Very heartfelt and almost touching Müller-Schott’s interpretation who lets sing the cello with inspiration and sensitivity ….The beautiful brightness of his timbre, the shine and the personality enchanting the lucky listeners in the hall . (Milano Cultura, September 2010)

“Without much ado, Daniel Müller-Schott is in the process of acquiring the status of an essential cellist of our time. CDs like the one with the two Cello Concertos by Dimitri Shostakovich, also released by Orfeo, reveal an interpreter who abhors ostentation and has a clearly defined personality. A warm tonality, precise phrasing and a supernatural feel for the subtleties of shading endow his performances with an unmistakable chamber-musical poetic ring. They display neither the slightest overindulgence nor the necessity to disfigure or betray the pentagrams in order to generate more emotion or brilliance – something that we can be grateful for in such a clearly romantic repertoire as this. Nor is it lacking. It is sufficient to hear the Schumann Concerto to understand that restraint need not conflict with expression. The use of the cello is simply memorable, with a Müller-Schott who, building on his rich articulation, allows his instrument to sing naturally and with feeling. The music breathes, and the same can be said of the rest of the programme. The rarely played Concerto by Robert Volkmann (1815 – 1883) follows the Schumann pattern almost verbatim, merely stressing its virtuosity. Though not a masterpiece, played in this way it is still capable of bewitching, and the same can be said of Richard Strauss’s youthful Romance. The final piece, Kol Nidrei by Max Bruch, is one that the cellist is very fond of and who therefore gives us a concentrated rendition, very personal and full of hope. Müller-Schott may be the leading light on this CD, but it would be unfair not to fittingly commend Christoph Eschenbach’s contribution, a conductor with the reputation of being cold and analytical who here does a clear job of work with clearly defined textures expressed in complete accord with the cellist.” (Scherzo 04, 2010)

Daniel Müller-Schott's mellow cello timbre and emotional sensibility are key factors in this warm-hearted disc of four Romantic works. Two of them - the Schumann Concerto and Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei - are regular repertoire items, Richard Strauss's Romanze and the Concerto by Robert Volkmann rather less so.

But even in the familiar pieces, Müller-Schott opens up fresh vistas of tonal shading and sincere expression. He has a naturally singing line that suits the Schumann perfectly. His phrasing is long-breathed, the paragraphs of music articulated with elegance and a restrained passion shared by the way in which the orchestra voices its textures with tenderness.

Strauss's Romanze of 1883 is an early work, but one with pronounced lyrical and dramatic streaks that were to find a place in his later music. There are many pre-echoes here of scintillating orchestral devices that were to recur in works such as Der Rosenkavalier, and of melodic turns of phrase that were to become characteristic.

Volkmann's Concerto, completed in 1855, for the most part, matches the discretion and refined taste of Schumann's and in some respects seems to recall certain ideas and states of mind that the Schumann also embodies. If not as consistently rewarding (or memorable) to listen to, the Volkmann nevertheless receives an affectionate and spirited performance from Müller-Schott, and the gently reflective final section, after some quicker outbursts, is a thing of genuine beauty, with a strange ruminative passage that dissolves away near the end before the affirmative cadential chords. What a pity Volkmann put those in. The quiet, questing ending would have been far more effective.

In the Bruch, Müller-Schott brings to mind the great Pierre Fournier in his poise and rapt concentration, confirming that this is a disc for connoisseurs of the most polished cello playing.

(Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph, November 14, 2009)

Instrumental & Chamber disc of the month

'The dynamic duo find overwhelming intensity in this music, in a performance packed with detail and emotional gravitas' (Classic FM Magazine)

Sensitive: Daniel Müller-Schott

With his Op 5, Beethoven virtually invented the classical cello sonata. While the young keyboard lion ensured that there was plenty of scope for his own virtuosity, these are true democratic sonatas that brilliantly exploit the cello's declamatory and lyrical powers. More than a decade later came the glorious A major Sonata Op 69, a less flamboyant yet far more subtle work, with an unforgettable opening for cello alone. The closely matched duo of Daniel Müller-Schott and Angela Hewitt do full justice to the A major Sonata's agitated and cussed side, both in the first movement's troubled development and in the fiercely articulated scherzo. But from Müller-Schott's mellow, nobly intoned opening, their performance is memorable above all for its lyrical tenderness and acute sensitivity to harmonic flux. They vindicate their expansive tempo in the finale's initial adagio with their eloquent phrasing and delicacy of interplay, while in the following allegro they balance grace (taking to heart Beethoven's many dolce markings) and quivering energy. Angela Hewitt's glistening, finely articulated passagework is a delight, here and elsewhere. In the two early sonatas the duo can sometimes underplay the music's explosiveness and comic brio. In both finales, especially, I could have done with bolder, brasher dynamic contrasts, and fewer fastidiously tapered phrase endings from Hewitt. But if the impulsive sansculotte emerges slightly tamed - Mozartified, if you like - these are performances of great finesse and musical insight, whether in No 2's hushed, brooding slow introduction, or the excursion to mysterious remote keys in the first-movement coda of No 1. The players write about the sonatas in the booklet as persuasively as they perform them. (Richard Wigmore, Telegraph Oktober 2008)

There are several outstanding versions of Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto available (from Han-Na Chang and the work's dedicatee Rostropovich on EMI, and from Yo-Yo Ma on Sony, two name but a few), yet this latest warmly recorded release from German cellist Daniel Mueller-Schott must rank amongst the finest. From the very outset, there's a real sense of urgency about the performance, Mueller-Schott's razor-sharp articulation in the outer movements managing to combine rhythmic incisiveness with highly charged delivery.

The orchestra under Yakov Kreizberg provides superb support throughout, the woodwind sounding particularly sarcastic in the chattering passage work of the Finale, the strings and timpani attacking each staccato with brutal percussiveness. One might take issue with Kreizberg's unduly drawn out conception of the orchestral introduction to the second movement (more Largo than the composer's prescribed Moderato), though after Mueller-Schott's first heartfelt entry, the tempo manages to achieves far greater fluidity. Indeed after building up to an extremely powerful climax, Mueller-Schott's reprise of the main theme in harmonics sounds particularly desolate, paving the way for a Cadenza that is not only dazzling in its virtuosity but also generates all the necessary cumulative tension to propel us inexorable into the Finale.

If anything the Second Concerto is even more impressive. In the outer movements Mueller-Schott and Kreizberg risk taking tempos that are a good deal slower than those favoured by Rostropovich in his DG recording with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston SO. The obvious danger in taking this very broad approach is that the musical argument can all too easily seem discursive and lacking in direction. But such is the conviction with which soloist and conductor project every note that one is immediately drawn into the music's dark and brooding atmosphere. In his revealing booklet notes Mueller-Schott argues that this work is perhaps 'the most emotionally multi-layered of all cello concertos', supporting this contention by investing the simplest motifs with infinite variety of nuance. At the same time the solo instruments from the Bavarian orchestra engage in the most intimate chamber-music like communion with the cello. In the context of such an introspective approach, the few moments where Shostakovich unleashes the power of the full orchestra seem all the more overwhelming, none more so than the unusually sinister transformation of the popular Odessa street song from the second movement near the end of the Finale.

Among the strongest rivals offering the two concertos on one disc, the committed playing of Mischa Maisky with the London Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas on DG still warrants serious consideration, though in comparison Maisky doesn't always carry the solo line in the Second Concerto with quite the same degree of intensity as Mueller-Schott. (BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2008)

Performance *****
Sound*****

Likes to jog and play badminton. Enjoys 19th-century French paintings. Took the cello prize at the 1994 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. These entertaining tidbits from his website’s biography shrivel, though, beside the single fact that hits you as soon as this CD begins with Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1: Daniel Müller-Schott is a wonderful musician.

The 32-year-old German is helped by his instrument, a Matteo Goffriller cello, circa 1700, of surpassing warmth and depth of tone. But you need nimble responses to keep pace with Shostakovich, not to mention a conductor and an orchestra (Yakov Kreizberg and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) anxious to drive forward.

Throughout the disc – the second, bleaker concerto of 1966 is also included – Müller-Schott manages the singular trick of keeping his cello tone rich and gorgeous without lessening the music’s ability to stab the heart.

Listen to his lonely eloquence as he climbs up the first concerto’s second movement, and the eerie shiverings at its peak, when cello harmonics join hands with the celesta in an unearthly duet. The second concerto receives an equally febrile performance.

Once in a while you do wish for extra bite: the end of the first concerto’s finale, say, which Kreizberg concludes with a cheery wave some distance from the “insane goings-on” mentioned in Müller-Schott’s booklet note. On the other hand, timpani thwacks in the second concerto have the impact of an exploding bomb. The bomb explodes, in part, because of Orfeo’s full recording, which gives soloist and the superb orchestra depth, space and rotundity. I know of no other versions of these concertos played or recorded with such polish. (Four Stars, Geoff Brown, The Times June 27, 2008)

'Pleasurable Bach from Muller-Schott'

EDITOR'S CHOICE

'Daniel Muller-Schott: warmth and suavity'
'Vivid Bach playing that gives nothing but a glow of pleasure'

From the moment the cello starts its suave tread over the piano's gently rising bass and sustained right-hand trill at the beginning of the G major Sonata, you know this is going to be a disc to sit back and enjoy. Daniel Muller-Schott and Angela Hewitt may have substituted modern instruments for the viola da gamba and harpsichord Bach had in mind but nothing in this superb music's original character has been lost – this is as clear-textured and as vividly articulated a performance as you could hope to hear. Indeed, it has gained much by the sheer musical feeling and intelligence that these two players have put into it, aided by extra warmth from Muller-Schott's cello (achieved without resorting to excessive vibrato) and from the delicate dynamic subtleties of Hewitt's piano-playing.

There are some memorable moments here: the rapt mystery of the upward arpeggios in the third movement of the G major, the exquisitely intertwined lyricism of the D major's first movement, the stealthy fugal build-up in the finale of the G minor. Architecturally, too, they consistently get things just right – just listen to the way the main themes' returns are handled in the last movements of the G major and D major (the latter a triumphant outcome of Bach's thrilling quasi-cadenza passage). With a perfect balance between instruments, this is playing which gives nothing but a glow of pleasure, that not even what sounds like some weary tuning at the piano's top can dispel.

All Bach gamba sonata discs need a filler, and the choice here is a sonata by CPE Bach, rather more romantically drawn by Muller-Schott and with a continuo accompaniment less well suited to the piano. But then this disc is worth your money for the JS alone. (Lindsay Kemp, gramophone November 2007)

Sublime Bach from Daniel Müller-Schott

lf the case must still be made for the performance of Baroque music ort the wrong instruments, this CD will suffice. Daniel Müller-Schott plays Bach’s gamba sonatas on the cello (albeit a wonderfully sonorous Matteo Gofriller instrument from 1727) with Angela Hewitt on the piano. Both have impeccable credentials:

Müller-Schott has a well-received CD of the Bach solo suites on the Glissando label under his belt, and Hewitt has made a speciality of Bach’s keyboard music. They bring to these works a profound feeling for the ebb and flow of Bach’s lines, the shapes of his long-extended melodies, and the rigour and expressiveness of his counterpoint Most of this music is not for solo instrument and continuo, but is in three parts, with an obbligato right-hand line for the keyboard. Müller-Schott has both to blend and contrast with the piano, which he does with unerring skill and sensitivity, interweaving with Hewitt’s playing in a three-way conversation of free-flowing subtlety.

There is energy here, and declamation, but it is the sheer empathy in this playing, the communication between players and outward to the listener, that is most striking. At times, as in the third movement of the G major Sonata, the players conjure a sort of bleak majesty. At others, particularly in the second movement Adagio of the G minor, hey achieve seamless, compelling lyricism little short of sublime. ln C.P.E. Bach’s sonata, reaching away from Johann Sebastian into the Classical style, they generate warmth and geniality. The recorded balance, so crucial here, is excellent, the sound warm and immediate. (Tim Homfrav, TheStrad SELECTION November 2007)

“The world now has a new, great cellist – 30-year-old Daniel Müller-Schott from Munich, and he is, more or less, a protégé of star violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

His debut at the Salzburg Festspiele was in August, but apart from that, he plays all over the world. It would be a delight to listen to him in the Danish broadcasting company’s new concert hall, when the hall is actually ready! Together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and André Previn, Daniel Müller-Schott played Mozart in Aalborg and Aarhus last spring, and prior to that he played Shostakovich as a guest with the Odense Symphony Orchestra. He is a musician who gesticulates naturally, just like Ove Andsnes. Never any incorrect intonation, never an artificial phrase, no extremes which cannot be explained. So isn’t it boring? Not at all. Absolutely not. For Daniel Müller-Schott fills every phrase with musical meaning, colours and articulates, weakens, or continues as required, because there can be no doubt whatsoever about his virtuosity. And the vibrato is powerful and expressive, but always used tastefully. No one could say that world couldn’t have survived without one more recording of the Elgar concerto, but this is the best there has been for years.

We don’t have too many of Walton, and Müller-Schott is particularly moving in the lyrical beginning. Previn and the Oslo Philharmonic have found each other, a fortunate synthesis of talents. That wasn’t what one might have expected beforehand. (Politiken, Denmark, September 2006)

…. Significantly, Müller-Schott writes his own booklet-notes, demonstrating his warm affection and understanding of both works. It is the passion of his playing that strikes home immediately – he uses a wider vibrato than Ma, and rather freer, less inhibited phrasing.

…… The solo cello is balanced very far forward so that at the start of the Walton its sound obscures the subtle detail in the orchestration. That said, there is everything to enjoy in performances that are uninhibited, bringing out the warmth of both pieces. (Edward Greenfield - Gramophone August 2006)

Daniel Müller-Schott: scrupulously played Elgar

….I was rewarded by performances that combine technical assurance with eloquent expression. The opening of the Elgar promises well, with poised, ringing chords, a sensitively positioned B natural ….

Daniel Müller-Schott pays scrupulous attention to the composer’s frequent accents and sforzandos throughout the work, an the recorded sound and balance are good. Ther e’s no sense of hurry in the dainty and humorous second movement ….and the Adagio is entensely felt, with rich, well-controlled vibrato….

Not much could better the magical moment towards the end ( Walton Celloconcerto) when cello and orchestra finally come together in a passage of shimmering strings beneath the cello’s high trills – surely one of the moments Müller-Schott refers to in his booklet notes when you can feel the golden rays of sun and blue tones of the sea around Ischia.
(Jane Banks – TheStrad SELECTION August 2006)

Gramophone talks to … Daniel Müller-Schott

The fast-rising German cellist on going British …
> more (PDF-Download)

(Gramophone August 2006)

I first heard Müller-Schott play when he was a teenager, and I’ve not forgotten his intense, muscular musicianship. His EMI Debut disc of Poulenc’s Sonata was impressive, but here he is entering a crowded market. He makes a bold entrance, smoothing over those tentative first stepgs up the scale with gleaming confidence. This is a glossy, Rolls Royce of an Elgar. …. The Walton, by contrast, is distinctive, not least because the Oslo Philharmonic under Previn is on cracking form.

This subtly playful, sun-lit work is fiendishly difficult and requires just the sort of powerful virtuosity Müller-Schott displays. He throws off the knuckle-breaking chords and octaves in the startling Allegro with aplomb; his diamond bright high register cuts through the dazzling wind and brass, while his final cadenza gathers tremendous momentum. He cannot match the insouciant charm and athletic grace of its dedicatee, Piatigorsky, but there’s a vivacity to his playing which suggests a master in the making. (BBC Music Magazin, July 2006, Helen Wallace)

Artistic- & Sound Quality 10/10

„Cellist Daniel Müller-Schott and André Previn team up for an absolutely outstanding coupling of the two most important English cello concertos.

… Müller-Schott plays with consummate taste and extraordinary virtuosity. His well-controlled vibrato gives the lyrical climaxes in the first movement great intensity with no coarsening of tone, and his dexterity in the ensuing scherzo is little short of astonishing. The flowing tempo that he and Previn adopt in the slow movement offers tenderness without excessive sentimentality, and the robust finale provides the perfect, satisfying finish. Throughout (and in the Walton coupling) the playing of the Oslo Philharmonic is world-class, and the sonics are rich, natural, and well-balanced.

… Müller-Schott and Previn simply play the living daylights (Walton’s Cello Concerto) out of it after breezing through the central scherzo with awesome virtuoso brilliance. It would be difficult to imagine a more impressive calling card for a sensational young cellist than this release. If you love these two works, you should certainly hear it.” > more
(www.classicstoday.com)

Daniel Müller-Schott, cello - Oslo Philharmonic Orch. -Conductor: André Previn - Orfeo C 621 061 A

(DIE ZEIT Nr.21, 2006-05-18, page 44)

Making music in the company of violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and conductor and pianist André Previn has certainly played an important part in the career of the dashing cellist Daniel Müller-Schott - but he would also have made his way without such prominent partners. An excellent example of his skill on the cello has just appeared on the Orfeo label; with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by André Previn, he interprets the cello concertos of Edward Elgar and William Walton. Edward Elgar’s concerto, performed for the first time in 1919, is a serious and final work, of its age, and its lamenting cantilenes are safe in Daniel Müller-Schott’s hands. No less intensive is his performance of the solo part in William Walton’s concerto, written in 1957 – and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra provides a lavish and elegiac sound. (Wiesbadener Kurier, May 2006)

This involvement with those composers who are more traditionally orientated is, of course, the more successful the better the musicians are. Now there is another welcome example: together with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by André Previn, cellist Daniel-Müller Schott has recorded cello concertos by Edward Elgar and William Walton ...

Perhaps this cello concerto – Elgar’s very last important work – is a retrospection of the romantic solo concerto par excellence, of a grandiose era which will never return. At all events, it is breathtaking to observe the intensity with which Daniel Müller-Schott and the Oslo musicians give expression to this nostalgia, this sorrow.

What also makes this CD so precious is the recording of William Walton’s cello concerto, which is rarely heard either on a CD or in concert. Certainly, Walton’s late lyrical style is a treat for any cellist, and Daniel Müller-Schott takes every opportunity to present a nuanced performance. (Deutschlandradio – Neue Platte, May 2006, by Ludwig Rink)

As wonderful as Elgar’s concerto undoubtedly is, given the number of existing versions, Müller-Schott’s recording of the William Walton cello concerto is perhaps even more important for the repertoire ….

Müller-Schott and Previn play this wonderful concerto in a manner which is unbelievably animated and sophisticated. Quite clearly, the recording is a declaration of love – and certainly a successful one. (Bayerischer Rundfunk, Classic CD-Tip by Oswald Beaujean)

“Since the foundation of PentaTone Classics in 2001, their enterprising programming; appealing contemporary presentations; consistently high quality performances and state of the art recordings have been nothing short of astonishing. I look forward enthusiastically to each of their stylish new releases and this hybrid Super Audio CD of Mendelssohn’s two Piano Trios was no exception. After a check of the accompanying marketing information it seems that this disc has already been selected as a Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’ and the recipient of a Diapason d'Or award.

PentaTone have provided a smart contemporary presentation, interesting and detailed annotation, excellent sonics together with superb performances. What more could one ask. This is certainly a disc to dash out and purchase. (Michael Cookson, Musicweb)

Mendelssohn Trios amongst the selection of
Recordings of the year on MusicWeb

These are quite outstanding readings from the trio of Fischer, Gilad & Müller-Schott in these often underrated Mendelssohn Piano Trios. Their security of ensemble is breathtaking and one can detect a compelling sense of enjoyment from the players. These are assured and enchanting interpretations that provide a wide spectrum of brilliant colours. I believe that these performances surpass the best of the available versions.

MENDELSSOHN’S piano trios have become so ubiquitous that it can be as hard for listeners to know what to hope for in a new recording as it must be for performers to figure out what to offer.

….. The three superb musicians on this new recording, all in their 20’s, face the hefty competition easily by playing with an irresistible spontaneity best heard in the scherzos, where — even in the more troubled C minor Trio (Op. 66) — they momentarily evoke the trim sprightliness of a much younger Mendelssohn. They approach these works as interior high dramas, contests between melancholy and ecstasy. And if the passion in their playing puts them closer to Istomin-Stern-Rose than to Cortot and company, they also play with an unassailable precision.

….. Daniel Müller-Schott’s cello playing matches those extremes and adds an engaging lugubriousness when Mendelssohn seems to invite it, as in the opening bars of the D minor Trio. (New York Times, 23. Juli 2006, Allan Kozinn)

Cellist with magnificant sound

What a magnificent sound, what a splendid feeling for what is fundamental! Daniel Müller-Schott is an exceptional cellist – one who acknowledges the good traditional aspects, yet without appearing to be old-fashioned. On the contrary; even though Müller-Schott can make his cello “sing” all the time, he never loses sight of the musical line. In his playing, everything is influenced by a certain objectivity and instrumental clarity, yet these are characteristics which never have an academic and neutral effect but perfectly complement the expressiveness, virtuosity and traditional beauty. The listener is so fascinated by Müller-Schott’s interpretation that he or she only becomes aware of pianist Robert Kulek on a second listening. And immediately it becomes clear that he, too, is a brilliant musician and partner. (Supersonic, pizzicato.lu, Steff)

... Daniel Müller-Schott is a truly charismatic player, technically brilliant and with a penetrating, highly expressive tone. He’s well partnered by Robert Kulek and the duo is recorded with vivid realism, so this Schumann has many advantages. The single original work, the Fünf Stücke im Volkston, is supplemented, not just by the Opp 70, 73, and 94 pieces in which the
cello is a familiar alternative to the original scoring for wind, but with three effective arrangements by Müller-Schott himself.

Several of the performances are really fine: a heart-on-sleeve account of Op 70’s Adagio, leading to same splendidly incisive playing in the following Allegro, a performance of the Volkston pieces that grabs every opportunity to present quirky individuality, alternating with a mood of intense meditation in the second piece. And the Fantasiestücke have a lyrical fullness that speaks directly to the listener. ...
(The gramophone, December 2005, Duncan Druce)

„ The star of this recording is undoubtedly Daniel Müller-Schott, whose intelligence in interpretation and technical assurance in delivery are breathtaking.“
(Raff-Society, CD reviews, 26.2.2005)

There are divine passages, of course. But also rather mundane ones. In Amin Katchaturian’s concert, they stem from the schematic treatment of form. Orchestral introduction, first theme, intermezzo, second theme, the intermezzo again, then the development. And so on. Not the least of the reasons for this was to satisfy Soviet party doctrine – which, however, did not protect the composer against being disciplined. All this means that it is up to the listener to look behind the mask of convention. This recording makes it easy: Daniel Müller-Schott, without a doubt the most fascinating of today’s young cellists, produces a blazingly intensive tone. So direct, so totally emotional is the way in which he approaches Katchaturian that there can be no doubts about the sincerity of this tragic music. The interpretation simply throbs as a result of the adrenaline. Sakari Oramo and the excellent orchestra are swept up in all the enthusiasm.

Recorded at a live concert? We don’t know, although during the violin concerto some noise can clearly be heard in the concert hall. Slight errors on the part of the orchestra are left uncorrected. Arabella Steinbacher, born in Munich in 1981, is making her recording debut here; technically perfect, tasteful, and with a sound whose voluptuous sensuality immediately recalls Anne-Sophie Mutter. However, the declaration that the instruments made by Bonn violin-maker Peter Greiner can stand comparison with the best of the old “Italians” is not one that can be confirmed this time; Steinbacher’s violin, made in 2002, still sounds lacklustre. When compared with Müller-Schott’s superb Goffriller, this is all the more noticeable.

Anselm Cybinski
Fono-Forum 08/04

Interpretation *****
Sound ****

George Bernard Shaw’s verdict on the music of Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford was that the ancient Celts were fighting with the professor. This unkind comment indicates a problem which faces every composer who attempts to integrate folk-music idioms into classical instrumental forms. That which is typical of either a nation or region remains foreign in the “universal” form of a symphony, sonata or concerto.

It is said that Aram Khachaturian is to the Armenians more or less what Sibelius was for the Finns, a national composer who was internationally famous and drew his inspiration from native sources. However, people in the central European countries see him more as the deputy chairman of the organising committee of the association of Soviet composers, who came forth with such lofty works as an “Ode to Stalin” (1938) of the Grand Opening for the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1959 – not to mention the notorious “Sabre Dance”. These are labels which are easily applied, but difficult to remove.

A new CD, which presents his rarely-recorded cello and violin concerto, gives us the opportunity to study them more thoroughly. The cello concerto is the more recent of the two pieces; it was written in 1946, and – as Oliver Wazola, with de-Stalinisation intent, explains in the comprehensive booklet– is also responsible for the composer being suspect of formalism for a while. The darkness of the basic mood, the changeableness and the driven aspects of this concerto may have incurred the suspicion of the Communist functionaries – for listeners who are not ideologically biased it remains a piece with a uniform atmosphere but with varying formal conclusiveness. Shaw would also have enjoyed the main movement; major and minor tones mixed with modernism. Folklore elements with baroque sequences. This is where the Armenian on the one hand, the composer with the conservatory training and knowledge of the repertoire on the other, seem to be in conflict with each other .... and you ask yourself what keeps the colourful collection of themes together. The main movements of the cello concerto is surely the least successful. The length of the second movement, the insistent activity of the third leave behind a more conclusive impression. All in all, the concerto requires a strong interpreter like Daniel Müller-Schott who knows how to build and maintain the tension. With his ardent playing, he brings to the concerto intensity, depth and, in some passages, a desperate sadness. In him the cello concerto has found a passionate and persuasive champion, ideally supported by the superb Birmingham Orchestra under Sakari Oramo with bewitching solos played with rhythmical precision.

Aram Khachaturian’s violin concerto was written in 1940. However, it did not put the composer at any political risk . It is clearly in the tradition of the great romantic violin concertos, in formal terms it seems to be more rounded off than its sister opus. Arabella Steinbacher, aged only twenty-three, counts it among her favourite concertos, and this is reflected in her interpretation.

Yet this music could have been played differently – more coarsely, with life blood, more earthily. Arabella Steinbacher goes her own way with elegance and mobility. With a very fine feeling for the proportions, she succeeds in achieving a subtle interpretation which should take the wind out of the sails of all those who reject a musical work of art because of when it was written or because of the political circumstances behind its creation.

(Michael Gassmann, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 28 2004)

CD of the week: Daily Telegraph London
Khachaturian: Cello Concerto; Violin Concerto

With Khachaturian, the world of Spartacus and the Sabre Dance is never that far away, but in these two concertos he managed to forge his fruity lyricism, exotic melodic tracery and propulsive rhythms into strongly structured works that have more than mere spectacle about them.

The Cello Concerto (1946) is a darkly hued piece, maybe influenced by wartime worries and certainly played with a wealth of intensity and angst here by Daniel Müller-Schott. This is music of apprehension, storm and stress, with a disturbed, furrow-browed elegy as its central movement. It is a proper concerto, allowing the soloist the limelight when it comes to virtuosity and melody, but the orchestra's harmonic and tonal palette reinforces the music's troubled context.

The Violin Concerto (1940) comes rather closer to the more exuberant mood of the Khachaturian ballets, more sultry than sombre, more spry than shadowy, but its innate passion and distinctive Armenian colouring are firmly harnessed by Arabella Steinbacher. GN

Burning strings

... The release of this CD shows that the limits to style and temperament are more easily overcome today than used to be the case. In Daniel Müller-Schott's
hands, the in 1946 firstly performed cello concerto beseeches and burns with the right degree of Eastern tone in its soul - also superbly accompanied by Oramo and the orchestra from Birmingham. (Götz Thieme, Stuttgarter Zeitung" April 21, 2004)

A dark note in the rapture of sound
Khachaturian: Cello and violin concerto

By "Kurier" correspondents
Christoph Forsthoff

They are young, attractive, and caress the strings perfectly. Violinist Arabella Steinbacher and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott have appeared several times as a duo, and now the two of them have got together for a CD project, recording Khachaturian's solo concertos on the 100th anniversary of his birthday. And when it comes to temperament, they reveal themselves to be fiery relatives: the virtuoso sparks fly, the passion pulsates, and the changing and full range of emotions is experienced with bowing which fills the auditorium. It is fascinating to see the intensity with which the 23-year-old violinist sinks into the meditative melancholy of the andante before - no less impressively - she employs her fullness of tone in the dissonant screams.

Such musicality and sureness of taste also characterise Daniel Müller-Schott: his cello "sings", he strolls through the complicated rhythmical structures and double stop passages as surely as a sleep-walker. And nor, given all the rapture of sounds, does the dark tone of the piece suffer; on the contrary, in the soulful tone of the cellist it finds an extremely sensitive musician. The fact that, given such exciting soloists, Sakari Oramo was willing to take a back seat, underlines his greatness - and the fact that his orchestra plays so brilliantly makes this recording into a (birthday) present that is well worth listening to. Even if its release wasn't quite timely. (WIESBADENER KURIER, May 7, 2004)

CD reviews of the new CD

"Best recording of this Repertoire" – Luister Magazine, October 2003 (Holland)

"Geniously played Haydn" - Highest rating for Interpretation and sound – Fono Forum, October 2003 (Germany)

"Strongly recommended" – Gramophone, October 2003 (Great Britain)

Latest Haydn/Beethoven CD-review from the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung, Records and Sound, August 2, 2003

A spontaneous attack indeed
Cellist Müller-Schott sparkles with Haydn and Beethoven.

Those who saw Daniel Müller-Schott in Bonn's Beethovenhaus about a year ago, during the trio’s performance, op. 8 by Johannes Brahms and op. 1 no. 3 by Beethoven (together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and André Previn), and might have felt they were listening to two works called "The three temperaments"- Previn played majestically and with composure, Mutter in a concentrated way, but Müller-Schott's playing ranged from carefree to tempestuous, taking advantage of the freedom which the notation gave him to indulge in spirited breakaways from the distinguished ensemble.

Part of the remarkable success which the cellist - born in 1976 - is currently enjoying may be connected with this youthful aura. Müller-Schott's style of playing bursts with spirit, while making perfectly plausible the idea that the intelligent, carefree firebrand will turn out to be an extremely shrewd musician. He first drew attention to himself with an interpretation on CD of Bach's solo suites, which showed that his nature was not only an introspective one. A second recording, with sonatas from the Romantic period, demonstrated that Müller-Schott has a highly sensitive heart in the right place. Now he has, so to speak, reminded himself of his obligations - because in order to sparkle, Haydn's esprit requires a music-loving approach as well as intellectual discipline.

Under its concertmaster Richard Tognetti, the Australian Chamber Orchestra cultivates that sharp, elastic sound which is an absolute pre-requisite for those who concern themselves with the music of the eighteenth century. In paying tribute to this ideal of achieving the original sound, Daniel Müller-Schott has borrowed from his colleague Steven Isserlis a cello made in 1740 by Venice's Domenico Montagnana. He puts himself into the world of Haydn's music - graceful, agile, with a feeling for the effect of surprise, the spontaneous attack, the lyrical moment.

Yet there remains an aspect of tension between Haydn’s temperament and that of Müller-Schott. There is no longer any holding back in the second of the two romances which Beethoven wrote for violin and orchestra and which Müller-Schott has convincingly arranged for his own instrument. Passion comes to the boil - yes, Beethoven was a romantic! That's not boring at all. (Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung, August 2, 2003, Michael Gassmann)

The recording of the Franck Sonata with Daniel Müller-Schott and Robert Kulek (EMI CLassics) was chosen "The best of all recordings" by the Dutch Music Magazine "Luister!" in January 2003. Other musicians who were judged to win this prize for their Franck Sonata interpretation were a.o. du Pré/Barenboim, Helmerson, Mork and Maisky/Argerich.

Latest EMI Classics CD from Daniel Mueller-Schott and Robert Kulek is recommended by "Die Zeit" as one of the best Classical Recordings in 2002. See under http://www.zeit.de/2002/51/cd_empfehlungen

New CD is "CD of the week" by famous classic radio station WQXR, New York! For more information: WQXR, New York

Edison Award Nomination

The EMI Classics recording from Daniel Müller-Schott and Robert Kulek is nominated for the Edison Young Talent Award in Holland in 2003.

CD review of The Strad Magazine
("Strad Selection September 2002")

As a former pupil of Heinrich Schiff and Steven Isserlis, and regular trio partner with Anne-Sophie Mutter and André Previn, Daniel Müller-Schott is quickly becoming an established name on the musical circuit: on the evidence of this disc, it is certainly merited. The Debussy is a particularly sensitive interpretation, with a pleasing balance between the improvisatory quality in the work coupled with a keen eye for the notational precision. But there is also plenty of electricity, not least in the concluding section of the finale, although as Müller-Schott states in his introductory notes, the prevailing mood is rather melancholy. I have long wondered why the Poulenc Sonata rarely makes an appearance either on disc or in concert, given the attractive melodic passages which pepper the work. Possibly the length and fragmentary nature of the material fail to effect a convincing sense of cogency, but equally the technical trickiness that permeates the score might be a factor in deterring performers. However, Müller-Schott delivers both, an accurate and a stylish rendition, revelling in the lighter balletic-styled melodies and brushing off the technical challenges with élan. In contrast the ubiquitous Franck Sonata positively reels forward in its possionate intensity. Again Müller-Schott steers a steady course through the stormy waters, while eliciting much fervour and expressive colour. Moreover his partner, Robert Kulek, conquers the myriad of notes with ease and mastery. They are both similarly eloquent in Ravels Habanera which concludes the French-inspired programme in this impressive and well-recorded recital disc. (The Strad Magazine, September 2002, JOANNE TALBOT)

CD review of The Gramophone Magazine
Well-characterised performances of a young and intelligent chamber duo

Daniel Müller-Schott and Robert Kulek make a formidable duo partnership; in addition to an impressive level of accomplishment and technical polish, both players combine to project a distinctive, individual view of the music... Throughout one has the impression of very positive, intelligent music-making, and the recorded sound is excellent - full, clear and very realistic. (The Gramophone, Duncan Druce, September 2002)

CD Review
"Following his amazing recording debut with Johan Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites, the second - and no less remarkable - CD by Daniel Müller-Schott, the young cellist from Munich, has just been released. Together with Robert Kulek, his empathetic partner on the piano, Müller-Schott turns his attention to the cello literature of French impressionism. Debussy's Cello Sonata, one of the composer's last works - who was already very ill at the time - combines thought-provoking passages, sensitively played by both musicians, as well as sparkling associations to the Commedia dell'Arte.

The sonata written by Francis Poulenc for the cellist Pierre Fournier is characterised by lively thematic-melodic interplay, by his love for the circus, ballet and cinema. The original version of Franck's sonata is for violin, but the reworking for cello, authorised by the composer, is no less delightful. With its echoes of Brahms and Schumann, it does have its very own, typically French esprit, playing as it does with the colours and light of impressionism.

With his cello, Daniel Müller-Schott cultivates a vocal and sonorous tone and develops subtle nuances. Like a vortex he creates cantilenas, spanning a wide range of fine distinctions. A high degree of intensity is coupled with a lightness of playing in which the tone and the changes of character appear to be unbelievably effortless." (Amazon.de reviews, May 2002, Nina Polaschegg)

"A forceful debut."
(Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin January 2001)

"Amazing maturity and profunditiy of expression."
(BR 4 Klassik, Munich November 2000)

"ravishing interpretation of sparkling vitality."
(Le Monde de la Musique, Paris February 2001)