Johannes Brahms: The Cello Sonatas Martin Rummel & Stefan Stroissnig

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38 (1862-65):
• 1 Brahms: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38 (1862-65): Allegro non Troppo 15:32
• 2 Brahms: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38 (1862-65): Allegretto quasi Menuetto 05:37
• 3 Brahms: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38 (1862-65): Allegro 06:44
• Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 (1886):
• 4 Brahms: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 (1886): Allegro Vivace 08:51
• 5 Brahms: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 (1886): Adagio Affettuoso 07:04
• 6 Brahms: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 (1886): Allegro Passionato 07:28
• 7 Brahms: Sonata for Violoncello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 (1886): Allegro Molto 04:33
• Total Runtime 55:49

Info for Johannes Brahms: The Cello Sonatas

The two sonatas by Johannes Brahms belong to the Olympus of the repertoire for every cellist, where, together with the suites by Bach and the sonatas by Beethoven, they virtually form the Trinity of our Old Testament. My own journey to these works began sometime in the 1980s and is – of course – still ongoing. I have had the opportunity to play both sonatas with many great pianists and thus get to know them from just as many different musical perspectives. Of course, I grew up with countless outstanding recordings, including a largely unknown one of the F Major Sonata by my own teacher William Pleeth with his wife, Margaret Good, which would also one day deserve to be made available to the public again.

So why add another recording to the already unmanageable number of recordings of these works? Even if this now applies to every recording that is not a first recording, this question arises even more for works such as the Brahms cello sonatas. My reasons are multiple: Firstly, I believe that after three and a half decades of public engagement with these sonatas, spurred on by many great pianists, I certainly have something to say, and I am delighted that my long-time musical companion Stefan Stroissnig has joined me on the journey of this recording. Secondly, I have recorded most of the standard works for cello and piano (including the other two cycles of the Trinity); the Brahms sonatas have been missing until now. Thirdly, I am celebrating my 50th birthday with the release of this album, and I am delighted to be able to share this gift to myself with you. ...

Martin Rummel, violoncello
Stefan Stroissnig, piano

Martin Rummel
Born in 1974, Austrian cellist Martin Rummel can currently be heard on more than 50 albums – an unparalleled recording career in his generation. Martin Rummel is a regular guest at venues such as the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, de Doelen in Rotterdam or the Krannert Center in Urbana, in short: leading festivals, venues and orchestras in Europe, the US, Asia and the Pacifics. His playing is frequently honored with standing ovations from audiences, be it for concerto appearances such as his American debut with Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations” or his extraordinary performances of the Complete Bach Cello Suites in one evening.

After early lessons from Wilfried Tachezi, Mr Rummel later studied with Maria Kliegel in Cologne and mainly with William Pleeth in London, whose last pupil he was to become. Not only because of his editions of all major cello etudes for Bärenreiter-Verlag he is now a renowned pedagogue himself and is regularly invited to give masterclasses all over the world. Furthermore, he is valued as a chamber music partner by musicians of all generations and is a passionate ambassador for classical music – as such he is amongst other things the owner and mastermind of paladino media (with its labels KAIROS, paladino music, Orlando Records and Austrian Gramphone) and, from 2016 to 2020, was Head of School at the University of Auckland’s School of Music.

Stefan Stroissnig
The Austrian pianist Stefan Stroissnig, born in 1985, studied with Oleg Maisenberg in his native city of Vienna and with Ian Jones at the Royal College of Music in London. He received further artistic inspiration from renowned pianists such as Daniel Barenboim and Dmitri Bashkirov. His concert activity as a soloist has taken him to all five continents and to the most prestigious concert houses in Europe, such as the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Vienna Musikverein, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Berlin Philharmonic.

He has attracted special attention for his interpretations of works by Franz Schubert and the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Amongst other things, he was the soloist in Olivier Messiaen’s monumental Turangalîla Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Of major importance for him is his chamber music, which has led to co-operation with musicians such as Heinrich Schiff, Nobuko Imai, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Patrick Demenga, Viviane Hagner, Michael Collins, Tatjana Masurenko, Gábor Boldoczki and Sharon Kam.

Festival invitations have included the Salzburg Festival, the Carinthian Summer, the International Music Summer in Grafenegg, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Rheingau Festival and the Mondsee Festival.

After teaching seven years at the the University of Music Graz (Austria) he has been appointed Guest Professor of Piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in 2019.

His contribution to the international musical world earned Stefan Stroissnig a nomination for the Credit Suisse Award from the Vienna Philharmonic.

Booklet for Johannes Brahms: The Cello Sonatas