Hudobný život, Slovakia
Dmitri Kabalevsky and Robert Schumann are probably not among the first composers that come to mind in connection with cello concertos. And yet these works of theirs are valuable, and the composers certainly need not have been ashamed of them, a point the young Norwegian cellist Theodor Lyngstad seeks to demonstrate on a new album released by the label OUR Recordings. He also explains his personal motivations for the album’s dramaturgical concept in the booklet. The album was recorded back in 2021 together with the Copenhagen Philharmonic under the baton of the young and successful conductor Eva Ollikainen, but it was not released until last year.
Somewhat surprisingly, the album opens with Dmitri Kabalevsky’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 77, composed in 1964, the younger of the two works featured. The composer’s reputation has long been burdened by his unfortunate association with the Soviet communist regime, and perhaps for that reason his music is performed less frequently than that of many of his persecuted colleagues.
However, if we set aside these prejudices, we must surely acknowledge that the quality of his music stands comparison with theirs. In this concerto he demonstrates masterfully controlled compositional craftsmanship in the form of a monothematic construction spanning the entire nearly half-hour work, conceived as a continuous flow of three movements. He also shows imaginative orchestration that exploits the specific colors of the extreme registers of instruments (including the less traditional saxophone), as well as the highly virtuosic character of the solo part. At the same time, the piece achieves emotional depth and gripping drama, while the central waltz-like Scherzo (Presto marcato) comes across as almost demonic.
In Lyngstad, the composer finds a top-level interpreter who is precise, technically brilliant, and emotionally almost aristocratically restrained, entirely appropriate to the work. He uses vibrato like the rarest of spices. The tone color of his instrument is more interesting in the higher registers; the middle range seemed somewhat raw to me, though this does not particularly detract from the interpretation of this piece.
The second recorded work is Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129. This piece already belongs to the repertoire of many more cellists around the world, yet it will probably never become the composer’s most frequently performed work. That is hardly surprising, it places high demands on both the soloist and the orchestra not only in terms of virtuosity but also expression and stamina.
What I evaluated positively in Kabalevsky from an interpretative standpoint suited Schumann less well for me. In my opinion Lyngstad is perhaps excessively precise, which in a Romantic work of this kind creates a sense of restraint. In many places I longed for greater warmth, heartfelt expression, and soaring lyricism. This may also stem from his relatively relaxed manner of playing in almost all passages, combined with the somewhat sharper color of the instrument’s middle register. In short, I would have liked to hear Schumann played in a more romantic and full-blooded manner.
Copenhagen Phil approached its role as accompanist carefully, and there is hardly anything to fault. Its overall sound may come across as slightly cooler, but that in no way detracts from the ensemble’s high level, especially in terms of precision of intonation and coordination.
The sound quality of OUR Recordings is always excellent; here, however, I occasionally had the impression that the balance between soloist and orchestra was somewhat less natural, as in a live performance the soloist would probably not be heard so distinctly in front of the orchestra. That is part of the charm of recordings, which may later lead to disappointment when listening to a live performance. I must also praise the excellent accompanying texts by Joshua Cheek and the soloist himself.
The debut solo album of cellist Theodor Lyngstad is very good in many respects, although his interpretative nature seems better suited to Kabalevsky. Nevertheless, he certainly deserves credit for presenting works that one does not hear so often in concert.
(The text was published in the magazine Hudobný život, No. 03/2026.)