Customer Reviews

Truls Mørk ~ Rachmaninov - Op. Nos. 19, 34, 2 · Miaskovsky - Op.12 / Thibaudet

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

 

 

When I first purchased this CD, I didn't realize what I had gotten. Each track is played with such strong emotion that I guarantee will move you. No other Rach. CD that posses these songs sound as good and professional as this one! Truls Mørk and Jean-Yves Thibaudet work wonderfully together. I wish they would do more! I played this CD so much, that, unfortunately, I wore it out and tried for a year or so to find another one. Finally, they made more. If you want to hear the gentle side of Rach., I highly recommend owning this CD. It is indeed worth every penny!

I was wary of this CD for obvious reasons - Rachmoninov wore his emotions on his sleeve and was that most Romantic of composers. Thibaudet is the quintessential Frenchman with a serious intellectual, restrained approach to both performance and interpretation. French composers (Flaubert, Debussey, Satie) are his cup of tea; his Ravel is simply unapproachable. So it was with a little trepidation when I made the purchase.

While this is not the ultra-Romanticism of the old Russian school but overall, I should not have been worried. The collusion between Mørk and Thibaudet is seamless, as if they had long been a duo. Rachmaninov, always lush and soulful, is given a fresh rendering with obviously deep emotions. But it was the Myaskovsky that proved the surprise. He is a much-neglected Russian composer that drifted from Romanticism into the sterile confines the Soviet "style" but never quite lost the old Romantic touch. This particular work is one of his first and is therefore in the old style. It "sounds" simultaneously late Romantic and French in approach and temperament, thus a good fit for Mr. Thiebaudet.

My Grade - B+

Rachmaninov's masterly (and in conception quite symphonic) cello sonata is well known; Miaskovsky's first (I have not heard the second) less so, and while it is hardly in Rachmaninov's league it is still very well worth getting to know. Rachmaninov's sonata is also pretty well represented on disc; there may be slightly more lyrically romantic version out there than this one from Mørk and Thibaudet, but Mørk's phrasing is beautiful, the cello tone is consistently gorgeous and the music coheres better than in some more emotionally charged versions. Mørk and Thibaudet are at the best in the faster music, where crisp playing and clear articulation are crucial virtues, but even if the slow music is less emotionally intense than in alternative versions, they are eminently satisfying here as well. For my money this is definitely a top-runner if not the benchmark.

The shorter works are less engaging; I cannot honestly say that the cello and piano version of the Vocalise is among the most convincing of the many arrangements, and the two very early pieces are overall rather inconsequential (though it is all well played). The Miaskovsky is a different matter; despite a certain lack of originality, there is clearly an individual voice shining through; his thematic material is strong (if a tad uneven) and Miaskovsky was a master of development. The performance sounds excellent to my ears (I have not heard any alternatives) and given clear and good sound quality it helps adding up to what is in the end really a disc to treasure.

I have several other recordings of the Rachmaninov Sonata for Cello and Piano. This is the best. The two artists are in complete sync, and the interpretation and recording are excellent. A must-buy for fans of romantic chamber music. As near to a symphony for cello and piano as you can get.