The French cellist’s original program combines the Variations Rococo from Tchaikovsky to a delicious bouquet of transcriptions
Edgar Moreau, like the other members of the brotherhood to which he belongs, excels both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. The two main works of this album bear witness to this: the Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky, performed with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and its conductor Michael Sanderling, and the Cello Sonata in G minor by Chopin, for which Moreau is joined by pianist David Kadouch, his usual duo partner.
The disc is supplemented by arrangements and transcriptions of six shorter pieces by composers from Central and Eastern Europe – Dvořák, Rachmaninov, Chopin without forgetting Shostakovich and his popular False.
A new album that pays homage to the Slavic repertoire
“My career as a cellist began in 2011 in the final of the Tchaikovsky competition where I performed the Variations Rococo »confides Edgar Moreau. “It’s a work that has stayed with me ever since and so it was obvious to record it with dream partners, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and Michael Sanderling. I have had a special relationship with the orchestra since our concerts together after receiving the Arthur Waser Prize in Lucerne in 2015. I wanted to couple this great concert work with the Chopin sonata, joined by my lifelong friend and partner David Kadouch. We also made a selection of “sweets”, and it is therefore with pride that I present to you this new album which pays homage to the Slavic repertoire.”
Also read
Where we find the vibrating bow of the cellist, familiar with music from Mitteleuropa (think of these previous discs dedicated to Dvořák or Weinberg). In Tchaikovsky, the versatility of his playing is striking, which conceives each variation as so many miniatures. If the score thus highlights the wide range of nuances and styles of which he is capable, it also establishes the perfect understanding reigning with the Swiss phalanx and its leader Michael Sanderling, son of the eminent Kurt Sanderling.
Jérémie Bigorie
“Rococo”. Edgar Moreau (cello), David Kadouch (piano), Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, dir. Michael Sanderling (Erato)
Awarded every week, the Radio Classique Trophies reward a new album, highlighted in particular in the show “Tous Classiques” by Christian Morin.
Find Classic news
