Mendelssohn & Sterndale Bennett: Sonatas for Cello & Piano

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Neary and Frith achieve an ideal effervescence, at no tonal expense, which also lifts Bennett’s gracefully vocal Allegro. Frith’s crystalline touch here, ideally recorded, is a joy, complemented... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2017, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Sep 2016
Catalogue No: CHRCD105
Label: Champs Hill Records
Length: 81 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 1 in B flat major, Op. 45

Work length20:35

$3.50

$4.90

Alice Neary, Benjamin Frith

I. Allegro vivace

Track length8:30

$1.50

$2.10

II. Andante

Track length5:34

$1.00

$1.40

III. Allegro assai

Track length6:31

$1.00

$1.40

Mendelssohn, Fanny: Fantasia

Work length5:13

$1.00

$1.40

Alice Neary, Benjamin Frith

Mendelssohn, Fanny: Capriccio in A-Flat Major

Work length8:01

$1.50

$2.10

Alice Neary, Benjamin Frith

Bennett, W S: Sonata Duo in A Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 32

Work length23:43

$4.00

$5.60

Alice Neary, Benjamin Frith

I. Adagio sostenuto - Allegro giusto e leggierissimo

Track length11:23

$2.00

$2.80

II. Minuetto Caractéristique: Andante grazioso

Track length5:26

$1.00

$1.40

III. Rondo: Allegretto piacevole

Track length6:54

$1.00

$1.40

Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58

Work length24:23

$4.50

$6.30

Alice Neary, Benjamin Frith

I. Allegro assai vivace

Track length7:38

$1.50

$2.10

II. Allegretto scherzando

Track length5:18

$1.00

$1.40

III. Adagio

Track length4:38

$1.00

$1.40

IV. Molto Allegro e vivace

Track length6:49

$1.00

$1.40

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Alice Neary and Benjamin Frith, cellist and pianist in the acclaimed Gould Piano Trio, explore lesser-know works by Mendelssohn’s contemporaries, alongside his masterpieces for cello and piano.

During the first half of the nineteenth century the cello sonata remained a relatively under-developed genre. Before Mendelssohn’s two - and the sonata by Chopin - the only cello sonatas to have gained a secure place in the repertoire are Beethoven’s five examples.

This new recording includes Fanny Mendelssohn’s Fantasia in G minor and Capriccio in A flat major, which Neary describes as ‘small pieces with big intention thanks to her gift for melody and bold and imaginative harmonies’. Both here and in her actual sonatas Fanny was keen to show that her reputation should not depend upon her fluency as a miniaturist and salon composer. She had something more substantial to say and was well equipped technically to express it.

Sterndale Bennet was much admired by Mendelssohn - “I think him the most promising young musician I know” - and his Sonata Duo combines a beauty of melody with charm and vigour. Born in Sheffield in 1816, Bennett was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music at the age of ten. He became the most highly regarded English composer of the early Romantic period, though he is a very neglected figure today.

Alice Neary studied with Ralph Kirshbaum at Royal Northern College of Music and as a Fulbright Scholar. She has a distinguished performing career as chamber musician and soloist and as a member of the Gould Piano Trio, which has remained at the forefront of international chamber music for the past 20 years. Career highlights include the complete piano trios of Beethoven, Schubert and Dvořák at the Wigmore Hall, the commissioning of new works from Sir James MacMillan and Mark Simpson, regular tours of the USA and over 25 CD releases. She plays an Alessandro Gagliano cello of 1710.

Benjamin Frith is a lifetime student of the legendary Dame Fanny Waterman. A winner of the Busoni and Artur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competitions, he has appeared as a soloist with the Warsaw and Israel Philharmonics, the Hallé, Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and recorded the Tippett Piano Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Moeran’s Rhapsody in F sharp with the BBC Ulster Orchestra; and Charles Villiers Stanford’s Second Piano Concerto with BBC National Orchestra of Wales for Champs Hill Records.

Reviews

April 2017

Neary and Frith achieve an ideal effervescence, at no tonal expense, which also lifts Bennett’s gracefully vocal Allegro. Frith’s crystalline touch here, ideally recorded, is a joy, complemented by Neary’s unforced eloquence.

January 2017

There is a warm sense of intimacy in the way Neary and Frith constantly respond to each other with the minutest gestures.

9th February 2017

A vigorously youthful and athletic view.

30th April 2017

Hensel’s G minor Fantasia and A flat Capriccio confirm that, if none of her works equals her brother’s best, she was a rich talent held back only by being a woman.

Mendelssohn & Sterndale Bennett: Sonatas for Cello & Piano

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