Brahms:
Scherzo

Schumann:
Romances op. 22

Schumann:
Violinsonate Nr. 1 op. 105

Schubert:
An die Musik D 547

Strauss:
Die Nacht
Cellosonate op. 6

The musical line is clear: from Schubert via the Schumann-Wieck duo and Johannes Brahms to the young Richard Strauss. The fact that cellist Torleif Thedéen and pianist Marianna Shirinyan do not present their program in chronological order, but place Schubert’s eponymous piece An die Musik in the middle, is a clever dramaturgical move. It begins with Franz Schubert and ends with echoes of Schubert in Richard Strauss.

But dramaturgy means nothing if the interpretation does not fill it with meaning and life. Torleif Thedéen and Marianna Shirinyan fully meet this requirement. The passionate Brahms scherzo is followed by Clara Schumann’s extremely lyrical romances. The cantabile qualities of the cello come to the fore, even bringing a mischievous smile to the Allegretto.

Robert Schumann’s Violin Sonata thrives on heartfelt expression, passion and devotion – far from banal sentimentality. It is a fragile tenderness that must contend with stirring emotional turbulence in the finale.

The two short Schubert works present a completely different sound and emotional world: simple, dreamlike singing with strong expression and impact. In Strauss’s Cello Sonata, we experience the full range of emotions as a kind of résumé – wild at the beginning, with great vehemence and strong personality, but delicate in the Andante, with a wonderful contrast of dark and clear timbres.

Torleif Thedéen and Marianna Shirinyan always remain authentic in their interpretations, emphasizing the very intimate character of these works through their perfect interplay, their sensitive way of finely tuning the timbres and sound possibilities of their instruments.

The chamber-music tone of the recording, which makes the music very present, contributes to these successful interpretations of the Romantic repertoire.