Britten: Cello Symphony, Cello Sonata, Cello Suites Nos.1-3

Britten's long friendship with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was one of the most inspiring and fruitful musical collaborations in history. It led directly to the composition of some of the most important works for cello of the twentieth century. On this superb recording, Alban Gerhardt performs this body of works in its entirety. In the Cello Sonata he is partnered by Steven Osborne, whose Hyperion recording of Britten's Piano Concerto received a Gramophone Award. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Manze join Gerhardt for the Cello Symphony, Britten's only substantial piece of absolute symphonic music. The astonishing Suites for solo cello complete the set. These works acknowledge their debt to Bach but also demonstrate all the imagination and emotional scope for which the composer is revered.