Chopin's Cello Sonata is a late work, and one that reminds us that he did not think exclusively in terms of the piano. Nevertheless, as in the case of the Sonata by Rachmaninov, one is inclined to feel that the writing for the piano (as the composer's own instrument) is more idiomatic and that the cello part does not have quite the eloquence and power that we might hope for. As the booklet note reminds us, Chopin himself was ''sometimes satisfied, sometimes discontented'' with the work and took some while to get it into its final shape.
The playing here is positive and forceful, with a close and immediate recording (it is as if one were sitting directly in front of the cello), and this does mean that atmosphere is in short supply. However, Lluis Claret, who was born in Andorra of Catalan parents and now teaches in Barcelona, is an able player, and so is the Frenchman Alain Planes, who gives him secure support. The big first movement, lasting 15 minutes (as long as the other three put together), holds its shape well enough, and the rest of the work is also competently done. But I miss the tonal and rhythmic flexibility that the finest players can bring to this music, and must therefore call the performance workmanlike rather than poetic or in any sense revelatory; for example, there is more to be found in the brief Largo third movement than we are offered here.
The Strauss Cello Sonata is more successful. It is as if the artists are more naturally inside the music, and they bring to it plenty of light and shade as well as the right kind of attack. It is an early work, written before the composer was 20, but well worth hearing for its skilful writing and buoyant invention (there are some genuinely memorable ideas). Indeed, there is an attractive youthful energy here that makes the Chopin work seem world-weary. I enjoyed this performance much more, although the closeness of the recording makes the sound overpowering in big passages, such as the one near the end of the first movement beginning at 8'22''. I have to add that some pages are missing from the three-language booklet that comes with my review copy of this disc, and that consequently it lacks part of the English notes on the works and artists.'