Dutch Cello Sonatas, Vol. 2 (2009)

When thinking of the available repertoire for the cello, one may not quickly think of composers of Dutch descent. Cellist Doris Hochscheid, however, has seemingly made it her mission to promote just such works. In fact, this Audiomax album is the second volume devoted to Dutch cello sonatas, following an earlier release devoted to an even narrower subject matter: Jewish Dutch composers. After listening to the two sonatas of Julius Röntgen, one must wonder why these works have remained in obscurity for so long. While they're ... Read More

When thinking of the available repertoire for the cello, one may not quickly think of composers of Dutch descent. Cellist Doris Hochscheid, however, has seemingly made it her mission to promote just such works. In fact, this Audiomax album is the second volume devoted to Dutch cello sonatas, following an earlier release devoted to an even narrower subject matter: Jewish Dutch composers. After listening to the two sonatas of Julius Röntgen, one must wonder why these works have remained in obscurity for so long. While they're not on the same level of other cornerstone sonatas written in the same time period, Röntgen's sonatas are still filled with pleasing and easy-to-follow melodies, integrated dialogue between cello and piano, and plenty of contrasts to keep listeners interested. The other works on the program are not sonatas, but short, charming character pieces: Cinq morceaux by Röntgen and three of the 38 short cello works composed by Daniel van Goens. For her part, Hochscheid puts forth a generally... Read Less