Alban Gerhardt, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Andrew Manze - Elgar & Dvorák: Cello Concertos [CD-A]

Format: CD-A
Catalogue No.: CDA68486
Barcode: 0034571284866
Release Date: 19 Jun 2026
Genre: Classical

Alban Gerhardt’s first studio recording of the two most famous concertos in the entire cello repertoire represents the fruit of 35 years of kinship with these masterpieces.

Bolstered by the forces of the WDR Sinfonieorchester under Andrew Manze, Gerhardt offers interpretations which challenge inherited conventions and, in Gerhardt’s words, make a ‘return to the sources: the scores themselves’, prompting the question: should we consider anew what is the ‘correct’ approach of playing these works?

 His adherence to the text often leads to tempos and proportions that differ noticeably from the norm, which Gerhardt says feel both more alive and closer to the detailed musical instructions left by each composer.

In this context, Gerhardt quotes Gustav Mahler: ‘Tradition must not be the adoration of ashes but the preservation of fire.’

Tracklist: 
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 1: Adagio – Moderato
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 2: Lento – Allegro molto
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 3: Adagio
Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85 - 4: Allegro
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 - 1: Allegro
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 - 2: Adagio ma non troppo
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 - 3: Allegro moderato