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Chamber music is an intimate genre, that we know. But in the case of Felix Mendelssohn’s cello works, it was also family-inspired. His younger brother Paul was obviously a good cellist, and it was to him that Felix dedicated his two cello sonatas and his Variations concertantes Op. 17. Daniel-Müller-Schott presents all three works here, accompanied by Jonathan Gilad at the piano. The playful virtuosity of the Variations, modelled after Mozart and Beethoven, inspires the duo to virtuosic brilliance, be it in the passionate eruptions in the seventh variation or the superb, subtle coda as it fades away. The First Cello Sonata is also light and airy, and the Müller-Schott/Gilad duo savour its prevailingly cheerful, merry mood. The grace and passion that Mendelssohn’s contemporaries already admired in him are here to be found throughout. In the Second Sonata, we find the most beautiful melodies alongside moments of drama and sound colours that seem not so far removed from the world of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Müller-Schott and Gilad here pull out all the stops. Orfeo also offer two shorter works for the same instruments: an ‘Assai tranquillo’ in B minor and a ‘Song without words’ in D major Op. 109 that is graceful in its outer sections, more agitated in the middle. These frame two song arrangements by Daniel Müller-Schott, wholly Mendelssohnian in style: two works of melancholic, cantabile melodic lines that ‘sing’ beautifully even without the words of Heine or Lenau. Reviews BBC Music Magazine September 2010 “These two gifted musicians bring clean lines, vivacity, finesse and youthful spirit to the two sonatas and concert variations, and their performances are hugely enjoyable…both Müller-Schott and Gilad are hugely impressive, and communicate with spontaneous and virile warmth – 4 out of 5 stars Classic FM Magazine December 2010 “Müller-Schott and Gilad seamlessly integrate even the most variegated of thematic gestures, making each movement seem like an unusually satisfying, organic whole…Mendelssohn cello discs don’t come much better than this beautifully recorded recital – 4 out of 5 stars International Record Review October 2010 “Müller-Schott attacks the music with conviction, effectively softening both bow-pressure and dynamics at just the right moment, enjoying the music’s drive and lyricism. Jonathan Gilad is an athletic accompanist, the roulade of notes assigned to the piano securely within his fleet fingers The Telegraph 16th July 2010 “The Cello Sonata No 1 in B flat major is given a compelling performance. The exceptionally gifted young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott is partnered by the effervescent, imaginative piano playing of Jonathan Gilad on a disc that never fails to charm and excite. – 5 out of 5 stars |
