Pierre Fournier

Cello Recital Pierre Fournier

"Cello Recital" Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ernest Bloch, Fritz Kreisler, Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, George Gershwin, Joaquin Nin - Pierre Fournier (vc); Ernest Lush (p)

Fournier is one of the finest cellists before the public today. He is a master stylist, as he demonstrates vividly here, adapting to such varied fare as a Bach sonata, a Bloch improvisation, a Debussy song, and even a blues-like Gershwin prelude. Ernest Lush's accompaniment is well-nigh ideal, and the reproduction is excellent.

High Fidelity

Unlike most cellists whose bowing sounds like a runner's breathing after the 100 yard dash, Pierre Fournier possess an unusual and almost uniquely mellifluous tone which, combined with his supremely cultivated musicianship indicates immediately, that he is one of the very few good cellists one may hear today ... The majority of his "'Cello Recital" consists of works not intended for that instrument, but in no instance, if one did not know the origins of the works, would there probably be any doubt that they were all cello masterpieces. His version of the Bach Sonata, when compared with Casals', leaves the impression that where Casals is playing the cello, Fournier is playing the Sonata.