in a golden glow of cello tone. Grimwood's piano makes a powerful partner that continues in a rhythmically pliable and vigorous reading of Chopin's neglected score. Excellent recording that perfectly captures the beauty of Walton's playing."
(Yorkshire Evening Post)

Two works from very different composers: Chopin's works for cello were few and far between, but these two straddle his compositional life: the Introduction and Polonaise was written in 1829 when he was just 19, and the Cello Sonata of 1845-6 is his last work published during his lifetime: all latter works with opus numbers being published posthumously, against his wishes. By contrast, Saint-Saëns published a great many works for the cello, as well as works in almost every genre of the classical canon, with the Cello Sonata No.2 composed during his travels in Biskra, Algeria.

Jamie Walton and Daniel Grimwood are performers who have proven themselves, in both concert and recordings, to be formidable and enthralling interpreters of the classical canon. This release follows their previous duo disc of Rachmaninov and Grieg cello sonatas on Signum.