Leonard Elschenbroich
At 24, Leonard Elschenbroich won the Leonard Bernstein Award and has since been regarded as one of the dazzling, rising stars amongst European cellists. His program brings us three major works - including the familiar, the familiar but strange, and the strange but familiar.
The Brahms sonata is a staple of the cello chamber music repertoire, 15 minutes of Brahmsian searching, brooding, and contemplating.
If you know Brahms's Four Serious Songs, you have probably heard them performed by a dark, usually male, voice and piano. Elschenbroich makes his cello that dark voice, allowing us to hear the "songs" in a wholly new context and light.
The Franck sonata, originally written for violin and piano, is beloved by so many performers that it been transcribed not only for cello, but also for viola, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, tuba, and organ with choir. Expect to be humming the theme of the last movement as you leave the concert hall.