This is a debut recording by the Baverstam/Finehouse Duo featuring the universally-admired sonatas for cello and piano by Franck and Shostakovich as well as two new works in the High Romantic style by Boston composer, Tony Schemmer. Caesar Franck’s Sonata in A was originally intended for cello, written for violin and posthumously re-arranged for cello, among other instruments that also include the flute and the tuba. Sonata in D minor by the 20th century Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich, though written almost hundred years later, shares the romantic approach of the Franck’s Sonata as well as the lyricism and brooding overtones of the earlier composition. Tony Schemmer’s Romanza and Adagio exhibit a range of influences as wide as bel canto, Straussian post-romantic harmony and bossa nova. Schemmer’s eclectic compositions fuse these and other elements to create gestures and sounds that are at once familiar and entirely novel.
To play an individual sample, click on the appropriate text link. To save any sample mp3 to your computer, right click on a text link and choose “Save Target As” or “Save Link As.”
Find out more about Constantine's partnership with Sebastian Baverstam.