Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian - Gesänge des Lebens (2021)

It is an imaginary concert program comprising an enormous emotional spectrum from the extremely intimate (Malinconia, Waldesruhe, Prayer, etc.) to the virtuoso and life-affirming (Rondino, L‘abeille, and Andaluza); it is also a journey through disparate musical regions from North to South, from Finland to Spain, that poses some of the great questions of human existence: questions of meaning and duration, of inner peace, memory, and salvation. For years, the works I have selected here have always fascinated me with their inner greatness or melancholy beauty. Each of them is an homage to the virtuoso and lyrical possibilities of the cello and, not least, to the fantastic interpreters who have shaped my life as a musician – Emanuel Feuermann, Pau Casals, Gregor Piatigorsky, Gaspar Cassadó, Pierre Fournier, Mstislav Rostropovitch, and Arto Noras, to name only a few. Poe- tic moments of quiet contemplation encounter life-affirming, extremely sensual music of direct corporeal power.

Tracklist
1. 5 Pieces for Violin & Piano, Op. 81: No. 2, Rondino (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (02:02)
2. A Gaspar Cassadó, Op. 114 No. 1 (03:11)
3. Malinconia, Op. 20 (11:13)
4. 6 Romances, Op. 4: No. 1, Oh No, I Beg You, Forsake Me Not! (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (01:38)
5. Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 119: II. Moderato (04:56)
6. From the Bohemian Forest, Op. 68: No. 5, Silent Woods, B. 173 (05:22)
7. Adagio und Rondo (After Weber's Op. 10b) (05:10)
8. Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727 (Arr. P. Fournier for Cello & Piano) (01:51)
9. Lied ohne Worte in D Major, Op. 109, MWV Q 34 (04:31)
10. From Jewish Life, B. 54: I. Prayer (04:12)
11. Bagatelles, Op. 13: No. 9, Abeille (Arr. P. Casals for Cello & Piano) (01:19)
12. Le carnaval des animaux, R. 125: XIII. Le cygne (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (02:44)
13. Nocturne et scherzo, L. 26 (05:24)
14. Sicilienne, Op. 78 (Version for Cello & Piano) (03:45)
15. 3 Pièces for Cello & Piano: No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor, Vite et nerveusement rythmé (02:26)
16. El cant dels ocells (Arr. P. Casals for Cello & Piano) (02:39)
17. Vocalise-Étude en forme de habanera, M. 54 (Arr. P. Bazelaire for Cello & Piano) (02:32)
18. 12 Danzas españolas, Op. 37, H. 142: No. 5, Andaluza (Arr. E. Feuermann for Cello & Piano) (03:41)