This release by the young cellist Camille Thomas has a consistent tone from beginning to end: elegiac, mournful, but suggesting renewal. This will appeal to some listeners and may drive others up the wall, but set that aside and consider the ingenious way the recital is put together. Thomas subsumes quite a variety of music under her concept, from Baroque to core Italian opera to brand-new: in the latter category, a concerto by composer Fazil Say written expressly for Thomas. That work is the main attraction, and it is a remarkable cello showpiece considering that Say is known as a pianist, not a string player. Thomas also effectively uses late-Romantic exoticism, and she has some unusual transcriptions: one of Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder and Bellini's "Casta Diva," from Norma, perhaps wouldn't be expected to produce good cello pieces, but they do. John Williams' Theme from Schindler's List makes an appearance, and it's a reasonable representation of the whole album, consisting of quasi-tragic works that are really something else. Thomas has remarkable consistency and stamina to go with her originality, and she's clearly a player to watch.
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