In an album celebrating the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninov’s birth, cellist John-Henry Crawford and pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion explore the voice-like qualities of the composer’s melodies. The cello’s expressive timbres are often likened to the human voice, making it the perfect vehicle to showcase this aspect of Rachmaninov’s output.

The release begins with an arrangement of Rachmaninov’s Èlégie – originally for solo piano – that expands the work’s texture to articulate a more clearly defined melodic line. Transcriptions of his romances for voice and Vocalise work perfectly on the cello, an instrument Rachmaninov held in high regard. Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata, which is at the heart of this release, was dedicated to cellist Anatoliy Brandukov – who was also best man at his wedding. For John-Henry Crawford, the cello might almost represent the ‘best man’ to Rachmaninov’s primary instrument, the piano, and as such is an ideal medium through which to hear his singing melodies. The Sonata boasts one song-like theme after another, in a vast work with a devilishly difficult piano part on par with that of his piano concerti. There are transcriptions of those larger-scale works, too, including the sublime 18th variation of the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, and the slow movement of the Second Piano Concerto – arranged by Fritz Kreisler, with whom Rachmaninov regularly performed.