Customer Reviews

Bach: Sonatas for Cello & Piano

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On the heels of my recent listening to the Ma/Cooper non-performances of these works, I can heartily recommend the Maisky/Argerich coupling--- and especially for those not averse to having piano substituted for harpsichord. Maisky is in top form, his 'cello warm and rich, his emotion just right; Argerich accompanies faithfully, without overshadowing her partner, yet always bringing something new to the music. The recording is rich, true and completely tangible. This is a splendid CD in every way.

[Running time: 44:16]

The cello sonatas have been sadly neglected in the shadow of the suites, with only the famous Allegro Moderato emerging now and then in arrangements; but it's still excellent music, and this recording is superb. Maisky may not have the following of Yo-Yo Ma or Rostropovich, but I think he's one of today's finest cellists. He produces an absolutely beautiful sound on every note in every piece he plays. Martha Argerich brings out the piano line with the same philosophy of note-for-note beauty; together they are unstoppable. Do yourself a favor and listen to this recording; thereafter you'll want to hear it for years to come.

These three sonatas - composed originally for the viola da gamba and harpsichord - are very musically-appealing compositions. And unlike previous Baroque cahmber-music tradition, the harpsichord is not relegated to mere continuo but projected into the spotlight as co-soloist - perhaps to showcase some of Bach's keyboard virtuosity. There are several fine period recordings of these works on viola da gamba and harpsichord (Savall, Peri, Crum, Wispelwey) or modern cello with harpsichord (Ma, Tortelier). But if your taste favors all modern instuments (cello, piano), then this circa-80's CD by the legendary Martha Argerich and Misha Maisky is the ticket.

What is immediately striking about the recording is Maisky's lush and sensual cello tone and graceful progression through the music. Perhaps to some, it is not "Baroque enough" a sound with more Romantic flavor. Regardless, it is beautiful and emmensely likeable playing. Maisky's partnership here with Miss Argerich is seamless and well judged - both share enthusiastically the contrapuntal voices with equal weight and balance. Argerich's tempos and style are in-synch with both Bach's intent and Maisky's poised playing, so you won't find her sometimes "overdriven" tempos or bravura here as she finds the right center of gravity for Bach's music. Equally attractive is the bright, full and perfectly balanced sound from DG.

Penguin Guide rated this 3/3 stars, noting that those who prefer modern over period instruments will delight in this partnership and fine recording. A treat for Argerich fans. Compositions - 4.5 stars; Performance - 4.5 stars; Sound quality - 4.5 stars. PS: A 2007 recording by Bach-famed pianist Angela Hewitt with cellist Danielle Muller-Schott is also worth hearing in really excellent sound on Orfeo label.

This one has finally supplanted the Leonard Rose - Glenn Gould recording as main dish in my soul food banquet.

Its hard to decide how to rate this CD. I agree with most other reviewers that the performance is 5 stars. But the piano is both too low in volume and too thin sounding to my ear. And in this work the piano part is just as important as the cello. For what to me sounds like perfect balance between soloist and piano see Schumann: Song Cycles, Op.24, 42 & 48, with Leon Fleisher. Excerpts are available on Amazon.

This could be pleasant easy listening, but don't call it Bach. Or, rather, one may think of it as Bach "re-arranged a la Mendelsson, via performance". The temperament of neither player is suitable for a reasonable interpretation of Baroque let alone someone so complex as Bach: Maisky is perhaps best attuned to Mendelsson, and Argerich to Chopin or Scriabin. That being said, this recording doesn't see either musician at his/her best even as a Classical or high Romantic player: Maisky's playing is incredibly sweet, to the point of cloy. Every possible edge, turn of whim, the momentary urgency of a phrase in fugue, is mellowed out by the honeyed tone and unvaried pace of the cello. Argerich could have helped if she wanted to, but she allowed her piano to be nothing more than accompaniment, or merely crystalline punctuations, totally subject to the cello's lead.
It may be very enjoyable if listened to in the elevator. But the lift attendant, if he is musical from his former life in the Eastern Bloc, would have been driven mad at the day's end.

Maiski and Argerich are unquestionably excellent musicians, but this performance is incoherent; it bears the same resemblance to JS Bach's wistfully rollicking sonatas for gamba and harpsichord that a carnival mask bears to a face. It's all exaggeration and bumptiousness, a late 19th C sensibility applied to some of Bach's most amiable domestic music.

Want to hear this music as it should sound?
*Jordi Savall on gamba and Ton Koopman on harpsichord are still the most energizing and expressive.
*Gambist Hille Perl offers another approach, using lute and harp in place of harpsichord. Less incisive that Savall/Koopman but beautifully moody in timbre.
*Peter Wispelwey plays the three gamba sonatas on baroque cello and cello piccolo, pairing his instrument with three different keyboards -- chamber organ, forte piano, harpsichord -- and adds a couple of other Bach cello adaptations. The sounds are perhaps more interesting than satisfying, although I like the solemnity of #1 with cello and organ. Still, I'd choose the Savall/Koopman to keep, without hesitation, if I were culling my collection.

I am a little put off by versions of these viola da gamba sonatas when the keyboard part is played on a harpsichord, especially a loud, banging harpsichord. This version uses a piano instead of a harpsichord. Ms. Argerich's piano playing is beautiful. She is a Bach genius. For me, in this recording the cello is icing on the piano cake. The two of them play beautifully together, somehow giving each other space to be expressive while keeping a reasonably brisk but still reverent tempo.

This really is an extraordinary recording. I would give every track a 4 or 5 on a scale of 5. Very accessible, too, for those (like me) just venturing beyond the Bach standards.

That said, I like the Angela Hewitt 2007 recording (with Daniel Muller-Schott) a little better. Ms. Hewitt's is more clean and clear. In comparison the Argerich/Maisky disc is a teeny bit muddy. If I had to choose one, it would be worth the hassle of tracking down the Hewitt disc as opposed to the immediate gratification of downloading the Argerich recording. But if I never heard the Hewitt version, I would be happy forever with the Argerich recording.

What a pity Martha didn't use less piano sustaining pedal in this cd!

This cd should be beatiful without the sustaing pedal on piano (vibrato on cello, dynamic and agoge bearables)...