Marina Tarasova - French Cello Sonatas, Lalo, Koechlin & Pierné, Vol. 1 (2022)

Born in Lille, Édouard Lalo (1823–1892) studied the violin before leaving home for good, against his father’s will, to enter the Paris Conservatoire. Having graduated without family support, he began to make a living in the capital as an orchestral violinist and violist and as a member of the Quatuor Armingaud (from 1855), one of many such ensembles which sprang up within a culture of chamber music that was then supported by the foundation of the Société nationale de musique. Lalo’s Cello Sonata in A minor is relatively unknown, despite its obvious beauty and clear Schumannesque qualities. As a second violinist and violist in the Armingaud he knew his way around the inner parts of much Classical and early Romantic repertoire, and this sonata benefits from such familiarity, with its bold, concertante writing for the solo instrument sometimes relegating the pianist to the status of an orchestral accompanist. The rhythmic complexity of this sonata is central: for instance, the juxtaposition of triplets with semiquavers to evoke a fluid but irregular movement, foreshadowing similar motion in the cello writing of later sonatas by Brahms, Franck and Rachmaninoff.

Track List:
1. Marina Tarasova - Cello Sonata in A Minor, IEL 18: I. Andante non troppo - Allegro moderato
2. Marina Tarasova - Cello Sonata in A Minor, IEL 18: II. Andante
3. Marina Tarasova - Cello Sonata in A Minor, IEL 18: III. Allegro
4. Marina Tarasova - Cello Sonata, Op. 66: I. Très modéré
5. Marina Tarasova - Cello Sonata, Op. 66: II. Très calme (Andante quasi Adagio)
6. Marina Tarasova - Cello Sonata, Op. 66: III. Final. Allegro non troppo
7. Marina Tarasova - Sonata en une partie in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 46