Cello Concertos..

I'm a little surprised that no one in the past hour has come forward with the basic answer to your question, so I'll start the ball rolling.

The greatest cello concertos must surely be the ones written by Dvorak and Elgar, and that's where to start. Thereafter, I guess, you will probably want to turn to Haydn. And to a particular favourite of mine, the Cello Concerto by Schumann.

You could also look out another central concerto which doesn't spotlight the cello alone but uses it as part of a little solo group -- this is essentially a 19c update of the 18C concerto grosso. This is the Triple Concerto by Beethoven, for Piano, Violin and Cello.

And if you are feeling adventurous you could eventually turn to 20C works such as Schnittke's concerto for the instrument.

Everyone will have their favourite performances of these central works -- my own favourite performances of the Elgar and Dvorak concertos are by Pieter Wispelwey. Many, however, will point you to Jacqueline du Pre, and you may well find that her particularly emotional approach is just up your street.

Paul

I wouldn't claim any great knowledge of the cello, but the sound of the cello is one of the things I love about chamber music. However rather than go off at a tangent on string quartets, here are the cello recordings in my collection - I don't know how they stand up artisically or technically but I find all of them enjoyable. Most of my classical music covers Bach/Vivaldi through to maybe Brahms and the list below reflects that.

Bach - Solo Cello Suites - Heinrich Schiff on EMI
Boccherini - Cello Concertos & Sonatas - Steven Isserlis on Virgin Classics
Haydn - Cello Concertos 1 & 2 - Schiff & ASMF on Philips
Hummel & Moscheles - Cello Sonatas - Jiri Barta on Hyperion
Taverner - The Protecting Veil - Steven Isserlis on Virgin Classics
Vivaldi - Cello Concertos vols 2 & 3 - Ofra Harnoy on RCA
Vivaldi - Cello Sonatas - Bylsma on Sony

The Harnoy discs date from first ventures into classical with Britannia Music and so probably aren't the last word in Vivaldi Cello concertos, but the rest are pretty good examples of the works I think.

Olly

Hi Paul

I take it you already have Bach's solo cello suites, and there's lots of good advice above, so I'll weigh in with a couple of left field suggestions:



A fine collection of cello and bandoneon duets. It's not classical, but, as is ECM's way, it's not exactly jazz or folk either. A great CD, however you file it. Secondly...



OK, these are piano and *viola* duets, but I think most people who love the cello have a soft spot for the viola, and this is truly great music-making. It's a collection of portugese and spanish songs, with the vocal part re-scored for the viola, and is one of my favourite CDs of the last few years - possibly even desert island material.

Paul,

If you're looking for concerti, Olly and David Robb have provided a good list to which I would add William Walton (Wispelwey).

There is also a wealth of good music for cello and piano. Some notable examples (with suggestions for recordings between brackets): Brahms (Harrell/Kovacevich), Beethoven (Wispelwey/Komen), and Chopin (Gomziakov/Pires).

Cheers,

EJ

No complaints of with any of the prior recommendations but for me, it would be a sad place if there were no Britten (Rostropovich plays well on Decca) and Kodály (Starker - the Delos version is the one that seems to be most easily available in CD, but any version with him playing is worth a listen.)

Shostakovich lags a little behind, again Rostropovich.

You can find some interesting transcriptions of Schubert for cello as well.

And I just noticed that Beethoven seems to be missing, I like Casals for this.

Whilst freely admitting to having only limited knowledge on the subject,
Bachs cello concertos, played by Steven Isserlis on the Hyperion label really gets to the heart of what a cello sounds like (to me, anyway).
Matt.

I only have a very small classical collection , but it does contain Elgar's cello Concerto Op 85 Enigma, by Jacqueline Du Pre on Deutsche Gramophone.

A little out of the mainstream but don't ignore Offenbach's works for cello. At one time, his fame rested on his prowess with the instrument and he was known in Paris as "The Paganini of the cello".

Not that I would disagree with any other of the recommendations.

Ken

Might I also recommend Miaskovsky's cello concerto?

These are not concertos, but on Sunday I heard a radio review of the 2-disc set Cello Rhapsody by Timora Rosler on Brilliant Classics 9157. Don't be put off by the dumb title and budget label, the excerpts played (Britten, Shostakovich etc.) made this worth exploring.

I am currently enjoying Hyperion CDA 67829, a disc of Kodaly Cello Sonatas played by Natalie Clein. But beware, both these recommendations involve modern (ie 20th century) music. A long way from Bach and Handel.

quote:

Originally posted by mongo:
I'm becoming addicted to the sound of the Cello,..

Hi Paul,

This is my favourite fix for my cello cravings...



Okay... this is not a concerto either but i don't think you mind?

Michal Kaňka's cello has the most delectable tonal qualities, and the composition is a masterpiece!

Amazon says it's a SACD but don't worry it's a hybrid (so it will play fine in your CD5 ; )

Debs

One which is lovely is the "Double" Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra by Brahms.

ATB from George

As is the Beethoven 'Triple Concerto', with which the Brahms just mentioned is often coupled.

(Good to see you back, George!)

I've always loved the sound of Cello, violins always seem to take it to highest register which can easily be too much for me. Cello has that soulful sound. I'll look for these. I"m currently listening to a CD of Shostakovich's Quartets. Just gorgeous. The wine is at the same level. Ah a drizzly afternoon in Los Angeles.

All, for some of the most soul searching music for cello, can I recommend Schubert's quintet for strings? The second movement, led by the 2nd cello, is one of the bleakest, most dramatic music Schubert ever wrote. Not many recordings get it right, unfortunately. I have many, but the old Alban Berg & Heinrich Schiff remains tops!

This is fantastic. One of my faves...