Catalogue

Summary:

“There is not a sentence started by Aasgaard that Roscoe leaves unfinished; no question unanswered…More than usual, therefore, it is important not to understate the value that Martin Roscoe adds to this recording with his utterly faultless playing. He makes you properly listen” – Gramophone: Editor’s Choice

“The best performance here is an extraordinary rendition of the First Violin Sonata. Transferred to the cello’s upper strings, and played with limpid elegance, its musing character is given an amplified radiance I’d not heard before” – BBC Music Magazine

Principal cellist of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Aasgaard is an equally distinguished soloist as well as a notable arranger, talents in evidence on his previous AVIE release, From Jewish Life (AV2149) on which he solos in Bloch’s Schelomo and Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, and his own arrangement of Bloch’s Prayer. His new 2CD set of the complete works for cello and piano by Brahms includes the composer’s Sonatas as well as arrangements of the popular Hungarian Dances, a selection of Lieder, the First Violin Sonata, and the Andante from his Second Piano Concerto. His superb partner is pianist Martin Roscoe.

Tracklist:

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897)

CD 1

Cello Sonata No.1 in E minor, Op. 38
1. I. Allegro non troppo (14.39)
2. II. Allegretto quasi menuetto (5.31)
3. III. Allegro (6.51)

Cello Sonata No.2 in F, Op. 99
4. I. Allegro vivace (8.57)
5. II. Adagio affettuoso (7.41)
6. III. Allegro passionato (7.01)
7. IV. Allegro molto (4.32)

8. F-A-E Scherzo (arr. Watson Forbes) (5.44)

Total time CD 1: 61.32

CD 2

Violin Sonata No.1 in G, Op. 78 (arr. Johannes Brahms)

1. I. Vivace ma non troppo (12.04)
2. II. Adagio – Più andante – Adagio (8.50)
3. III. Allegro molto moderato (8.57)

Hungarian Dances (arr. Alfred Piatti)
4. No. 1 in G minor (3.38)
5. No. 2 in D minor (3.33)
6. No. 5 in F sharp minor (2.48)
7. No. 6 in D flat (3.29)
8. No. 7 in A (2.19)

Lieder
9. Feldeinsamkeit Op. 86, No. 2 (3.14)
10. Wie Melodien zieht es mir Op. 105, No. 1 (1.54)
11. Sapphische Ode Op. 94, No. 4 (2.18)
12. Wiegenlied Op. 49, No. 4 (1.35)
13. Liebestreu Op. 3, No. 1 (2.16)
14. Minnelied Op. 71, No. 5 (2.16)

15. Andante from Piano Concerto No. 2 in B major, Op. 83 (arr. Cord Garben) (8.03)

Total time CD 2: 68.21

Jonathan Aasgaard, cello
Martin Roscoe, piano

Recorded The Friary, Liverpool
Producers: Michael Ogonovsky (Op.38, Op.78, Op.99); Andrew Cornall & Jonathan Aasgaard
Sound engineer: David A Pigott