MiV Home
Phillip T Young Recital Hall
August 4, 2015
Cello and piano recitals are relatively rare compared to their violin counterpart, reflecting in part the comparative breadth of repertoire for each pairing. This does not mean that cello recitals are lacking, as demonstrated in the programme selected by cellist Eugene Osadchy and pianist Arthur Rowe which included three vital and moving works, one of which is an undisputed masterpiece of any genre.
Osadchy and Rowe opened their recital with the second of the five cello sonatas Beethoven composed, Op.5 No.2 in G minor. This is a purely Classical (as opposed to Romantic) work, and brims with Haydn-esque flourishes. It was written when the 25 year old Beethoven thought his future career lay in being a concert pianist (before he fell deaf), and it has some decidedly virtuosic passages when the piano is in the forefront. It’s not that the cellist is relegated to a supporting role (such as a simple continuo accompaniment that would have been common a few years previous); the two are equal partners in this enterprise, with the cello carrying much of the melodic weight throughout the sonata.
Osadchy and Rowe approached the opening of the sonata, marked Adagio sostenuto e espressivo in a reserved - but not tentative - manner, which only served to emphasize the lyrical nature of the music. This was in contrast to the two allegro movements that followed, which Osadchy and Rowe delivered with gusto, realizing in sound all the good humour that Beethoven poured onto the page.
Debussy’s cello sonata, written in 1915 near the end of the composer’s life, is a cornerstone of the cello repertoire, a masterpiece of the highest order (regardless of genre). It is at once nostalgic for the Baroque era, harkening back to the sonatas of Couperin, while simultaneously fully modern, with challenging structure, harmonies, and rhythms. In Osadchy and Rowe’s hands, the sonata revealed dramatic sonic palettes, with crescendos contrasting with extended pianissimo, rubati, and pizzicato passages that drew in the audience until the last note. The English musicologist Ernest Newman wrote that the sonata consists “mostly of a fog opening now and then, and giving us a momentary glimpse of ravishingly beautiful countryside.” If this is what Debussy had indeed intended, Osadchy and Rowe captured it brilliantly.
Rachmaninov wrote his only cello sonata (Opus 19, in G minor) in 1901 (the same year he composed the second piano concerto), and it remains his most famous chamber piece.
The opening of the first movement (marked Lento) is a perfect example of what is meant when a piece of music is described as “minor key”. Osadchy and Rowe mined the depths of reticence that colour the piece, before the contrasting allegro main section of the movement offered some uplift. The slow third movement also gave the players the chance to shine. Rowe in particular demonstrated a sensitivity to the music, from the solo piano passage that opens the movement through the virtuosic flourishes that pepper the movement. And Osadchy’s playing of the lovely singing melody of the final movement was outstanding, with a lovely tone and sensitive phrasing.
After a standing ovation, Osadchy and Rowe returned to the stage and treated the audience to Schubert’s “Du bist die Ruh” (Op. 59, No. 3; D.776). The long, singing lines of Schubert’s melody are ideally suited for Osadchy’s bold tone, and the accompaniment provided by Rowe was, as we’ve come to expect, nuanced and sensitive to his partner’s playing. All in all, this was an excellent conclusion to a wonderful evening of music-making.
MiV Home