BRAHMS: CELLO SONATAS
BRIDGE 9609

"The passage of time has long since made it clear that the coexistence of Brahms and Bruckner is something of a foregone conclusion, but the supposed intrusion of certain composers into others’ dominant fields provoked a great deal of misplaced angst in the 19th century. The extent to which this was unnecessary is quite clear from an excellent Bridge Records recording of Brahms’ two cello sonatas, played by Emanuel Gruber and Arnon Erez. These works bracket the time period of Bruckner’s quintet, the first dating to 1865 and the second to 1886, but they fit into the Romantic era as clearly as do Bruckner’s pieces from the 1870s. The tremendous expressiveness of Brahms’ writing for cello (an instrument that he played for a time, and one that seems particularly apt for his musical worldview), and the skill with which the cello is integrated with and contrasted to the piano (the instrument on which Brahms was best-known as a performer), produce an emotional effect quite different from anything in Bruckner’s quintet. Indeed, the two Brahms sonatas are quite different from each other: the first (in E minor) is thoughtful and sensitive throughout and feels inward-looking despite the lack of a slow movement, while the second (in F) is generally stronger and more assertive, although its second movement (Adagio affettuoso) has warmth aplenty. Brahms does work some rather distant and unexpected key relationships into the second cello sonata, although not to the extent that Bruckner does in his quintet; but the result in Brahms is quite different and has the effect not of exploration but of a deepening of emotional connection. Gruber and Erez are exceptionally well attuned to the emotional elements of both these sonatas, focusing on the darker elements of the first without ever implying a descent into despair, and allowing the grander scale of the second to emerge engagingly through the first three movements until the lighter finale changes the sonata’s character and allows listeners a chance to breathe out (or catch their breath, as the case may be). There is an encore-ish addition to this recording in the form of an 1897 arrangement for cello and piano of the Adagio from Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 1 (1878). It is not exactly an encore, since it is placed on the CD between the two cello sonatas and is a more-extended and more-emotive work than would usually be suitable for encore purposes. It receives just as thoughtful and balanced a performance from Gruber and Erez as do the two sonatas: this is a lovely movement in its original form, and is if anything even warmer and more expressive in this cello-and-piano version by Paul Klengel (1854-1936). Gruber and Erez play with an understanding not only of all the music on this disc but also with a level of mutual deference and respect that results in performances that fully convey the beauty and expressiveness of Brahms’ works for cello and piano."