His output dominated by operas and Lieder, Othmar Schoeck (1886-1957) wrote few largescale orchestral and chamber works. Of his three concertos, that for cello (1947) is among his last pieces and exudes an autumnal spirit. Its opening Allegro is among the composer's most successful sonata movements, generating no mean rhythmic momentum in spite of its predilection for long-breathed melodic lines, and purposefully sustaining its considerable length. The slow movement is the emotional heart – a luminous threnody in which the interplay of cello and strings is particularly felicitous. A brief but animated Scherzo and a finale that recalls earlier themes, while maintaining impetus on the way to a decisive conclusion, complete a work that ought to find its way into the still-limited cello canon now the Schumann concerto has become firmly established.
Christian Poltéra taps its ruminative depths unerringly and receives sensitive support from the Malmö Symphony strings under the direction of Tuomas Ollila. Julius Drake is equally responsive in the remaining pieces. The Cello Sonata remained incomplete at Schoeck's death: if its first movement evinces a certain weariness, the pert Scherzo and songful Andantino suggest a work likely to become more than the sum of its parts. The song transcriptions (presumably by Poltéra) are idiomatically done; that of the winsome Nachklang deserves to be an encore in every cellist's repertoire. Warmly spacious sound and informative booklet-notes round out this desirable debut from a highly promising cellist.

Deeply satisfying music, impeccably played and equally impeccably recorded.

[Christian Poltéra] here proves himself to be a masterly ‘singer on the cello’ while simultaneously in command of a staggering virtuosity.