Dvorák: Cello Concerto Raphaela Gromes & National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine & Volodymyr Sirenko

• Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937): Prayer for the Ukraine:
• 1 Silvestrov: Prayer for the Ukraine (Arr. for Cello and Orchestra by Julian Riem) 03:53
• Antonín Dvorák (1841 - 1904): Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191:
• 2 Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191: I. Allegro 15:13
• 3 Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191: II. Adagio ma non troppo 10:56
• 4 Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191: III. Finale. Allegro moderato 12:24
• Hanna Havrylets (1958 - 2022): Tropar, Prayer to the Holy Mother of God:
• 5 Havrylets: Tropar, Prayer to the Holy Mother of God (Arr. for Cello and Orchestra by Julian Riem) 04:44
• Yuriy Shevchenko (1953 - 2022): We Are:
• 6 Shevchenko: We Are (Arr. for Cello and Orchestra by Julian Riem) 03:46
• Stepan Charnetskyi (1881 - 1944): Oi u luzi Chervona Kalyna:
• 7 Charnetskyi: Oi u luzi Chervona Kalyna (Arr. for Cello and Orchestra by Julian Riem) 02:34
• Total Runtime 53:30

Info for Dvorák: Cello Concerto

What began in December 2023 with a concert in Kyiv (Kiev) as a sign of solidarity manifests itself in the release of the new album by world-class German cellist Raphaela Gromes with the Ukrainian National Orchestra under the direction of chief conductor Volodymyr Sirenko on Sony Classical on September 13, 2024.

The focus of this moving recording is Antonín Dvořák's famous Cello Concerto, which is framed by haunting works by contemporary Ukrainian composers Hanna Hawrylets, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Yuri Shevchenko and Stepan Charnetskys. The unprecedented selection of pieces alone impressively reflects the two main impulses for this special album: artistic passion and a deep connection with Ukraine.

It was precisely this that gave Raphaela Gromes the desire to travel to the Ukrainian capital during the Russian war of aggression in order to give the people there comfort and confidence with a concert. Raphaela's choice almost naturally fell on Dvořák's cello concerto, one of the most profound, stirring and radiant of its kind:

“It's considered THE cello concerto par excellence, and it is for me too,” says the Munich native. “Even as a child, I listened to the work on an endless loop. (...) The long and very special coda is a wide-ranging swan song that points beyond life into transcendence, bringing light and liberation. The range of emotions in this concerto is enormous: youthful, heroic radiance and freshness, yearning love, solidarity, deep pain, redemption at the end. If there is one work that manages to shed a little light even in the darkest times, it is this one.”

The live performance with the Ukrainian National Orchestra demonstrated this impressively and exceeded all expectations in its emotional impact. Moved by the intimate music-making together, Raphaela Gromes decided without further ado to continue the collaboration with an album recording. This was originally scheduled to take place in Kiev, but was moved to Poland as Raphaela Gromes' rare Bergonzi cello is not insured in the Ukraine.

Despite all the hurdles, the cellist, who is world-famous for her emotional depth and richly nuanced tonal palette, now presents her first, completely original recording of the great Dvořák work, which always seeks to be as close as possible to the composer's intentions: “We took an unusually long time to rehearse and record in order to produce a joint result that adheres exactly to Dvořák's musical text and his often rather brisk tempo specifications,” Raphaela Gromes looks back. “Nowadays, the autograph of the work is easy to consult and some of the dynamic markings, rhythms, articulations and even notes are clearly different from what I remember from various recordings. To be faithful to this text, to convey Dvořák's idea of his music and to sing the beautiful melodies and virtuoso passages in great coherence and flowing simplicity - that was our great concern with this recording.”

By including Ukrainian music in her album repertoire, the exceptional musician is also sending a strong signal of solidarity and compassion. In selected works, she lets her cello sing and pray - as in Walentyn Sylwestrow's “Prayer for Ukraine”, whose breathtaking effect Raphaela was able to experience at first hand during her concert in Kyiv: “It was a prayer for the future of Ukraine that was felt throughout the hall! Everyone held their breath while we played, many cried, including the musicians on stage. Afterwards, we experienced overwhelming reactions from the audience: people showered me with gifts. One soldier gave me his badge and said: “This is to protect you.” The subsequent recording of the piece was one of the most emotional musical moments of my life”.

Hanna Hawrylets (“Tropar, prayer to the holy mother of God”) is also represented on the album, a composer for whom the passing on and continuation of Ukrainian heritage, which was endangered by the war, was always extremely important. She died of acute heart failure on the fourth day of the Russian war of aggression, unable to receive medical treatment quickly enough due to the war situation. Hawrylets left behind many unfinished works.

Raphaela Gromes also chose “We are”, Jury Shevchenko's emotional version of the Ukrainian national anthem, for the album. The composer, who also died shortly after the start of the war, wanted his anthem to resound around the world as a silent prayer for Ukraine. The inclusion of the song “Chervona Kalyna” by Stepan Charnetskyi as a symbol of hope and victory rounds off the emotional and powerful program of the album.

“My heart will always remain open to Ukraine!”, Raphaela Gromes recently said in an interview - and you can feel and hear this in every single note.

Raphaela Gromes, cello
National State Symphony Orchestra of the Ukraine
Volodymyr Sirenko, conductor

Raphaela Gromes
Highly virtuosic and full of drive, passionate and technically brilliant, versatile and charming – there are hardly any other cellists who are able to captivate their audiences the way Raphaela Gromes does. Whether as a soloist with orchestra, as a duo in chamber music or alongside a wind quartet, the young cellist always leaves everyone spellbound with both her fantastically ambitious and remarkably effortless playing.

Her first appearance as a soloist took place in the fall of 2005 with the Cello Concerto by Friedrich Gulda, a performance for which she received resounding acclaim from both audience and press. As a young student, she began her studies at the age of 14 at the University of Music and Theatre Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig with Peter Bruns before continuing with Wen-Sinn Yang at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich in 2010 and later with Reinhard Latzko at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Awards to her name include First Prize at both the 2012 Richard Strauss Competition and the 2016 Concorso Fiorindo Turin, as well as the German Music Competition Prize in the solo cello category. Also since 2012 she has held a scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation and has been supported by Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now.

She gained valuable musical inspiration from master classes with renowned cellists such as David Geringas, Yo-Yo Ma, Frans Helmerson, Jens Peter Maintz, László Fenyö, Daniel Müller-Schott, Kristin von der Goltz, Wolfgang Boettcher, Anner Bylsma and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmid.

Raphaela Gromes celebrated her debut at such renowned festivals as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Jungfrau Music Festival Interlaken, the Vorsprung Festival of the Audi Summer Concerts in Ingolstadt with Kent Nagano, the Munich Opera Festival, the Marvao International Music Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and has given guest appearances at the Tonhalle Zurich, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle Hamburg, and the concert halls of Berlin, Vienna and Dortmund. In 2018, a tour took her to the United States, in 2019 to Korea, and in 2020 to China.

She followed invitations to Isarphilharmonie in Munich, Tonhalle Zurich, the Philharmonie in Essen, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, she played several times at the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and in the concert halls in Berlin, Vienna and Dortmund.

She maintains a close collaboration with the Festival Strings Lucerne, with whom she is on an extensive tour in 23/24.

Furthermore, a number of cello concertos have already been dedicated to her: Dominik Giesriegl's Cello Concerto in 2012 and Valentin Bachmann's Cello Concerto in 2013. Her third world premiere, the double concerto Chroma composed for Raphaela Gromes and Cécile Grüebler by Mario Bürki in 2014, teamed the young cellist up with the Swiss Military Orchestra.

In 2022, she premiered Igor Loboda's concert "L’Arcobaleno della vita" for cello, piano and string orchestra with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra and Julian Riem.

Raphaela Gromes has been an exclusive artist with Sony Classical since 2016. Her albums are distinguished by creative programming and an explorative spirit. In fact, Gromes features a world premiere recording, such as Jacques Offenbach's Hommage á Rossini, Klengel's Cello Concerto No. 3 (with the RSB Orchestra and Nicholas Carter on “Romantic Cello Concertos”) or, in 2020, the original version of the Sonata op. 6 by Richard Strauss.

Her albums have won a number of awards: in 2019 she received the German Record Critics' Award for the CD “Offenbach”as well as the Bavarian Arts Promotion Award in the category “Music and Dance”. In 2020 she received the OPUS KLASSIK in the category chamber music/duo for her CD “Offenbach” together with pianist Julian Riem and was awarded the Diapason Nouveauté for her album “Richard Strauss – Cello Sonatas”. In February 2021 her album “Klengel – Schumann: Romantic Cello Concertos” received the Diapason d'Or.

Her last album “Femmes” in which Gromes presents works by 23 female composers spanning 9 centuries, stayed in the classical charts for months in 2023.

Raphaela Gromes plays a cello by Carlo Bergonzi provided to her from a private source.

She is a cultural ambassador for SOS Children's Villages worldwide.

This album contains no booklet.