At one time i didn't think much of Cello Concertos outside of Dvorak and Elgar, and it's only been somewhat recently that i've changed my mind, Schumann / Saint-Saens / Lalo all bring something exciting to the table, so it's good to hear these works again through a new disc from a young Cellist, this comes on EMI's 'Debut' series, showcasing new talent that don't normally get the opportunity to record a disc, and then made available to the public at a medium price to tempt buyers to explore, as well as hopefully launch a recording career, Schumann's Cello Concerto is a strong work, not as good as his Piano Concerto, but certainly stronger than his Violin Concerto, there's some great tunes lurking around every corner in this Concerto, and i played this exact disc / work in 2011 [14th October 2011].
Andreas Brantelid is Scandinavian, i think he's Danish, i guess he's now 25, very much a youngster still, and he recorded this work in 2007 at 20 years old, the photography throughout is truly excellent [by Christoffer Askman], showing Brantelid on a couch, lovely pose, bow in hand, but it's the colour schemes that bring the whole thing to life, red and purple really make the colours sing, and it all looks visually appealing.
It's amazing how Schumann can create a Concerto which is not well known like a Violin or Piano Concerto, and yet still be chock full of good tunes, on this disc this Concerto lasts nearly 24 minutes, and yet this 'significant' central movement only last just over 4 minutes, but it's the significant glue that binds the first and last movements together, the whole Concerto is played without a break, it's this little 'Langsam' imp that i just loved today, it's hard to officially know where it begins, there's a sort of slow bridge at the end of the first movement, which prepares us for the second movement proper, gently pulsing pizzicato from the strings, create the backdrop for the cello to to spin it's lyrical song in F Major [0:00-0:50], the pizzicatos remain a feature throughout, then there comes a central section where Brantelid duets with the principle Cellist [1:39-2:20], at the end you can hear the music is preparing for the final movement, and it gets more stormy, the movement is a lovely oasis in the middle of a large desert, how amazing something so major can be achieved in 4 minutes.
Here's Andreas Brantelid playing the Schumann Concerto on YouTube, the second movement starts at [11:10].
Andreas Brantelid is Scandinavian, i think he's Danish, i guess he's now 25, very much a youngster still, and he recorded this work in 2007 at 20 years old, the photography throughout is truly excellent [by Christoffer Askman], showing Brantelid on a couch, lovely pose, bow in hand, but it's the colour schemes that bring the whole thing to life, red and purple really make the colours sing, and it all looks visually appealing.
It's amazing how Schumann can create a Concerto which is not well known like a Violin or Piano Concerto, and yet still be chock full of good tunes, on this disc this Concerto lasts nearly 24 minutes, and yet this 'significant' central movement only last just over 4 minutes, but it's the significant glue that binds the first and last movements together, the whole Concerto is played without a break, it's this little 'Langsam' imp that i just loved today, it's hard to officially know where it begins, there's a sort of slow bridge at the end of the first movement, which prepares us for the second movement proper, gently pulsing pizzicato from the strings, create the backdrop for the cello to to spin it's lyrical song in F Major [0:00-0:50], the pizzicatos remain a feature throughout, then there comes a central section where Brantelid duets with the principle Cellist [1:39-2:20], at the end you can hear the music is preparing for the final movement, and it gets more stormy, the movement is a lovely oasis in the middle of a large desert, how amazing something so major can be achieved in 4 minutes.
Here's Andreas Brantelid playing the Schumann Concerto on YouTube, the second movement starts at [11:10].
