Robert Schumann: Works for Cello & Piano—Brian Thornton, cello; Spencer Myer, piano (Steinway 30117)
When we last heard from cellist Brian Thornton and pianist Spencer Myer, we featured their Steinway disc with Cleveland Orchestral principal clarinet Afendi Yusuf of the Brahms Clarinet Trio and Debussy Cello Sonata. Thornton and Myer have a long history of performing together, going all the way back to 2005 when Myer was a finalist in the Cleveland International Piano Competition and performed Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra, where Thornton is a member of the cello section. After that evening, the two stayed in touch; Thornton even reached out to Myer when he was in the process of starting the Lev Aronson Cello Festival in 2012, now one of the premiere cello festivals in the world. Included on this album are the Adagio and Allegro Op 70, Five Pieces in Folk Style Op 102 and the Op 73 Fantasy Pieces. To close the program, Thornton and Myer share a beautiful arrangement of Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria. “I adore playing with Brian, because his playing ‘speaks’,” says Myer. “There is a sincerity with which he plays that allows him to communicate as naturally as one would speak in conversation. Thus, it's incredibly easy to tune into what he wants to do, and to join him on a musical journey through a piece.”