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 >>>>

Bach - Cello Suites

Armenian-born Suren Bagratuni is a compelling, highly individual cellist who can make his instrument sing even in difficult 20th-century music. Winner of the silver medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition, he wound up on the faculty of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He has the potential to become a cult figure: a vivid musical personality who records only intermittently on small, hard-to-find labels. His traversal of the Bach suites would surely turn heads if it came within range of many ears; it is captivating, occasionally controversial, and always expressive. In the G-Major Suite, Bagratuni quickly reaches escape velocity; he zips right through the Prelude (this seems to be a common practice among Russian-trained cellists), and, after a light Allemande, propels the Courante with nervous energy. His Sarabande is warmer and more meditative, and he eases more gently into the line in the Minuets and Gigue. More >>>>