What's your favorite Cello Concertos?

Ern Dog · « **on:** 6 Jul 2018, 05:26 am »

I’d have to say that the sound of the cello resonates with my heart the most. I’m interest in expanding and want to know you most favorite Cello Concertos. A great recording is a must and bonus points if the album is in Tidal

Right now I’m listen to Dvorak played by Jacqueline Du Pre and it is fabulous! My favorite part is the Adagio- so blissful.

Tyson · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Jul 2018, 05:41 am »

Both Shostakovich cello concertos. But they are, uhm, not blissful

andolink · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Jul 2018, 07:16 am »

Try Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85.

For something more intimate try Gabriel Pierné's Sonata for cello and piano in F sharp minor Op. 46.

RichardS · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Jul 2018, 02:05 am »

Ern__I'm also a big fan of cello. I'm fond of Yo-Yo Ma--his recordings are usually top notch, and he's not shy about branching into nonclassical. I have these titles of his in my library (all available on tidal):

Yo-Yo Ma plays Bach and Boccherini

Claude Bolling's Suite for cello and jazz piano trio "remastered"

Inspired by Bach: the cello suites remastered

Simply baroque 2 remastered

Japanese melodies remastered

Brahms cello sonata's

Anything goes: the music of Cole Porter

Bach trios

Appalachia waltz remastered

Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart: clarinet trio's

Obrigado Brazil remastered

Solo

Songs from the arc of life

Silk road journeys: beyond the Horizon remastered

The goat rodeo sessions

Other Cello CDs I like:

Nathaniel Rosen: Reverie
and
Plays Brahms
and
Glazunov...

Jacqueline Du Pre: Beethoven cello sonata is number 3, 5 and 2

Edgar Moreau: Franck, Poulenc & Strohl: cello sonatas

Matt Haimovitz: J. S. Bach: The cello suites

Quirine Vierson: Bach: complete suites for cello solo
And her Britten piece:
Cello suites

Pieter Wispeley: Beethoven: complete sonatas and variations
and
Vivaldi Concerti

Antonio Fantinuoli: Cello tales

James Starker: Suites for solo cello
And
Cello essentials

Boris Pergamenschikow: Violoncello Solo

Copenhagen Cello Quartet

Michael Hoppe: The Poet: romances for Cello is a lovely new age cello piece, thoughh it might put you to sleep...

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Jul 2018, 02:13 am »

I quite cello music in the 1990 when I discovered Saint Colombe and the viola da gamba, if you like cello music you will love the viola da gamba:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc1BxtF-Wq4

simoon · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Aug 2018, 06:42 pm »

Hard to pick a favorite, but these are at the top for me:

Samuel Barber - Cello concerto
Penderecki - Cello concerto #2
Luciano Berio - Ritorno degli snovidenia | for violoncello and 30 instruments
Ligeti- Cello Concerto

Randy · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Aug 2018, 09:18 pm »

dB Cooper · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Aug 2018, 10:49 pm »

Bit of a tangent, but you might want to check out Edgar Meyer's Bach Suites for unaccompanied cello, played on double bass. I know you weren't asking about other instruments but....

alashikata · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 Aug 2018, 02:11 pm »

Thanks for the lists, I start to listen each of them

astrotoy · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 05:02 pm »

So far no one has mentioned many of the top cello concertos from the 19th and 18th century.

Dvorak
Schumann
Saint-Saens
Haydn D major and C major
Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations
Brahms Double Concerto (for Violin and Cello)
Brahms Piano Concerto 2 (3rd Movement begins with the most beautiful cello solo)

See if you can get the Christopher Nupen film of Jacqueline duPre playing the Elgar Cello Concerto.

https://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/classical/products/8005558--jacqueline-du-pre-and-the-elgar-cello-concerto-and-the-ghost

Presto has it for $28 for the DVD, Amazon is over $90.

Larry

Tyson · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Aug 2018, 05:42 pm »

Quote from: astrotoy on 30 Aug 2018, 05:02 pm

So far no one has mentioned many of the top cello concertos from the 19th and 18th century.

Dvorak
Schumann
Saint-Saens
Haydn D major and C major
Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations
Brahms Double Concerto (for Violin and Cello)
Brahms Piano Concerto 2 (3rd Movement begins with the most beautiful cello solo)

See if you can get the Christopher Nupen film of Jacqueline duPre playing the Elgar Cello Concerto.

https://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/classical/products/8005558--jacqueline-du-pre-and-the-elgar-cello-concerto-and-the-ghost

Presto has it for $28 for the DVD, Amazon is over $90.

Larry

There's a few artists that are so great, I'll blind-buy anything they put out. Jacqueline duPre is one of them. Nice rec.

hrosenba · « **Reply #11 on:** 31 Aug 2018, 02:24 am »

Re concerto for cello -- I love the Brahms Double Concerto -- Heifetz/Feuermann is remarkable, incredibly matched virtuosity. While Heifetz also recorded it with Piatigorsky, I like Piatigorsky better with Milstein -- they seem better matched musically. Dupre is phenomenal in the Elgar concerto. I also love Pierre Fournier's performance of Don Quixote with the Cleveland Orchestra/Szell.

Happy Listening,
Harvey

jmpsmash · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Jan 2020, 01:34 am »

Haydn
Saint Saens

LesterSleepsIn · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Jan 2020, 11:41 pm »

Boccherini: Cello Concerto in B Flat Major, frequently paired with the Haydn.

jmpsmash · « **Reply #14 on:** 18 Jan 2020, 03:34 am »

Agree that anything Du Pre touches sounds good. So unfortunate that she died so young. The world is not fair.

Tyson · « **Reply #15 on:** 18 Jan 2020, 04:07 am »

Quote from: jmpsmash on 18 Jan 2020, 03:34 am

Agree that anything Du Pre touches sounds good. So unfortunate that she died so young. The world is not fair.

On the other hand, Gautier Capucon is every bit as good, and we get to hear his work in modern, excellent sounding recordings. Actually we live in a time of plenty, with many excellent cellists. But of the current ones, Capucon is my favorite.

jmpsmash · « **Reply #16 on:** 19 Jan 2020, 02:49 am »

Quote from: Tyson on 18 Jan 2020, 04:07 am

On the other hand, Gautier Capucon is every bit as good, and we get to hear his work in modern, excellent sounding recordings. Actually we live in a time of plenty, with many excellent cellists. But of the current ones, Capucon is my favorite.

I love the sound of cello and also double bass. Cello concertos are my favorite.

Last night I did some comparative listening of Schumann by different cellists. Very interesting, and would be hard to do back in the days before streaming, Qobuz was perfect for this.

First I started off with the grand masters, Casals, Starker, Fournier, Du Pre, and then picked a few who are alive, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabetta, and Capucon.

Quite a spectrum. Here is how I would categorize them.

Fournier and Du Pre, are quite similar, energetic, powerful, deep.

Starker, clinical, cold, very little "expression".

Yo-Yo Ma, slow, romatic, expressive, mellow. Almost dragging on too much.

Capucon, not fast, not slow, tried to do a lot of variations, be different?

Casals, close to Fournier/Du Pre, but not quite so heavy but yet, very lively.

Sol Gabetta, a well balance of everyone, technically superb, energetic but not overly so, expressive, but not overly so.

I ended up liking Gabetta the most. Casals next, and then Fournier/DuPre.

It was tiring and I think at the end I had enough of Schumann for while.

Mike-48 · « **Reply #17 on:** 19 Jan 2020, 03:33 am »

My favorite is the one playing at the moment, though I do have a fondness for Dvorak in general.

I agree that comparative listening can be enjoyable; it can be tiring; and it can be too much of a good thing.

Flathead2 · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Sep 2020, 09:10 pm »

Saint-Saens, Cello Concerto No. 1, Allegro appassionato; Haydn, Cello Concerto No. 1. - Julian Schwarz, Cello, Seattle Symphony - Gerard Schwarz. Naxos. Check it out - Julian Schwarz is fantastic on both pieces. I have heard him in concert and he is terrific. The sound quality of this Naxos recording is also top notch. Thank you also for the references above. I am really taken with the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat, Eugene Ormandy. Just listening to it now.

MTVhike · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Sep 2020, 05:58 pm »

Any opinions on the Cello Concerto by Nikolai_Myaskovsky?