Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam

Alexander Warenberg cello
Maria Warenberg mezzo soprano
Jérémie Moreau piano

Nikolaj Mjaskovski Cello Sonata No. 2 Op. 81
Sergei Rachmaninov Élégie Op. 3 No. 1 (arr. for cello and piano)
Dmitri Shostakovich Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40
And songs by Sergej Rachmaninov, Pjotr Tsjaikovski, Pauline Viardot, Claude Debussy and Francis Poulenc

A young trio of prize winners presents a program with exclusively Russian and French music. Alexander Warenberg won the first prize and the audience prize at the National Cello Competition. His sister Maria garnered significant acclaim as a laureate of the esteemed Queen Elisabeth Competition of 2023. And in 2018, pianist Jérémie Moreaux, who previously performed with his cellist brother Edgar at the Cello Biennale, won the Concours national de piano ‘les Virtuoses du Cœur’, the French piano equivalent of the National Cello Competition. 

Mjaskovsky wrote his Second cello sonata for the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who was highly regarded by many famous composers of his era. Shostakovich wrote his cello sonata shortly before falling out of favour with the Soviet leadership and dedicated it to his good friend Viktor Kubatsky, who also premiered the work. The songs of Viardot and Poulenc offer a unique and beautiful blend of cello and voice.