Schumann's stories and Schubert's Arpeggione
Program
Robert Schumann Adagio & Allegro
Franz Schubert Arpeggione sonate
Reza Vali Persian Folk Songs
César Franck Violin sonate in A major (arr. for cello and piano)
Musicians
Kian Soltani cello
Martin James Bartlett piano
Schubert was the only top composer who wrote for the arpeggione, a 19th-Century hybrid between a guitar and a cello which fell out of use. His Arpeggione Sonata is an all-time favourite of both cellists and audiences. Two other favourites, Franck’s Sonata and Schumann’s Adagio & Allegro, complete this programme that will attract any cello enthusiast.
Austrian-born Kian Soltani comes from a family of Persian musicians. That background can be heard in his choice to include Persian Folk Songs by Reza Vali. Just as Bartók used folk music from the Balkan as inspiration, the American/Iranian Vali uses the centuries-old Persian musical traditions for his inspiration. Schumann, in his five pieces, doesn’t refer directly to folk music, but rather to his wish to tell intense and impressive stories.
