Britten: Complete Works for Cello (1992)

The cello repertoire was greatly enriched by the friendship between composer Benjamin Britten and cellist-conductor Mstislav Rostropovich.This release by the Danish label Etcetera contains all the three Britten Cello Suites (the best works in that form since Bach's six), the Cello Sonata in C, Op. 65 (Britten's only work for cello and piano), and the brief Tema Sacher, a two-minute tribute based on the musical letters of conductor Paul Sacher's name. The disc, then, comprises all of Britten's cello chamber music. (The Cello ... Read More

The cello repertoire was greatly enriched by the friendship between composer Benjamin Britten and cellist-conductor Mstislav Rostropovich.This release by the Danish label Etcetera contains all the three Britten Cello Suites (the best works in that form since Bach's six), the Cello Sonata in C, Op. 65 (Britten's only work for cello and piano), and the brief Tema Sacher, a two-minute tribute based on the musical letters of conductor Paul Sacher's name. The disc, then, comprises all of Britten's cello chamber music. (The Cello Symphony, is outside its scope.)Kim Bak Dinitzen is the soloist on this set. He was born in 1963, making him just a little younger than the Cello Sonata (1960), and his international career developed rapidly after a pair of competition wins in 1988. He has a strong, secure tone, fine intonation and technical dexterity, and clear, forceful presentation of the architecture of the music on this disc.One of the challenges of the Sonata and the Three Suites is that the music is deeply... Read Less