Strauss & Dvorak R. Strauss: Cello Sonate F-dur; Dvorak: Sonatina op. 100; Mischa Maisky cello & Pavel Gililov piano An easy listening programme of minor works, some of them transcribed for cello with piano. Strauss's early sonata is not yet characteristic. For the mature Strauss sound you have the Romanze (sometimes heard with orchestra; the composer's own reduction for piano was only lately rediscovered) and a transcription of the ever popular song Morgen. The full essay by Tully Potter is on line and puts it all in perspective, and explains the links with "that peppery personality Hanuš Wihan, for whom Richard Strauss and Antonín Dvorák wrote their cello music". Maisky has a silken tone and command of expressive phrasing and presents his selection to best advantage, though he was not able to convince me that the Dvorak violin sonatina is suitable for cello. Peter Grahame Woolf
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