Schumann

The year 1850 was a productive one for Schumann. He had just taken up his new post as director of music in Dsseldorf and it was here, in a veritable frenzy of creativity, that he wrote his Cello Concerto op. 129 in A minor in barely two weeks. Not only was it his first great work for violoncello and orchestra, it remains one of the most frequently performed of all violoncello concertos. As Sol Gabetta notes, it is clear from the work that the great Romantic composer was immensely happy at this time: You can sense Schumanns emotional state in the music. It is all cast from the same mould. Originally described as a Concertstck (concert piece), the work is made up of three movements that are seamlessly joined together, creating a continuous stream of music in which the violoncello is the ideal vehicle for Schumanns musical ideas. The opening movement is notable for its inward-looking melancholy, the slow second movement for its dreamy wistfulness, while the third is a lively, almost folklike envoi. As the violoncellist emphasizes, Schumann was ahead of his time when he wrote this work. Unlike earlier concertos in which the orchestra tended to accompany the solo instrument, the orchestra is now the soloists equal. Sol Gabetta, who was born in Argentina but who now divides her time between Switzerland and Paris, has performed this concerto many times in the course of her international career, of course. But she has now decided to record it for Sony Classical together with a number of other works by Schumann. She is joined by a group of fellow musicians who are among her closest friends. The Cello Concerto was recorded with the famous Basel Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Giovanni Antonini, one of the pioneers of early music. Concerts and recordings with the Basel Chamber Orchestra are like a family reunion for Sol Gabetta: I more or less grew up with this orchestra. It gave me my first big break before I became known as a soloist.

1. 5 Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102 / I. Mit Humor