Moonlight Variations
Works by Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Schumann, Chopin et al
Pablo Ferrández (cello), Martin Fröst (clarinet) et al
Sony Classical 19802898632 60:05 mins
Clip: Chopin – Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 (Pablo Ferrández)
Listening to this album it’s easy to imagine yourself on an evening visit to a Viennese café, gorging on a feast of Sacher torte. What’s not to like? But just in case the programme seems too saccharine, Pablo Ferrández has included the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations as the final item. This glorious staple of the cello repertoire combines haunting and evocative invention with dazzling technical bravura passages, not least in the finale where the passagework is tricky but flamboyant.
Ferrández doesn’t drop a stitch – his spiccato bowing flawless and his delivery of the spun melodies without rival. His 1689 ‘Archinto’ Stradivari is fabulously suave in its tone as well – all of which provides the perfect setting for a very pleasant menu of favourites including ‘Song to the Moon’ from Dvořák’s Rusalka, Chopin’s Nocturnes in E flat major and C sharp minor, a further two pieces by Tchaikovsky and more.
The question is what makes this album of well-loved cameos especially noteworthy? The answer is that to play these pieces convincingly, you need real artistry, to have a wide palette of colours and techniques in your armoury and know at what point in a phrase to deploy them. Ferrández learned at the Kronberg Academy under the tutelage of Frans Helmerson and has acquired both a robust technique and a profound sense of musicianship.
He presents a series of YouTube videos on cello technique, and hosts ‘Talking Cello’ with other cellists – a generosity of spirit which feeds into his playing. The title Moonlight is a marketing tool really, but Ferrández proves a pâtissier, eliciting exquisite playing. He describes some of the beautiful pieces as ‘comfort music’. I think it’s far more gastronomic. Jo Talbot