Daniel Müller-Schott | Herbert Schuch 2023

He is one of the most sought-after cellists in the world, can be heard on all the major concert stages and is always particularly interested in building bridges with his instrument. To this end, Daniel Müller-Schott likes to draw inspiration from historical events and places, from works of literature and the visual arts. In his duo programme (conceived together with piano partner Herbert Schuch), there are many an inner and outer connection to discover. For example, Claude Debussy created the opening Sonata in D minor, a work that combines the French Baroque tradition with guitar-like pizzicati and habanera rhythms in a way that is typical of the composer. Camille Saint-Saëns described his 1st Sonata for cello and piano as "the result of an improvisation on the organ of the Église Saint-Augustin de Paris", which makes extensive use of the lower registers of both instruments. It also reflects the composer's grief at the loss of his great-aunt, as well as the state of France after the lost Battle of Sedan, which, in the midst of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, led to the proclamation of the Third Republic. Robert Schumann's Adagio and Allegro op. 70 was also composed at a time characterised by social upheaval, which the newly appointed municipal music director in Düsseldorf would ultimately turn into one of the most fruitful periods of his career. It was a trick that Edvard Grieg also managed to pull off when he composed his A minor Sonata op. 36 in an attempt to free himself from the shadows of a relationship crisis he had overcome.