the new cd brahms sonatas, pöntinen & thedéen

...”Pöntinen is a big, generous player, full of robust vitality, tonal splendour and artfully controlled enthusiasm, and gives his partner all the room he needs. Thedéen, for his part, is happily no Gänsbacher. Like Pöntinen, he is a big player with a sonorous but sensitively varied tone – perhaps more bass-like in depth and character than the currently more fashionable baritonal sound – and a keen sense of structural breadth. Both players are discerning and masterly colourists, but they never overspend their capital. The phrasing is big, and the phrases cohere into units of near-epic reach. It’s not, however, this that gives their playing its ’symphonic’ stamp but rather their grasp of the music’s organic nature. In its vigour, its rhetorical sweep (in all the best senses), as in its big-boned virility (not ’macho’ by any means, but acknowledging that excessive refinement could compromise the music’s elemental strength), the playing reminds me of the classic Rubinstein-Piatigorsky accounts of 1966 – which, however, did not include the arrangement of the G major Violin Sonata, and lacked the sonic vibrancy of the present release.” Jeremy Siepmann/ International Record Review, June 2010

”Torleif Thedéen and Roland Pöntinen’s performances here are on a grand scale, with opulent tone highlighted by a splendid recording. There’s refinement and delicacy aplenty, too, for example in the middle movement of Op 38, but it’s the big moments that stand out – the soaring melodies in the first movement of Op 38 or the intense climax in Op 99’s Adagio, where Thedéen’s pizzicato rings out with tremendous power.” Duncan Druce/ Gramophone, August 2010

”The composer-critic Hugo Wolf described Brahms’s second Cello Sonata as ’bedlam’ thanks to its choppy motivic fragments. It’s easy to forget that when listening to this performance, such is the seamlessness with which Thedéen delivers its jumpy musical lines. Just as seamless is the way in which he and Pöntinen toss its motives between each other. They’ve also grasped every opportunity given by the First Sonata to draw out the dark, brooding underbelly of Brahms’s musical personality and to reveal its many lyrical moments. Throughout, with their gently nuanced colouring, they’ve brought Brahms’s great love of the cello and his pianistic skills to life.” CG/ClassicfM, August 2010

A new reference in this repertoire. ”There are quite a few recordings of Brahms’ two magnificent cello sonatas around and they couple well on record, their contrasting character and content making for a good programme. Op.38 has a good deal of counterpoint and fugal writing, relating to Bach as well as owing a debt to the model of Beethoven in the weight given to the first movement. Relative to its more profoundly conceived counterpart, the mighty Op.99, the Sonata No.1 is musically clear almost to a fault, the only real enigma being an Adagio movement which was removed by Brahms and subsequently lost. My main reference for these pieces has for a long time been the 1992 Sony recording by Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, which I have as part of a meagre collection of mini-discs: remember them? This is a fine recording and a good performance, but the richer texture of Torlief Thedéen’s cello means that the material in the lower registers has more substance, projecting a little better through the piano in the frequent places where it takes a greater melodic role. These are both pieces which demand equality in balance, the piano having every much a solo function as the cello, and in this regard the BIS engineering is truly excellent. The cello is not too close, but there is still a certain amount of ‘glancing’, where notes from different registers sometimes pop in from different channels through what is quite a stunning and wide stereo image. This is less apparent in the more rounded effect of a surround set-up, where the acoustic plays a greater role and the ear is tricked ‘into the room’ rather than being presented with a frontal stage. The Sonata No.2 is a wonderful piece, and the Adagio affettuoso is a favourite Brahms movement which is played very well here. There is a certain amount of sniffing from Thedéen but he’s not the only cellist who does this. The ‘concerto’ nature of the music in the outer movements is tackled head on by both players, with some deep digging going on but always proportionate to the intent of the composer. Without going for a blow-by-blow account of each section, I am impressed by the way in which these players seem to intensify the character of each theme and gesture without ballooning them into a kind of stereotypical musical grandstand. To sum up, they’ve ‘nailed’ this and all the other pieces on this disc, and if you are open to Brahms’ eloquent message and even already familiar with this repertoire, this is a recording which will sweep you further than you might have expected to be swept. The Ma/Ax disc is also coupled with a violin sonata, but in their case this is the D minor Op.108, and Thedéen and Pöntinen opt for an arrangement of the even more substantial Sonata in D major, originally the Violin Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78. This is also known as the Regenlied Sonata for its references to songs from Brahms’ Op.59 Acht Lieder und Gesänge. As soon as the melodic charm of the opening takes effect you know pretty much what you are in for - wonderful, though adjusting from familiarity with the original tonality and different range and colour of the same musical material on violin may take a few beats. You can quite easily divest yourself of any discomfort, the playing soon creating a convincing argument for this as a ‘new’ piece for which this setting was always the prime intention after all. The exchange of ideas between instruments works differently here than with the other two sonatas, the instruments having more give and take rather than meeting as unified or challenging equals, the piano having on occasions a more accompanying role, which makes you realise just how richly intense the compositional integrity is of the original cello sonatas. This is powerful stuff however, and a tremendous, often darkly forceful performance. This is a highly desirable disc on almost every level, with very fine performances and a state of the art recording. At over 82 minutes I think this is the longest single CD I have ever come across, so there are no complaints with regard to value for money. This is a recording full of genuinely passionate and remarkably immediate playing, including some stamping of feet, for instance at 1:11 into the Allegro passionato third movement of Op.99. My personal opinion is that this is now the standard against which other recordings, beloved old classics such as Jaqueline du Pré and Rostropovich aside, will now be judged.” Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

”Der skandinavische Meistercellist Torleif Thedéen und sein Klavierpartner Roland Pöntinen verleihen den unterschiedlichen Charakteren überzeugenden Ausdruck. Die dreisätzige frühe Sonate gehen sie verhalten-schwärmerisch an, das Spätwerk mit scharf konturierendem, markantem Zugriff. Insgesamt besticht die Ökonomie, mit der das Duo zu Werke geht und sich die nicht nachlassende Aufmerksamkeit des Hörers für sein Musizieren sichert. Da erscheint nichts forciert, die Spannungsbögen können sich frei und organisch entfalten und für die Höhepunkte stehen immer die erforderlichen Reserven zur Verfügung. Eine vorbildliche Produktion, die auch aufnahmetechnisch untadelig geraten ist.” Sixtus König/Klassik Heute 31 May 2010 Künstlerische Qualität: 10/10 Klangqualität: 10/10 Gesamteindruck: 10/10

”The duo create what is quite simply one of the most engaging, riveting recordings these works have received in more than a decade. Thedéen's playing is technically immaculate, with a pure, penetrating tone that is even across the range of his instrument, flawless intonation, and broad-ranging dynamics. His approach to the sonatas is one of intensity and subtlety, expansiveness, and large, sweeping gestures. Pöntinen's playing is just as refined and commanding. Despite the thick textures often found in the piano, his execution is neither muddy nor overpowering, yet neither musician has to hold anything back for the sake of balance. Even for listeners with a dozen other recordings of these works, this album is absolutely worth making an extra spot on the shelf for.” Mike D. Brownell, All Music Guide

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