Brahms: The Cello Sonatas

"Brahms gave his cello sonatas the title of 'Sonatas for Piano and Violoncello' — a clear indication that he regarded the piano as the equal of the other instrument, not as an accompanist. This equally demands players who are each other's peers, and ready to place the highest standards of technique and musicianship at the service of a mutual cause. Mstislav Rostropovich, too, emphasized this aspect when talking of his collaboration with Rudolf Serkin. ... 'I heard the name of Rudolf Serkin for the first time in 1956, after my first concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. One critic, among a lot of complimentary remarks ... said that I looked like Rudolf Serkin. Of course, I wanted at once to meet him, but that did not happen until 1960, at the Edinburgh Festival. Since then we have been dear friends, but because of our engagements this recording of the Brahms Sonatas is the first time — after more than twenty years — that we have had the chance to play chamber music together" (CD notes by Juliane Ribke).
View catalog record here!