Edgar Moreau cello 
David Kadouch piano 

Although Ravel’s piano concertos are big “hits” of the piano symphony repertoire, his catalogue of chamber music is often overlooked. The two pieces for cello on the programme this evening are therefore most welcome. His style, which is Romantic in essence, reflects his introverted personality. His Sonata for Cello and Piano op. 19, which is probably the best-known work in his catalogue, dates from the summer of 1901 and is contemporary with his Concerto No. 2 for Piano. The cello was not his favourite instrument, but the composer succeeded in showcasing its exceptional nuances and created a very rich dialogue between the two instruments. Our two instrumentalists will stay in Slav territory with an excerpt from Gypsy Song by Dvořák, originally composed for piano and tenor voice, but here the cello will stand in for the human voice.
Like Rachmaninov, Chopin did not write much for the cello, but this Sonata op. 65 is one of the great works written for this instrument, on a par with works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. We would like to thank Edgar Moreau and David Kadouch for immersing us in these works which are all too rarely performed in concert.

Production Théâtre des Champs-Élysées