Victor Santiago Asuncion

John-Henry Crawford, Victor Santiago Asuncion – Voice of Rachmaninoff (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:07:46 minutes | 1,19 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Orchid Classics

In an album celebrating the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoffs birth, cellist John-Henry Crawford and pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion explore the voice-like qualities of the composers melodies. The cellos expressive timbres are often likened to the human voice, making it the perfect vehicle to showcase this aspect of Rachmaninoffs output. The release begins with an arrangement of Rachmaninoffs Elegie originally for solo piano that expands the works texture to articulate a more clearly defined melodic line. Transcriptions of his romances for voice and Vocalise work perfectly on the cello, an instrument Rachmaninoff held in high regard. Rachmaninoffs Cello Sonata, which is at the heart of this release, was dedicated to cellist Anatoliy Brandukov who was also best man at his wedding. For John-Henry Crawford, the cello might almost represent the best man? to Rachmaninoffs primary instrument, the piano, and as such is an ideal medium through which to hear his singing melodies. The Sonata boasts one song-like theme after another, in a vast work with a devilishly difficult piano part on par with that of his piano concerti. There are transcriptions of those larger-scale works, too, including the sublime 18th variation of the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, and the slow movement of the Second Piano Concerto arranged by Fritz Kreisler, with whom Rachmaninoff regularly performed.

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John-Henry Crawford, Victor Santiago Asuncion – Dialogo (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:02:25 minutes | 550 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Orchid Classics

American cellist John Henry Crawford was named “Young Artist of the Year” by the Classical Recording Foundation in 2019, and his debut album demonstrates exceptional insight and nuance in a varied and fascinating program, performed with pianist Victor Asuncion. Playing a rare 200-year-old cello smuggled out of Austria by his grandfather, Robert Popper, John Henry Crawford performs Sonatas by Brahms and Shostakovich alongside Ligeti’s Solo Sonata.
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