Salonen: Cello Concerto & Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello Nicolas Altstaedt, Pekka Kuusisto, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra & Dima Slobodeniouk

• Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958): Cello Concerto:
• 1Salonen: Cello Concerto: I.13:10
• 2Salonen: Cello Concerto: II.09:24
• 3Salonen: Cello Concerto: III.13:30
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Sonata in A Minor for Violin and Cello, M. 73:
• 4Ravel: Sonata in A Minor for Violin and Cello, M. 73: I. Allegro05:31
• 5Ravel: Sonata in A Minor for Violin and Cello, M. 73: II. Très vif03:19
• 6Ravel: Sonata in A Minor for Violin and Cello, M. 73: III. Lent06:29
• 7Ravel: Sonata in A Minor for Violin and Cello, M. 73: IV. Vif, avec entrain05:53
• Total Runtime57:16

Info for Salonen: Cello Concerto & Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello

Nicolas Altstaedt presents here his version of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s monumental Cello Concerto, originally composed for Yo-Yo Ma, and given its Finnish premiere by the Franco-German cellist under the composer’s direction. In partnership with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Dima Slobodeniouk, he reveals its full expressive dimension here: ‘The first movement opens with what, in my sketchbook, was called “Chaos to line”’, says Esa-Pekka Salonen. Chaos, a metaphorical comet, a rhythmic mantra with congas and bongos, a wild dance . . . Salonen goes on to say of the third movement: ‘I imagined the orchestra as some kind of gigantic lung, expanding and contracting first slowly, but accelerating to a point of mild hyperventilation which leads back to the dance-like material’ The coupling is the famous ‘Duo Ravel’ (to give it the original title used at its premiere), which Nicolas Altstaedt and Pekka Kuusisto have been performing and refining ever since 2010, and which it was high time to record.

Nicolas Altstaedt, cello
Pekka Kuusisto, violin (tracks 4-7)
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor

Nicolas Altstaedt
German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt is one of the most sought after and versatile artists today. As a soloist, conductor, and artistic director, he performs repertoire spanning from early music to the contemporary, playing on period and modern instruments.

Nicolas Altstaedt was Artist in Focus at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt and Artist in Residence at the SWR Symphonieorchester with Teodor Currentzis in 2019/20. Other recent highlights include concerto debuts with the Detroit and Washington’s National symphony orchestras, NHK and Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra, re-invitations to the DSO Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Finnish Radio Symphony orchestras and a tour with B’Rock and René Jacobs.

He has debuted in recital at BOZAR Brussels, Carnegie Hall, Park Avenue Armory, TCE Paris and Koerner Hall, Toronto. During the 2017/18 season, Nicolas gave the highly acclaimed Finnish premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto under the baton of the composer at the Helsinki Festival and was “Artist in Spotlight” at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and NDR Elbphilharmonieorchester, Hamburg.

Nicolas Altstaedt performs regularly with the most renowned orchestras around the world, including the Vienna Philharmonic and Symphoniker, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, London Philharmonic, OPRF and ONF Paris, and all BBC orchestras with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Roger Norrington, Lahav Shani, Francois-Xavier Roth, and Robin Ticciati. He also performs with orchestras of historical performance practice such as “Il Giardino Armonico” under Giovanni Antonini, Andrea Marcon and Philippe Herreweghe.

As a conductor, he works closely with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and has conducted the SWR, OPRF Paris, Aurora and Munich chamber orchestras in recent seasons. Joint appearances with composers - such as Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Larcher, Fazil Say and Sofia Gubaidulina - also consolidate his reputation as an outstanding interpreter of contemporary music. Sebastian Fagerlund, Anders Hillborg, Helena Winkelman and Fazil Say have recently written concertos for Nicolas.

In 2012 Nicolas Altstaedt succeeded Gidon Kremer as Artistic Director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, and in 2014 he succeeded Ádám Fischer as Artistic Director of the Haydn Philharmonic.

As a chamber musician, Nicolas’ regular partners include Janine Jansen, Vilde Frang, Pekka Kuusisto, Lawrence Power, Antoine Tamestit, Alexander Lonquich, Jonathan Cohen, Jean Rondeau and the Quatuor Ébène. He performs at Salzburg Mozart and Summer festivals, BBC Proms, Musikfest Bremen, and Verbier and Lucerne festivals.

He has received numerous prizes including the Beethovenring Bonn 2015 and Musikpreis der Stadt Duisburg 2018. His recent chamber recording of his Lockenhaus Festival garnered the BBC Music Magazine 2020 Chamber Award and Grammophone Award 2020. He received the BBC Music Magazine Concerto Award 2017 for his recording of CPE Bach Concertos on Hyperion with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen and the Edison Klassiek 2017 for his latest Recital Recording with Fazil Say on Warner Classics. Nicolas was a recipient of the Credit Suisse Award in 2010 and was a BBC New Generation Artist 2010-2012.

Booklet for Salonen: Cello Concerto & Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello