Wendy Warner Plays POPPER AND PIATIGORSKY = DAVID POPPER: Suite for Cello and Piano; Three Pieces; Im Walde. GREGOR PIATIGORSKY: Variations on a Paganini Theme – Wendy Warner, cello/ Eileen Buck, piano – Cedille CDR 90000 111 [Distr. by Naxos] ***:
When composer David Popper (1843-1913) went to the Prague Conservatory at age 12, he wanted to play the violin but they needed cellists, so he learned to play that instrument and became the youngest principle cellist of the Vienna Opera. He founded the Budapest Quartet and performed in a piano trio with Johannes Brahms and Jeno Hubay. He went on to become a successful soloist, teacher and composer. This CD features three works for cello and piano by Popper and a composition by one of the great cellists of the Twentieth century, Gregor Piatigorsky. All of the music on this disc is resplendent with melodies that are not only beautiful but take full advantage of the cello’s rich full bodied sound.
The first movement of The Suite for Cello and Piano by David Popper is heartfelt and happy; the second movement a slow charming minuet. The emotional center of the work is a sad but graceful ballade that effectively uses the lower registers of the cello. The energetic and bright finale offers many opportunities for cellist Wendy Warner and pianist Eileen Buck to show their virtuosity. Three Pieces for Cello and Piano portray three different moods – contemplative, playfully humorous and exuberantly rhythmic. Im Walde is a six movement walk through the forest, with the soloists portraying some of the images a trek through the woods can inspire – a hymn of praise (Devotion), shady and slightly sinister (Gnomes Dance), and a carefree mazurka (Round Dance), among others.
In his 1946 work, Variations on a Paganini Theme (his Violin Caprice No. 24), cellist Gregor Piatigorsky composed 15 variations on that famous melody and named each one after a famous musical colleague, including Joseph Szigeti, Jascha Heifetz, Erica Morini, and Mischa Elman, among others. It’s a virtuoso romp that cellist Wendy Warner and pianist Eileen Buck navigate brilliantly. The sound on this CD at times favors the cello and is a touch over-reverberant. This is a disc of beautiful romantic music that offers much pleasure, especially for cello lovers.
— Robert Moon
