Duo Arp Frantz

The chamber duo partners Julian Arp (cello) and Caspar Frantz (piano) have released a disc of quintessentially Romantic repertoire, presenting the complete works for cello and piano by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. For this alone they deserve praise and acknowledgement. The famous D major Song without Words and the joyous First Sonata in the same key, though frequently performed by famous cellists in recital, is rarely played with such intensity and quite so much youthful vitality as in this recording! Its counterpart, the Second Sonata in B-flat major, is rarely performed, as is also true for the Variations concertantes and Albumblatt. The chamber duo tirelessly retrace the intricately branching latticework of Mendelssohn’s world of feeling and the brooding emotion and lambent warmth of his unmistakable tonal language. The glowing light of this Romantic repertoire is sure to lift your spirits!

"The Duo Arp/Frantz has a first-class understanding of the expressive nuances in Mendelssohn’s music ... To blend restlessness with lyricism and still float over everything with a classicist brightness – that is the hallmark of this ensemble." (Ensemble, 2/2009)

"... the Duo Arp Frantz plays the works for cello and piano in all their flowing magnificence ..." (KulturSPIEGEL 3/2009)

"... A recording that makes one yearn for more of Mendelssohn’s chamber music ..." (Arte Kultur 4/2009)

"The still young Mendelssohn year can surely note one of its first climaxes with this CD of Julian Arp and Caspar Frantz ... one must flood the market with such care and seriousness ... (Klassik.com, online)