Music for Cello and Piano

The news here is not the meal itself-a selection from three of the basic food groups that has been served up on disc many times before, though perhaps not in this exact combination-but its preparation and presentation. Heretofore, I had not heard of Blue Griffin Recording, a Lansing, Michigan-based company, or of either of these artists, Armenian born cellist Suren Bagratuni, and Swiss-born pianist Adrian Oetiker. Bagratuni won the Silver Medal at the 1986 International Tchaikovsky Competition while still a student at the Moscow Conservatory. He has since appeared with major orchestras and in recital on five continents. Oetiker is also a prize-winner, having won the ARD International Piano Competition in Munich in 1995. He, too, has performed widely throughout Europe and the US. More >>>>

The Entertainers

I work with college students, and I am a reliable judge of when someone is honest with me, and of when someone is giving me a load of B.S. There are two reasons for classical musicians to record an album like this one, heavily laden as it is with arrangements of rock standards. The first one is-not to put too fine a point on it-to sell out. ("Suckers! Ifthey go for this, they'll swallow anything.") The second and much rarer reason is as sincere as the first reason is dishonest: perhaps the musicians actually love this music, and want to interpret it in their own way as an expression of that love. I have no doubt that Andrej Kurti and Viktor Uzur recorded this CD for the second reason. Arranging the music of Pink Floyd, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and others for violin and cello (that's all!) sounds like someone's idea of a sophomoric jokefunny once or twice, but not worth repetition. By treating the music seriously, and as no less worthy of respect than classical music, Kurti and Uzur leave us with smiles that, while perhaps less broad, are undoubtedly longer lasting. More >>>>