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Cello Sonatas: Strauss, Franck, Chopin (Suren Bagratuni & Soojin Kim)

$18.99

Blue Griffin presents Cello Sonatas: Strauss, Franck, Chopin, a stunning two-disc recording featuring cellist Suren Bagratuni and pianist Soojin Kim.

Blue Griffin presents Cello Sonatas: Strauss, Franck, Chopin, a stunning two-disc recording featuring cellist Suren Bagratuni and pianist Soojin Kim.

On February 6, 2026, Blue Griffin Recording presents Cello Sonatas: Strauss, Franck, Chopin, a stunning two-disc recording featuring cellist Suren Bagratuni and pianist Soojin Kim.

Recorded by Blue Griffin Recording’s GRAMMY®-nominated producer and engineer Sergei Kvitko, Cellos Sonatas showcases the remarkable artistry of cellist Suren Bagratuni and pianist Soojin Kim as they bring together three masterworks of the Romantic repertoire – each representing a distinct chapter in the development of the cello sonata from an accompanying bass instrument to a lyrical, heroic partner equal to the piano. 

Richard Strauss’s Sonata in F Major, Op. 6, written when the composer was just 19, captures his orchestral imagination from a young age. Before he revolutionized the orchestral tone poem, he poured his youthful vitality into chamber music. One can hear the orchestral textures and the demands of virtuosity and bravura from both players. 

César Franck’s Sonata in A Major, was originally composed as a wedding gift for violist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe. This cello arrangement by Jules Delstart showcases the rich baritone of the instrument while retaining the work’s famous Cyclic Form. The work is a unified emotional journey, moving from tentative tenderness to ecstatic triumph. 

The album concludes with Frédéric Chopin’s Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65, the last work published during his lifetime, and on of his rare works away from the solo piano. The sonata showcases the cello’s singing nature, and exemplifies Chopin’s introspective, intellectually rigorous and deeply melancholic late style.

CD1
Richard Strauss
Cello Sonata in F Major, Op. 6

  1. I. Allegro con brio (9:57)

  2. II. Andante ma non troppo (8:17)

  3. III. Finale. Allegro vivo (9:02)

César Franck
Sonata in A Major

  1. I. Allegretto ben moderato (6:06)

  2. II. Allegro (8:46)

  3. III. Recitativo-Fantasia. Ben moderato (7:46)

  4. IV. Allegretto poco mosso (6:56)

CD 2
Frédéric Chopin
Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65

  1. I. Allegro moderato (16:16)

  2. II. Scherzo. Allegro con brio (4:49)

  3. III. Largo (3:48)

  4. IV. Finale. Allegro (6:26)