Cello Recital: Warner, Wendy - MYASKOVSKY, N. / SCRIABIN, A. / SCHNITTKE, A. / P

The WarnerNuzova duo — cellist Wendy Warner and pianist Irina Nuzova — makes its recording debut with five late-Romantic Russian works on an album dedicated to the memory of one of Warner’s mentors, the illustrious Russian cellist, composer, and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich (1927–2007).

Fittingly, two of the pieces were originally written for Rostropovich: Nikolai Miaskovsky’s rarely heard Sonata No. 2 in A Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 81; and Alfred Schnittke’s Baroque-inspired Musica nostalgica, for violoncello and piano.

This is the first American recording of Miaskovsky’s mellifluous Sonata No. 2, a work that’s rarely performed outside of Russia. It will be a discovery for most listeners.

Alexander Scriabin’s Etude Op. 8, No. 11, is a beautiful encore piece brimming with chromatic harmonies; Sergei Prokofiev’s Adagio from Ten Pieces from Cinderella, Op. 97b, is based on a duet from his ballet; and Sergei Rachmaninov’s Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19, is a riveting four-movement work from the same period as his Second Piano Concerto.

"Strongly recommended performances of Russian Cello repertoire that will have a broad appeal beyond core cello aficionados."

Emma Baker - Classic FM Magazine

"Recorded with a particularly pleasing warmth and texture, the performance is direct from the heart, elegant in line and sumptuous in tonal expression..."

Laurence Vittes - Gramophone magazine

Artistic Quality 10 Sound Quality 10

Disc of the Month

"Wendy Warner is a magnificent cellist, and in Irina Nuzova she has found a keyboard partner who matches her in passion, elegance, and imagination. The result is as beautiful a chamber music recital as we have any right to expect, with the music intelligently organized to make an extremely satisfying full program. Miaskovsky’s lovely sonata, written for Rostropovich in the late 1940s, can sound monotonous, with two moderately-paced movements preceding the lively finale. Not here. Warner and Nuzova time each movement perfectly and find so much variety of phrasing and timbre that there’s never a dull moment. Instead, we focus on the music’s abundance of soulful lyricism before the brilliant finale brings the piece to a virtuosic close. Between this work and the Rachmaninov, Warner and Nuzova offer three charming short pieces: Scriabin’s Etude Op. 8 No. 11, transcribed by Piatigorsky; Schnittke’s Nostalgica; and the Adagio from Prokofiev’s Ten Pieces from Cinderella. They make an arresting and highly varied assortment, but it’s the Rachmaninov that’s the real prize.Just to hear the wonderful use of rubato at the opening is a treat. Warner has a real gift among cellists: a low register that never sounds like the proverbial dying cow, and a remarkable evenness of timbre throughout her range. Nuzova, for her part, glitters in the scherzo and finale, but never overpowers her colleague. Perfectly balanced engineering puts you in the same room as the players. A stunning release."

David Hurwitz - ClassicsToday.com - November 2010

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Cello Recital: Warner, Wendy - MYASKOVSKY, N. / SCRIABIN, A. / SCHNITTKE, A. / PROKOFIEV, S. / RACHMANINOV, S. (Russian Music for Cello and Piano)

Wendy Warner

Irina Nuzova

WarnerNuzova Duo

Chamber

Cello Recital: Warner, Wendy - MYASKOVSKY, N. / SCRIABIN, A. / SCHNITTKE, A. / PROKOFIEV, S. / RACHMANINOV, S. (Russian Music for Cello and Piano)

NIKOLAY MYASKOVSKY

Cello Sonata No. 2 in A minor, Op. 81

GREGOR PIATIGORSKY

12 Etudes, Op. 8: No. 11 in B flat minor (arr. G. Piatigorsky)

ALFRED SCHNITTKE

Musica nostalgica

SERGEY PROKOFIEV

Adagio, Op. 97bis (from Cinderella, Op. 87)

SERGEI RACHMANINOV

Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19