French Cello Marc Coppey, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg & John Nelson

• Léon Boëllmann (1862 - 1897): Variations symphoniques, Op. 23:
• 1 Boëllmann: Variations symphoniques, Op. 23: 12:59
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33, R. 193:
• 2 Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33, R. 193: I. Allegro non Troppo 05:42
• 3 Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33, R. 193: II. Allegretto con Moto 04:59
• 4 Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33, R. 193: III. Allegro non Troppo 08:54
• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924): Élégie, Op. 24:
• 5 Fauré: Élégie, Op. 24 07:15
• Édouard Lalo (1823 – 1892): Cello Concerto in D Minor:
• 6 Lalo: Cello Concerto in D Minor: I. Prélude. Lento - Allegro Maestoso 13:06
• 7 Lalo: Cello Concerto in D Minor: II. Intermezzo. Andantino con moto - Allegro Presto 06:32
• 8 Lalo: Cello Concerto in D Minor: III. Introduction. Andante - Rondo (Allegro Vivace) 07:42
• Camille Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals, R. 125:
• 9 Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIII. The Swan (Le Cygne) 03:38
• Total Runtime 01:10:47

Info for French Cello

A multifaceted homage to French cello repertoire: For more than two centuries, the Paris Conservatoire has maintained a glorious cello tradition, which since 2003 has been upheld by Marc Coppey. As a tribute to the spirit of his predecessors, he now presents three of the most famous nineteenth century cello concertos by Camille Saint-Saëns, Édouard Lalo and Léon Boëllmann, all united on one album.

Heavyweights of French cello literature, recorded by one of today's leading cellists: from Camille Saint-Saëns' The Swan, perhaps the most famous cello solo ever, to Léon Boëllmann's Variations symphoniques, combining playful wit with highly original form, contrasted by the sense of tragedy in Gabriel Fauré's Élégie.

The two concertos by Saint-Saëns and Lalo represent weighty warhorses of the French cello repertoire which require not only technical mastery but, above all, musical penetration in order to highlight their subtleties. As an advocate of the ars gallica movement, Saint-Saëns included in his first cello concerto several allusions to the French baroque tradition, but also showed commitment to French clarity, turning his back on any bombast which was considered "Teutonic".

Lalo's cello concerto, on the other hand, is highly expressive, energetic and very romantic, with the solo cello almost depicting the literary heroes of the time who populated the novels of Balzac, Hugo and Dumas père and fils.

Marc Coppey, cello
Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg
John Nelson, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for French Cello