Haydn & Hindemith: Cello Works

Zurich-born cellist Christian Poltéra, who made his name in his late teens as a last-minute substitute for Yo-Yo Ma in Elgar’s *Cello Concerto*, unleashes the full power and tonal richness of his 1711 Stradivari instrument in these heart-on-sleeve performances of Haydn’s two surviving cello concertos. He also digs deep into the expressive substance of Paul Hindemith’s *Trauermusik*, written in memory of King George V the day after his death in 1936 and given here in its version for cello and strings. Poltéra directs the Munich Chamber Orchestra from the solo hot seat with a clear artistic vision for each composition, projecting the big emotions at play in Haydn’s melodic writing, reveling in the cadenzas crafted by his teacher Heinrich Schiff, and proving fully alive to the shifting expressive shadings of all three works.