Cello Sonata No 1 in E minor Op 38[25’22]
1
Allegro non troppo[13’45]
2
Allegretto quasi menuetto[5’34]
3
Allegro[6’03]
Ze Šumavy ‘From the Bohemian forest’ Op 68Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
4
No 5 Klid, ‘Silent woods’: Lento e molto cantabile[5’22]
5
Rondo in G minor Op 94[7’01]Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
6
Ballade in D minor Op 3 No 1[4’58]Josef Suk (1874-1935)
7
Serenade in A major Op 3 No 2[4’50]Josef Suk (1874-1935)
Cello Sonata No 2 in F major Op 99[25’25]
8
Allegro vivace[7’58]
9
Adagio affettuoso[6’31]
10
Allegro passionato[6’46]
11
Allegro molto[4’10]
Twenty-one years ago the young Steven Isserlis, for his debut recording, made a disc of the Brahms cello sonatas which received superb reviews and became one of Hyperion’s early best-sellers. Now regarded as one of the great cellists of our time, Steven has revisited these works—this time in partnership with his equally high-profile colleague Stephen Hough—to give us his latest thoughts on these masterpieces.
Described by Isserlis in his eloquent booklet notes as cornerstones of the repertory, Brahms’s two cello sonatas perfectly convey the passion their composer had for the instrument which he mastered in his youth.
This new recording also includes charming pieces by Dvořák and Suk, both of whom were influenced by Brahms.