Music for Cello and Piano from the 20th and 21st centuries

Album review

With a sleek title like 20/21: Music for Cello and Piano from the 20th and 21st Centuries, listeners may at first expect a cutting-edge, well-planned program. What they get, however, is a set of quality works that are none-the-less haphazardly programmed. There's no discernable connection between the Debussy and Carter sonatas and Andrew Waggoner's Catenary. It can't even be said that all the works on the program fit into the disc's title because for some unknown reason, Fauré's Après un rêvé (which was composed in 1878) is tacked on to the end of the disc. Cellist Robert Burkhart and pianist Blair McMillen begin with the deeply Romantic, perfumed Debussy sonata, one of the last works the composer was to complete. Of all the works on the program, this one plays most to Burkhart's strengths. He produces a rich, warm tone that is clear and penetrating across the range of the instrument. Intonation here is solid and listeners are able to focus on the delicate subtleties that Burkhart adds. The same level of precision is not to be found in the Carter sonata. While in general Burkhart makes it through the challenging piece unscathed, there are a few too many spots where the technical aspects of the sonata get the better of him. As the technical difficulty of the program increases with Waggoner's Catenary, so, too, does Burkhart's precision and quality of intonation diminish.
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