Interview with the artists

Why did you choose these particular pieces?

MH: We’ve played these works on frequent occasions at the concerts that we’ve given in recent years and in that way we’ve learnt to know them very well and to regard them very highly. They suit us. Both Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata and Stravinsky’s Suite represent a kind of extreme in Russian music for cello and piano. Add Rachmaninov’s Vocalise and Stravinsky’s wonderful "Russian Song", and you have an exciting and varied programme.
GV: We didn’t want to record a cello CD with piano accompaniment but preferred works in which the musical impulse is provided by both the cello and the piano. Admittedly, Rachmaninov rather overstepped the mark in his attempts to emancipate the piano, although in Piatigorsky’s arrangement of the "Suite italienne" the emphasis is on the cello. Both Rachmaninov and Stravinsky were of Russian extraction. Otherwise the present works go well together precisely because they are so disparate. In his Vocalise and Cello Sonata, Rachmaninov revels in a world of high romanticism, whereas Stravinsky’s "Suite italienne", inspired by Pergolesi just as his ballet "Pulcinella", tends, rather, to contain Baroque elements.

Which is the piece that you’re most fond of? What fascinates you about it? And what are the challenges that it poses?

MH: It’s hard for me to limit myself to one particular piece. I’m fond of all the works on this CD, which is one of the reasons why we chose them. Each piece has its own character. In the case of the Rachmaninov Sonata, it’s the soaring melodic lines, the incredible emotionality and the boundless joy, a joy that still has room for tears. The particular challenge of this piece is to express all this while ensuring that the piece
still sounds refined and avoids seeming monochromatic. With the "Suite italienne", almost the opposite is the case. Here your approach has to be partly technical, partly melodic, and you really have to bring out the diff erences. What’s needed here is great precision and perhaps also a certain willingness to indulge in the work’s theatricality.

GV: For me, Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata is one of the richest works in the whole of the chamber repertory. Few other composers were in a position to use the piano as consummately and as typically as Rachmaninov, who was himself a pianist. The range of sonorities produced by the piano in combination with the cello is unique.
Wonderfully songlike themes of a relatively intimate character alternate with profoundly emotional outbursts. The Vocalise – one of Rachmaninov’s best-known tunes – has always moved me with its simplicity. The "Russian Song" is equally simple but also rather droll. Stravinsky creates a still life with a mere handful of notes, and it is one that is marked by apparently total hopelessness, whereas the Suite italienne is full of the joys of life. At each individual movement, it is hard to sit still. I fi nd the songlike theme of the Serenata just as fascinating as the fi reworks of the Tarantella.

What’s your history with these works?

GV: Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata was a great challenge for me. The piano part is almost as virtuosic as the one in the piano concertos. But the eff ort was worth it. There are few works that I look forward to before a concert more than this one. Each time I play it, I discover something new. This piece will stay with me all my life. It was above all as encores that the Vocalise and the "Russian Song" found their way into our programmes. I approached Stravinsky’s short piece with considerable scepticism, but within a very short space of time I was really enjoying the rehearsals. After every performance we talk to the audience about this song. It’s touching even when not everyone likes it. The "Suite italienne" has also been part of our repertory for some years now. In the case of the Tarantella I initially found that my muscles were out of condition – it’s like an 800-metre sprint on the piano. But the effort was worth while, and my worries have been replaced by a total delight in playing the piece. I love "Pulcinella" as a ballet. It’s all the same whether I’m sitting in the opera house or at the piano: I can never stop smiling.

MH: I don’t really have a story to tell you about any of these pieces, except that we’ve been pursuing each other for some time. All that I can really say is, that ever since I first performed the Rachmaninov around four years ago, I’ve always been able to listen to it and play it – I never get bored by it. I simply can’t get enough of this music. In the case of the "Suite italienne" I had some initial difficulty getting into the work, but after a couple of concerts I’d completely overcome this problem. Nowadays I’m always pleased to be able to go out onstage with this piece.