Pablo Ferrandez – Reflections

“Reflections” marks the debut of young cellist Pablo Ferrández on Sony Classical – with an exciting and insightful combination of works from Spain and Russia. “Pablo Ferrández is really something special … wonderful tone, very refined vibrato, an impeccable left and right hand, and a true musician,” Anne-Sophie Mutter says of the Spaniard, born in 1991, who is one of the leading cellists of his generation. Now he presents “Reflections”, his debut album on Sony Classical, a perfect opportunity to get to know an exceptionally talented artist, as it not only reveals his musical roots, but also shows unexpected parallels in the music of Russia and Spain at the beginning of the 20th century.

For his programme he chose the Russian-born Denis Kozhukhin as piano accompanist. Kozhukhin and Ferrández have known each other since they studied together at the Reina Sofía School of Music

At the center of “Reflections” is the four-movement Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. This emotionally immensely dense work, which is one of his most important compositions, was actually performed by Casals and Rachmaninoff together in concert. It is flanked by several shorter pieces. These include song arrangements by Rachmaninoff such as “How Fair This Spot” from the 12 Romances, Op. 21, and also the famous “Vocalise,” alongside Manuel de Falla’s lullaby “Nana” and Enrique Granado’s “Oriental” from the “Danzas espanolas.” The finale is the “Song of the Birds” (El cant dels ocells), a Catalan Christmas carol with which Pablo Casals ended all his concerts in exile from 1939 in a cello arrangement.