If you're going to record the fiendishly difficult and vibrant violin and cello concertos of Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, magnificently clean, virtuosic, and sensitive performances are absolutely essential for soloists and orchestra alike. Fortunately, that is precisely what is achieved on this recording featuring violinist Arabella Steinbacher, cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Müller-Schott's performance of the cello concerto, first on the CD, is beyond exciting. His ...
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If you're going to record the fiendishly difficult and vibrant violin and cello concertos of Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, magnificently clean, virtuosic, and sensitive performances are absolutely essential for soloists and orchestra alike. Fortunately, that is precisely what is achieved on this recording featuring violinist Arabella Steinbacher, cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Müller-Schott's performance of the cello concerto, first on the CD, is beyond exciting. His technique is sparkling and gives listeners the impression that even the most difficult passages are completely effortless. Always infused with the folk-like panache so necessary for Khachaturian's works, technical passages are always exciting and never sterile. The second movement is sultry and filled with tension. Offering a similarly virtuosic performance, Steinbacher's violin playing is throaty and guttural, another ideal match for Khachaturian. Filled with passionate risk-taking, the...
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