Celloquy - Lera Auerbach & Ani Aznavoorian (2013)

February through the years: on the Feb 2013 playlist, along with Cult Of Luna and Thao & The Get Down Stay Downs

In classical music, a prelude doesn’t always mean what it seems to say on the tin. It can often be the firt part of two or more in a longer work (prelude and fugue is a common example). Or it can just be a standalone piece, which seems to me like you shouldn’t call it a frickin prelude if it’s not a prelude to anything, but that’s my own cross to bear.

Lera Auerbach is one of the newer generation of composers, with a modern sensibility but an ear for the past. Her work is often challenging but seldom offputting. Here she performs her own piano and cello compositions with cellist Aznavoorian, centered on her 1999 composition of 24 preludes.

The feel of each is distinctive and fun. It’s always engaging and the two play together wonderfully. Some pieces are piano-centric, some concentrate more on the cello. It’s a little dissonant in places, but that’s always in service to the overall piece and not just atonal chaos.

After the preludes is Auerbach’s Cello Sonata, which I admit I didn’t have time to listen to this morning because I was on shuffle and wondering why there seemed to be so many more than 24 preludes. Life is sometimes difficult.

Anyway, it’s a highly enjoyable collection.