Mozart: Cello Sonatas, Volume One
Although Mozart wrote no fewer than 34 sonatas for violin and keyboard, he didn’t compose even one for cello. Alexander Kniazev’s remarkable transcriptions of three of the violin sonatas for cello and piano go some way to remedying that deficiency. They transform the works, too: the cello brings out the rich, proto-Romantic sonorities implicit in the music.
Alexander Kniazev, cello
Edouard Oganessian, piano
Listen To This Recording:
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Sonata in G major, k379
- I. Adagio
- II. Allegro
- I. Allegro con spirito
- II. Allegro
- I. Allegro
- II. Andante
- III. Rondeau: Allegretto grazioso
Sonata in G major, k301
Sonata in F major, k376
BBC Music Magazine :
‘Regrettably, Mozart never got round to writing a work of substance for solo cello, but there’s absolutely no reason why cellists shouldn’t plunder his vast output for music which could work well on their instrument. Alexander Kniazev has certainly undertaken this act of piracy with relish, coming up with highly effective cello transcriptions of three of the master’s violin sonatas. There are even places in these works where the cello’s greater depth and range is preferable to the original, resulting in a more equally balanced and stimulating dialogue with the piano.’
—Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine
Crisis Magazine :
‘I have been completely taken by Russian cellist Alexander Kniazev’s reworking of three of Mozart’s sonatas for violin and piano. Mozart has not only been transcribed for cello and piano; he has been Romanticized. And it works wonderfully well in these meltingly lovely performances by Kniazev and Russian pianist Edouard Oganessian. This is a special release, particularly if you already know this music. You will be surprised.’
—Robert Reilly, Crisis Magazine
Fanfare Magazine :
‘… a very good disc it’
— Colin Anderson, Fanfare Magazine Feb 2007
Fanfare Magazine :
The Sonata in G, K 379, that opens the disc is a fascinating, two-movement work, supposedly composed by Mozart in an hour. Experimental in its form and its writing for both instruments, its violin part transfers surprisingly well to the cello. […] The performance is suitably biting and relentless.
The second movement’s placid theme and variations have a baroque quality, partly because the theme and first variation sound like the Pachalbel Canon, and the penultimate variation sounds like a miniature Bach keyboard concerto with pizzicato accompaniment. It’s an excellent performance. […]
Frankly, it’s a relief to hear these two Russian virtuosos perform Mozart in the full-blooded way that they see fit, rather than scaling down their sound and instincts in an attempt at stylistic authenticity. This well-recorded CD is an experiment that I’d say succeeds not only because the cello enhances the effect of K 379, but due to the strong character of the music-making in general.’
—Paul Orgel, Fanfare Magazine May/June 2013
AllMusic :
‘The disc is recommended to those who like Mozart and the cello and want to hear them together’
—James Manheim, AllMusic