Franchomme/Chopin: Grand Duo Concertante and other works - Anner Bylsma, Lambert Orkis, L'Archibudelli & the Smithsonian Chamber Players
Anner Bylsma, violoncello by Antonio Stradivari (Cremona, 1701), the Servais; Lambert Orkis, piano by Erard (London, 1854) the Queen Victoria; Vera Beths, violin by Antonio Stradivari (Cremona, 1687), the Ole Bull; Jody Gatwood, violin by Antonio Stradivari (Cremona, 1709) the Greffuhle; Guus Jeukendrup, viola by Antonio Stradivari (Cremona, 1695) the Herbert Axelrod; Kenneth Slowik, violoncello; Marji Danilow, contrabass
Although all but ignored today, Auguste Franchomme did for the cello what Paganini did for the violin. Bylsma, Orkis, and their Smithsonian/Archibudelli colleagues play this arch-romantic music with exactly the right mixture of warmth, tenderness, and passion, and the excellent recording presents Bylsma’s great Strad cello (from the Smithsonian collection) with breathtaking realism and stunning beauty.
