Alexander Baillie www.baillie.de
is internationally recognised as one of the finest cellists of his generation.
He began playing the cello at the comparatively late age of twelve having been
directly inspired by the late Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987). He went on to
study at London's Royal College of Music with Joan Dickson (1921-1994) and Anna
Shuttleworth (b.1927) and with André Navarra (1911-1988) in Vienna. He later
studied with William Pleeth, Pierre Fournier (1906-1986) and Mstislav Rostropovich
(1927-2007), and with Jacqueline du Pré herself.
Since then his career has taken him all over the world. He
has appeared with many British and European orchestras, has worked with Sir
Simon Rattle and Sir John Eliot Gardiner and appears regularly as soloist in
concertos, recitals and festivals. He has given notable first performances at
the BBC Proms of works such as ‘Sieben Liebeslieder’ by Hans Werner Henze,
Takemitsu's "Orion and Plaiedes" and Colin Matthews' First Cello
Concerto, which is dedicated to him.
Recordings include the Tippett Triple Concerto with the
composer conducting and the Shostakovich First Concerto with Benjamin Zander
and the Boston Philharmonic. His version of the Britten Cello Suites achieved
the highest acclaim in the New York press.
He features in Jan Harlan's film ‘Dvorak...who?’ about the
motivation for young people falling in love with classical music. He is
Professor of Cello at the University of Bremen Hochschule für Künste, founder
member of ‘Gathering of the Clans’ Cello School and Honorary Doctor of Music at
Hertfordshire University. His own cello festival at Carteret, Normandy recently
celebrated its 10th year.
His recordings include Elgar's Concerto on Conifer, the
Tippett Triple Concerto on Nimbus with Sir Michael Tippett conducting and the
Gordon Crosse Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins on
the N.M.C. label. His recordings of the Britten Cello Suites and the Sonata
achieved the highest acclaim in the New York press.
To celebrate his 60th
birthday Somm Recordings www.somm-recordings.com
have
just released a new recording featuring Alexander Baillie and pianist, John
Thwaites www.johnthwaites.org.uk in Johannes Brahms’ two cello sonatas
coupled with a transcription of Brahms’ Four
serious Songs.
 |
| SOMMCD 0158 |
For this recording John Thwaites has chosen three different
pianos, a Rönisch grand piano c. 1860, an Ehrbar grand piano c. 1877/78 and a
rare Streicher concert grand dated from 1878. It was a 1868 Streicher that
Brahms owned from 1871 until his death, a gift from the maker.
What a wonderfully rich cello tone Alexander Baillie brings
to the opening of the Allegro non Troppo of the Sonata for Cello and Piano No.1 in E
minor, Op.38, soon finding a wistful feel with John Thwaites’ Rönisch grand piano bringing a lovely
delicate fluency. They rise through passages of great passion, finding much
poetry as well as moments of great anguish revealed by Baillie’s fine tone.
Baillie provides some wonderful textures and sonorities with moments, when this
cellist reaches the higher range of his instrument, of immense emotional depth before
a lovely gentle end.
They bring a fine, rhythmic lift to the Adagio - Andante con moto proving to be a terrific duo, shaping the
music wonderfully. There is a lovely flow in the Andante, a fine rubato with
some lovely, subtle little surges. This is wonderfully controlled playing, Baillie
often bringing a wonderfully rich and resonant tone.
This fine duo again prove to be an intuitive partnership in
the finely shaped opening of the Allegro
bringing much energy and revealing many subtleties before finding more energy
to hurtle forward with tremendous agility and strength, through stormy passages,
to the fiery coda.
What a terrific opening to the Allegro vivace of the Sonata
for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F major, Op.99, full of volatility before the
music slows and Baillie finds a richer, sonorous tone. Stormy emotions abound
with this cellist bringing some terrific emotional thrust, backed no less by
Thwaites who reveals the Ehrbar piano to have a fuller tone. Midway there is a
moment of hushed expectation before they rise through some fast and fluent
passages to a crisp resolute coda.
The Adagio affettuoso
brings some terrific pizzicato cello phrases, rich and deep over a lovely piano
line. Soon Baillie brings a heart rending tone, developing through some quite
wonderful passages, finely structured, paced and phrased before rising suddenly
to some very fine pizzicato passages. Thwaites does a fine job shaping the
piano part with Baillie later bringing some strong, resonant pizzicato phrases
that increase the tension before an exquisite conclusion.
John Thwaites opens the Allegro
passionate with a surging, rhythmic instability immediately joined by Alexander
Baillie in a passionate outpouring. These two show their instinctive feel for
this music with incredible volatility and a terrific forward drive. Thwaites
keeps an underlying volatility in the gentler central section with Baillie
adding a subtle emotional pull, a volatility they retain right through the varying
passages, later picking to surge forward again with tautly rhythmic phrasing to
the tightly controlled coda.
Baillie and Thwaites find a sunnier, though no less
energetic Allegro molto, moving through
moments of broader sonorities, beautifully shaped before rising through some
incisive passages of great strength to a terrific conclusion.
Brahms was in a sombre mood as he approached what was to be his
last birthday in 1896. Clara Schumann was lying seriously ill following a
stroke and the composer had lost many of those closest to him. It was then that
he wrote his Four Serious Songs, Op.121,
a setting of biblical texts from Ecclesiastes and Corinthians.
These songs work extremely well in the transcription made by
the great Russian cellist, Daniil Shafran (1923-1997), a transcription that
Alexander Baillie has built on in this performance. The first text observes
that man is no different to the animals in that ‘as the one dieth, so dieth the
other.’ The text of the second song laments the world’s injustices. The third
text speaks of the bitterness of death for one still in his prime and the final
text reflects on Christian charity
John Thwaites’ Streicher piano brings some deep sonorities
to Denn es gehet dem Menschen to
which Alexander Baillie adds his own rich tone, running through passages of
dark hued emotion with a faster moving, fleet central section before the more
sombre music picks up to move quickly to the coda.
Baillie brings a lovely singing tone to Ich wandte mich before finding moments of exquisite beauty and
poetry with an increasingly passionate tone.
O Tod, wie bitter bist
du opens with passionate phrases for cello over which are gentler piano
chords before finding a forward moving stance, moving through a gently flowing passage
that rises in drama with these two finding every little nuance.
Baillie and Thwaites bring an exhilarating opening to Wenn ich mit Menschen - und mit Engelszungen
redete with a fine rubato and phrasing, rising through moments of greater
passion. Midway Baillie finds some lovely sonorous tones with Thwaites’ piano
bringing some fine, rich textures in these slower passages, exquisitely shaped
before a gentle coda.
This is one of those rather special discs that one will want
to return to for the special qualities these artists bring. Alexander Baillie provides playing of great
emotional depth and is wonderfully accompanied by John Thwaites. They receive a
good recording though the instruments are set back in the rather resonant
acoustic of the Gert Hecher Klavier-Athelier, Vienna. There are excellent
booklet notes from John Thwaites on the music and choice of pianos and
performance practice. The nicely illustrated booklet has a painting of the two
performers by artist and musician, Christel Baillie www.christelbaillie.com on the cover.
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