Transcriptions And Paraphrases For Cello And Piano

On their debut Navona Records release, KOSTOV-VALKOV DUO: TRANSCRIPTIONS AND PARAPHRASES FOR CELLO AND PIANO, the Kostov-Valkov Duo – cellist Lachezar Kostov and pianist Viktor Valkov – present a powerful and invigorating program, showcasing their virtuosity and superior technique with commanding performances of works by Franz Liszt, Buxton Orr, Bohuslav Martinů, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

Exemplifying the Duo’s ground-breaking and virtuosic arrangements, the three works by Franz Liszt include the first arrangement for cello and piano of the well-known Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2. The Duo places Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 1, a lesser-performed piece of Liszt’s collection, in a Romani style, building to a fast and wild Czárdás ending. The pieces by Orr, Martinů, and Castelnuovo-Tedesco paraphrase and reference earlier works by Bizet and Rossini. Buxton Orr’s A Carmen Fantasy is a lively and romantic work, which illustrates Kostov’s fluid vibrato and Valkov’s harmonic control and elegance. Martiná’s Variations on a Theme of Rossini sets passages from Rossini in a 20th-century style of form and variation, using playful and racing lines between the cello and piano. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Figaro paraphrases “Largo al factotum” from Rossini’s Barber of Seville with a spirited yet graceful conversation. Throughout this album, the Kostov-Valkov Duo push the limits of their instruments, unraveling these inspired works with passion, aplomb, refinement, and brilliance.