It may be a surprise to see an album full of Russian music as a major-label debut from a cellist named for Pablo Casals, but Pablo Ferrández was a student of Russian-born Natalia Shakhovskaya, who was a student of Rostropovich, and Ferrández has absorbed the spirit of that tradition to a great degree. Ferrández delivers a muscular reading of the relatively uncommon Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, that follows in that great Russian cellist's footsteps. However, more than Rostropovich's style, Ferrández has managed to catch ...
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It may be a surprise to see an album full of Russian music as a major-label debut from a cellist named for Pablo Casals, but Pablo Ferrández was a student of Russian-born Natalia Shakhovskaya, who was a student of Rostropovich, and Ferrández has absorbed the spirit of that tradition to a great degree. Ferrández delivers a muscular reading of the relatively uncommon Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, that follows in that great Russian cellist's footsteps. However, more than Rostropovich's style, Ferrández has managed to catch his charisma, which is a less teachable thing. Hear the transcription of the song How Fair This Spot (also known as "How Peaceful"), Op. 21 No. 7, where Ferrández's cello absolutely purrs and draws the listener from the very start. Credit goes partly to the cellist's 1696 Stradivarius instrument, whose former players include Gregor Piatigorsky and János Starker (whose warmth of tone is mirrored in Ferrández's playing), but there's strong evidence of an individual style here, along...
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