Vivaldi: Sonatas for Cello & Basso Continuo Jean-Guihen Queyras

• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Cello Sonata in E Minor, RV 40:
• 1Cello Sonata in E Minor, RV 40: I. Largo03:09
• 2Cello Sonata in E Minor, RV 40: II. Allegro02:49
• 3Cello Sonata in E Minor, RV 40: III. Largo02:34
• 4Cello Sonata in E Minor, RV 40: IV. Allegro02:23
• Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 47:
• 5Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 47: I. Largo03:50
• 6Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 47: II. Allegro03:31
• 7Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 47: III. Largo02:38
• 8Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 47: IV. Allegro02:09
• Cello Sonata in A Minor, RV 43:
• 9Cello Sonata in A Minor, RV 43: I. Largo03:38
• 10Cello Sonata in A Minor, RV 43: II. Allegro03:26
• 11Cello Sonata in A Minor, RV 43: III. Largo03:44
• 12Cello Sonata in A Minor, RV 43: IV. Allegro03:08
• 13Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 45: I. Largo03:24
• 14Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 45: II. Allegro01:57
• 15Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 45: III. Largo04:44
• 16Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 45: IV. Allegro02:05
• Cello Sonata in F Major, RV 41:
• 17Cello Sonata in F Major, RV 41: I. Largo02:50
• 18Cello Sonata in F Major, RV 41: II. Allegro02:45
• 19Cello Sonata in F Major, RV 41: III. Largo03:35
• 20Cello Sonata in F Major, RV 41: IV. Allegro02:47
• Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 46:
• 21Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 46: I. Largo02:08
• 22Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 46: II. Allegro02:44
• 23Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 46: III. Largo02:11
• 24Cello Sonata in B-Flat Major, RV 46: IV. Allegro02:49
• Total Runtime01:10:58

Info for Vivaldi: Sonatas for Cello & Basso Continuo

Antonio Vivaldi's six sonatas for cello and continuo were written between 1720 and 1730 and published in Paris in 1740 by Leclerc and Boivin. Although a staple of the cello repertoire, these works are not often played in public recitals. When they were composed, the cello was just emerging as a solo instrument, and Vivaldi took full advantage of the instrument's expressive capabilities. These performances feature soloist Jean-Guihen Queyras, accompanied by a continuo team of harpsichordist Michael Behringer, lutenist Lee Santana and cellist Christoph Dangel.

“I think that in immersing myself in the world of these sonatas, I’ve probably taken a stroll down memory lane. We all carry within ourselves significant events that have structured our childhood, our imagination, sometimes our doubts, and when we decide, as performers, to concentrate our attention on a specific repertory, we’re often setting out in search of a part of ourselves that calls for new light to be shed on it. […] This music enveloped my everyday life, in a totally natural, familiar and almost organic way.” (Jean-Guihen Queyras)

“These cello pieces, composed in the grip of the greatest inspiration, remind us of the extent to which the extravagant and emotional brilliance of Vivaldian (and Venetian) art reposes above all on a direct sensibility of the elements in their simplest, even crudest form. Pisendel once submitted an attempt at a concerto to his teacher. Vivaldi immediately divested it of half its notes: one must know how to leave enough space for the miracle to filter through.” (Olivier Fourés)

Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
Michael Behringer, harpsichord
Lee Santana, lute
Christoph Dangel, cello

Jean-Guihen Queyras
enjoys an enviable reputation as a musician of exceptional versatility and integrity, equally as a soloist with orchestras, chamber musician and solo performer.

He has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Philharmonia, Orchestre de Paris, NHK Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zurich, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Budapest Festival Orchestra and Orchestre de la Suisse-Romande under conductors such as Iván Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jiří Bělohlávek, Olivier Knussen and Sir Roger Norrington. He appears regularly with early music ensembles such as the Freiburger Barockorchester and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

Jean-Guihen Queyras is also an enthusiastic exponent of contemporary music and is committed to expanding the repertoire boundaries of his instrument. He regularly collaborates with composers such as Bruno Mantovani, Jörg Widmann and Pierre Boulez; he also premiered the concertos of Michael Jarrell and Johannes-Maria Staud. In November 2014, Queyras performed Peter Eötvös’ cello concerto with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for Eötvös’ 70th birthday celebrations and Dutilleux’s concerto for the composer’s 100th anniversary.

His regular chamber music partners include pianists Alexandre Tharaud and Alexander Melnikov and violinist Isabelle Faust. He is a member of the Arcanto Quartett and also performs with Zarb specialists Kevyan and Bijan Chemirani.

Queyras is frequently asked to host artistic residencies. These have included a “Carte Blanche” at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and projects in Utrecht’s Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Gent’s De Bijloke. He was also “Artist in Residence” with the Hamburg-based chamber orchestra Ensemble Resonanz.

He has made numerous recordings for harmonia mundi. Recent releases include Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiří Bělohlávek, as well as Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, recorded with Alexander Melnikov. He is currently involved in an all-Schumann project featuring the complete piano trios, performed with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov, and the concertos, performed with the Freiburger Barockorchester and Pablo Heras-Casado. The final installment with the Piano Trio No. 1 and the Cello Concerto will be released in early 2016.

The 2015/16 season sees Jean-Guihen Queyras in Residence at the Wigmore Hall. Further highlights include appearances with the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln under François-Xavier Roth, Orquestra Nacionales de España under Vladimir Ashkenazy, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Sir Roger Norrington and Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra under Sylvain Cambreling. In the spring of 2016, he premieres Thomas Larcher’s “Cerha,” a commissioned work for solo cello and string orchestra.

Jean-Guihen Queyras plays a cello made by Gioffredo Cappa in 1696, on loan from Mécénat Musical Société Générale since November 2005. He is a professor at the Musikhochschule Freiburg.

Booklet for Vivaldi: Sonatas for Cello & Basso Continuo