Mats Lidström, Bengt Forsberg - Saint-Saens: Music For Cello (1999) CD-Rip

The two sonatas for cello and piano by Camille Saint-Saëns stand as bookends to what was an impressively long compositional career spanning more than seven decades. Much of Saint-Saëns' music for cello, including these two sonatas, has been dismissed as inferior and is rarely performed or recorded. Only the first cello concerto, often played by advanced students of the instrument, remains a common occurrence on disc or stage. While the assertion of cellist Mats Lidström that Saint-Saëns' music is on a par with or even superior to other repertoire of the period is likely a dramatic overstatement, it certainly is worthy of attention and enjoyment. Joined by pianist Bengt Forsberg on this Helios album, Lidström engages in a passionate, animated reading of the two sonatas. Lidström plays with an immense amount of gusto and enthusiasm, downplaying any notion that French music needs to be treated as a delicate, fragile thing; however, he occasionally crosses the line with a right arm that is sometimes harsh, abrasive, and overly vertical. At key moments in the music, this sort of forceful, in-the-string playing can really capture a listener's attention, but when used continuously it becomes tiresome. Despite Saint-Saëns' recommendations to the contrary, the Romance from the F major Sonata is sentimental, almost saccharine at times. Still, there is a dearth of quality recordings of these works, and from a technical standpoint Lidström truly delivers even if his musical vision may seem over the top to some listeners.