French Music for Cello & Piano

This album by Truls Mørk and Håkon Austbø focuses on the French cello. Throughout the album’s 70 minutes, the duo performs cello works by César Franck, Ernest Chausson, Claude Debussy, and Francis Poulenc—all pillars of French music for the instrument. Franck’s Violin Sonata, one of those cyclical compositions so beloved by Franck, is a sophisticated treatment of just three notes that gives rise to many of the work’s themes.

Chausson’s “Pièce for Cello and Piano” is a rarity, as it is one of those lyrical, tranquil French works that is often overshadowed by the grandeur of many well-known dramatic works from the same period. Its beauty, however, is undeniable. Debussy’s sonata, which returns to the old classical forms of French music, was composed “in the old, flexible form without the grandiosity of modern sonatas,” as the composer himself described it.

Poulenc’s “Sonata for Cello and Piano” stands out in the composer’s catalog, as it is more heavily dominated by woodwind parts. Like his earlier violin sonata, it is an extensive work that showcases Poulenc at his most inventive.

As one of the most outstanding cellists on the international scene, Truls Mørk has distinguished himself at several major national and international competitions and has been undertaking extensive tours around the world since the mid-1980s. Håkon Austbø, on the other hand, has garnered international attention since the 1970s and has enjoyed a successful international career as a soloist and chamber musician.

Works:

 •  Franck, C: Violin Sonata in A major
 •  Franck, C: Soanta For Violin And Piano In A Major: Allegretto Poco Mosso
 •  Chausson: Piéce For Cello And Piano Op.39: Tranquille Mais Sans Lenteur
 •  Debussy: Soanata For Cello And Piano: Prologue: Lent
 •  Debussy: Cello Sonata
 •  Poulenc: Cello Sonata, Op. 143