Various Composers - Blackbirds (Nicolas Altstaedt)

Information

• Grażyna Bacewicz - Cello Concerto No. 2
• Morton Feldman - Durations II for Cello and Piano
• Benjamin Britten - Cello Sonata, Op. 65
• Sándor Veress - Sonata for Solo Violoncello
• Paul McCartney - Blackbird

Nicolas Altstaedt, cello

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor & piano

Date: 2026

Label: Alpha Classics

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Nicolas Altstaedt centers this recording around the rarely performed Second Cello Concerto by Grażyna Bacewicz, whose expressive economy and depth he greatly admires. Joined by Maxim Emelyanychev and the Swedish Radio Orchestra, the program also features Benjamin Britten’s Sonata for Cello and Piano and Morton Feldman’s Durations II. A solo cello sonata by Sándor Veress further highlights the 1960s focus. The album concludes with a live rendition of Blackbird by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, performed with Thomas Dunford, adding an intimate and reflective closing.

Nicolas Altstaedt (born 1982) is a German-French cellist renowned for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. Trained in Detmold, Basel, and Berlin, he studied with Marcio Carneiro, Ivan Monighetti, and Boris Pergamenschikow, among others. Since his acclaimed debut with the Vienna Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, he has collaborated with leading orchestras, conductors, and period-instrument ensembles worldwide. Deeply committed to contemporary music, many composers have written major works for him, including recent award-winning concertos. Altstaedt also holds prominent artistic directorships and regularly appears at major international festivals.

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