Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky:
- Works for Cello and Orchestra.
I had a wonderful musical surprise yesterday. I was searching for videos of cellists performing the two cello sonatas by Johannes Brahms; in doing so, I suddenly came across an image of a young man whose name I did not recognize.
By the time I had heard his performance of the Brahms sonata Op. 38, I concluded that I will likely hear a lot more from this young man by the name of Stéphane Tétreault.
And sure enough, after some further searching I located what may well be the first recording by this amazing cellist in which he performs the following works:
Camille Saint-Saëns:
- Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33
- Allegro Appassionato in B minor Op. 43
- Le carnaval des animaux: Le Cygne
Tchaikovsky:
- Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
- Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62 for cello & orchestra (or cello & piano)
Performed by Stéphane Tétreault (cello), and supported by the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Fabiel Gabel conducting.
Stéphane Tétreault, 19 years old, was the First Prize winner in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra 2007 Competition as well as various others.
Gramophone Magazine, March 2013, wrote the following:
“From the very first bars of Saint-Saens’s First Cello Concerto you sense that this disc is going to be exhilarating and rewarding. The performers launch the concerto with terrific passion and positive intent, and thereafter call into play a discriminating, captivating spectrum of interpretative sensibility. The solo playing is astonishingly mature…it comes as a shock to realize that Stéphane Tétreault is 19 years old. His is a name to watch.”
Here is the Johannes Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 – Allegro non troppo, with Stephane Tetreault (17 years old) cello, and Sasha Guydukov, piano:
And of course I found more music. Here is Jules Massenet’s ‘Meditation’ from Thaïs (transcription for cello and piano), with Stephane Tetreault, cello, and Sasha Guydukov, piano:
Let me finish with Stephane Tetreault (at age15) playing the Bach Cello Suite No.1 (I. Prelude):
I sure would like to hear a lot more from Stephane!
Tags: Stephane Tetreault, cello, Sasha Guydukov, Saint-Saens, Tchaikovsky