STEVEN ISSERLIS, Cello

 

Luigi Boccherini: Symphony No. 6 in D. minor , Op. 12, La casa del diavolo, G506

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Cello Concerto in A major, Wq 172, H. 439

John Tavener: Eternal Memory for Solo Cello and Strings

Béla Bartók: Divertimento for Strings, Sz 113, BB 118

The long-standing and highly successful ensemble Zagreb Soloists builds its distinctive sound primarily on the outstanding artistry of its members – soloists united in making music together, connected by great enthusiasm and love for music. The collaboration with British cellist Steven Isserlis, one of today's leading musicians, opens up new vistas, but also reminds us of its origins, back in 1953, when the ensemble was founded by the then leading cellist Antonio Janigro, who also often performed with it as a soloist.

 

The virtuosic Concerto for Cello and Strings in A major by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach comes from the mid-18th century, a time when the Baroque was giving way to the Galant style. Two decades later, under the influence of Viennese Classicism (as well as the Sturm und Drang movement), Boccherini composed his Symphony inspired by scenes of hell, known as The Devil’s House. A 20th-century music icon, Béla Bartók, shaped his Divertimento in the neoclassical style, and at the very end of the 20th century, John Tavener composed a meditation on the remembrance of death (or eternal paradise) titled Eternal Memory.