Cellist
Mischa Maisky has a big tone. Cellist
Mstislav Rostropovich has an even bigger tone. But cellist
Ralph Kirshbaum has the biggest tone of all. Indeed, the sheer density and intensity of his tone seem too massive to be coming from a mere cello -- if one didn't know better, one might swear he was playing a bass. And yet, as he shows in these breathtaking performances of
Prokofiev and
Shostakovich's cello sonatas with an encore by
Rachmaninov,
Kirshbaum has dexterity as well as density -- listen to him negotiate the thorniest passages in the
Prokofiev with utmost ease -- and virtuosity as well as intensity -- listen to him tackle the fastest pages in the
Shostakovich with ineffable grace. In fact, there seems to be nothing
Kirshbaum can't do -- listen to him sustain the long line in
Rachmaninov's Vocalise -- and nothing he can't express -- listen to him articulate the ambiguous mix of affirmation and resignation in
Prokofiev's Sonata. Ably supported by pianist
Peter Jablonski whose debut recording of
Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto on Decca is still fondly recalled by the piece's many fans,
Kirshbaum turns in a recording that while it may not be a first choice -- there are the canonical recordings of the
Prokofiev by
Rostropovich and
Richter and of the
Shostakovich by
Rostropovich and
Shostakovich -- will still amply reward those who already know the music. Altara's sound is sometimes a bit too distant, sometimes a bit too close, but, somehow, always very present.