(Emanuel Gruber is) “… one of our great artists … (he has) an extraordinary capacity for projecting the deepest meaning of the music.” —Jerusalem Post

While Robert Schumann played the cello both as a child and as a young man, he wrote very little original music for the instrument: only his cello concerto and the Five Pieces in Folk-style, Op. 102 offered in this album. But cellists, eager to play his wonderful chamber compositions originally written for other instruments, have made successful and alluring transcriptions of them; six of those are offered on this album.

Mendelsshon: Complete Music for Cello and Piano

See The Debut Album

In this, Emanuel Gruber’s second album for Delos, we hear – in addition to the Op. 102 pieces above – cello versions of the Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73; Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70; Three Romances, Op. 94; Evening Song, Op. 85; and Dreaming, Op. 15. All of these marvelous works re ect Schumann’s wondrous lyricism and heartfelt passion; also his hallmark spontaneity and dizzying mood swings.

Joining Emanuel is the distinguished pianist Keiko Sekino: an ideal musical partner; together they achieve stirring and deeply emotional interpretations that will touch listeners hearts and draw them irresistibly into Schumann’s unique and ultra-romantic musical world.

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Track Listing:

Fantasiestücke, Op. 73

  1. Zart und mit Ausdruck
  2. Lebhaft, leicht
  3. Rasch und mit Feuer

    4. Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70

  4. Adagio
  5. Allegro

    6. Drei Romanzen, Op. 94

  6. Nicht schnell
  7. Einfach, innig – etwas lebhafter
  8. Nicht schnell

    9. Märchenbilder, Op. 113

  9. Nicht schnell
  10. Lebhaft
  11. Rasch
  12. Langsam, mit melancholishem Ausdruck

    13. Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102

  13. “Vanitas vanitatum,” mit Humor
  14. Langsam
  15. Nicht schnell, mit viel Ton zu spielen
  16. Nicht zu rasch
  17. Stark und markiert
  18. Abedlied, Op. 85
  19. Traümerei, Op. 15