Shostakovich & Brahms: Cello Sonatas (Dmitry Shostakovich - Johannes Brahms)

Chronique

Both Shostakovich and Brahms turned to the cello sonata early in their compositional career, and both composers modeled their first sonatas at least in part on forms of bygone eras. For Shostakovich, the four-movement outline of the sonata, typical order of movements, and broad sonata-allegro opening movement point clearly to the classical sonata structure. Brahms, who abandoned the four-movement concept, turned to Bach with his fugal writing in the third and final movement of his first sonata. Though they are stylistically different, these two sonatas make for excellent disc mates and a program of sweeping, impassioned music. Cellist Natalia Khoma and pianist Adrian Oetiker appear on this 2010 Centaur album that draws from 1998 (Shostakovich) and 2000 (Brahms) performances. Khoma's playing fits the music in many respects; she produces intensely Romantic phrases, broad gestures of dynamics and rubato, and draws an immense amount of sound from her instrument. So much, in fact, that the cello's sound sometimes inappropriately covers up the piano, making the recording more about Khoma's playing than a true chamber music collaboration of two equals. This is a shame as Oetiker's playing is clearly every bit as nuanced and inspired as Khoma's but without the same emphasis in the recorded mix. The duo chooses tempos that are brisk but under control, matching subtle pace changes well throughout the recording.
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