Search - Brahms, Isserlis, Evans :: Cello Sonatas 1 & 2

Brahms sadness exposed

danielinyaracuy | San Felipe, Yaracuy Venezuela | 12/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brahms was an introspective composer. A lot of his music drips of sadness. Yet, no matter how apparently sad, it always has a glimmer of hope, or at least of consolation. If you want to experience it I cannot think of a better place to try than his cello sonatas. And certainly Steven Isserlis gives a magistral performance here. I remember that the first time I heard it, it was playing in a used bookstore in Seattle. Although I was quite familiar with the piece, it was as if I were hearing it for the first time. That good. Well, you could say that Seattle grey skies had something to do with it. I think not. Ever since that experience no other version I heard came close to express that Brahms melancholy, that meditation on years gone. And the recording quality is quite good, with an excellent piano in Peter Evans. A must."