From the overt Romanticism of Saint-Saëns to the nostalgia-laden modernity of Poulenc, Bruno Philippe takes us on a journey through (almost) a century of French cello music. Alongside Tanguy de Williencourt, he also performs the cello version of Franck's famous Violin Sonata, one of the absolute peaks of nineteenth-century chamber music.

After a first album as part of the harmonia nova collection, which resulted in a well-deserved Victoire de la Musique Classique (category New Instrumental Soloist), Bruno Philippe continues his path on the harmonia mundi label. This programme devoted to Rachmaninoff and the unfairly neglected Myaskovsky is a genuine technical and artistic challenge, which the young cellist has taken up in total harmony with his long term musical partner Jérôme Ducros. Be swept away by the swirling passions of these works, among the most romantic in Russian musical literature.

Bruno Philippe conceives Bach’s Suites for solo cello as a veritable existential journey, from life to death and resurrection. Forgoing metal strings for their historical gut equivalents, the young French artist offers us an inward, deeply moving reading of this monument of instrumental music.

These exceptionally beautiful reappraisals are likely to divide listeners. Bruno Philippe’s command of the instrument can scarcely be gainsaid – his tone is simply glorious – but prizing lyricism and restraint over drama in late Prokofiev is not without risks…There’s Mendelssohnian delicacy and poise in the coupling too, regular collaborator Tanguy de Williencourt offering tactful rather than clangorous support.