Cellist Pieter Wispelwey and pianist Paolo Giacometti partner in Felix Mendelssohn’s effervescent Cello Sonata No. 2 and Frédéric Chopin’s rarely heard Cello Sonata in G minor. The album is rounded out with Mendelssohn’s Song without Words in D, and three of Chopin’s Op. 64 waltzes arranged for cello and piano by legendary 19th century Russian cellist Karl Davydov.
The Mendelssohn Sonata is a terrific adrenalin blast. The rollicking opening Allegro fairly roars out of the gate with the two performers putting their feet on the gas pedal without compromising tonal quality or precision. The Allegretto scherzando (another of Mendelssohn’s great quicksilver scherzi) is nimbly athletic with Wispelwey snapping off crisp pizzicato notes with great alacrity. The gorgeous Adagio features fluid arpeggiated chords from Giacometti that have a chorale-like feel, and when Wispelwey joins him in the song the result is thrilling. As energetic as the opening movement was, the Molto allegro finale trumps it for pure propulsion. This is a brilliant performance from start to finish.
