Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Gesänge des Lebens (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

It is an imaginary concert program comprising an enormous emotional spectrum from the extremely intimate (Malinconia, Waldesruhe, Prayer, etc.) to the virtuoso and life-affirming (Rondino, L‘abeille, and Andaluza); it is also a journey through disparate musical regions from North to South, from Finland to Spain, that poses some of the great questions of human existence: questions of meaning and duration, of inner peace, memory, and salvation. For years, the works I have selected here have always fascinated me with their inner greatness or melancholy beauty. Each of them is an homage to the virtuoso and lyrical possibilities of the cello and, not least, to the fantastic interpreters who have shaped my life as a musician – Emanuel Feuermann, Pau Casals, Gregor Piatigorsky, Gaspar Cassadó, Pierre Fournier, Mstislav Rostropovitch, and Arto Noras, to name only a few. Poe- tic moments of quiet contemplation encounter life-affirming, extremely sensual music of direct corporeal power.

Tracklist:
01. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – 5 Pieces for Violin & Piano, Op. 81: No. 2, Rondino (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (02:02)
02. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – A Gaspar Cassadó, Op. 114 No. 1 (03:11)
03. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Malinconia, Op. 20 (11:13)
04. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – 6 Romances, Op. 4: No. 1, Oh No, I Beg You, Forsake Me Not! (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (01:38)
05. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 119: II. Moderato (04:56)
06. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – From the Bohemian Forest, Op. 68: No. 5, Silent Woods, B. 173 (05:22)
07. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Adagio und Rondo (After Weber’s Op. 10b) (05:10)
08. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BWV 727 (Arr. P. Fournier for Cello & Piano) (01:51)
09. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Lied ohne Worte in D Major, Op. 109, MWV Q 34 (04:31)
10. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – From Jewish Life, B. 54: I. Prayer (04:12)
11. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Bagatelles, Op. 13: No. 9, Abeille (Arr. P. Casals for Cello & Piano) (01:19)
12. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Le carnaval des animaux, R. 125: XIII. Le cygne (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (02:44)
13. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Nocturne et scherzo, L. 26 (05:24)
14. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Sicilienne, Op. 78 (Version for Cello & Piano) (03:45)
15. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – 3 Pièces for Cello & Piano: No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor, Vite et nerveusement rythmé (02:26)
16. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – El cant dels ocells (Arr. P. Casals for Cello & Piano) (02:39)
17. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – Vocalise-Étude en forme de habanera, M. 54 (Arr. P. Bazelaire for Cello & Piano) (02:32)
18. Niklas Schmidt & Stepan Simonian – 12 Danzas españolas, Op. 37, H. 142: No. 5, Andaluza (Arr. E. Feuermann for Cello & Piano) (03:41)