Cellist Samis Makes the Case for Reinecke Concerto

Composer Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) has a champion in cellist Michael Samis.

The attention is well deserved, as demonstrated on Samis’ new release for Delos, “Reinecke: Cello Concerto.” Performing with the Gateway Chamber Orchestra led by conductor Gregory Wolynec, Samis makes a splendid case for the revival of this long forgotten work.

German-born Reinecke was an important conductor, composer, pianist and teacher. He taught at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1860-1902, serving as conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra from 1860-1895. In addition to composing nearly 300 works – best known today is his flute sonata, “Undine,” dating from 1882 -- he made some of the earliest piano rolls.

Composed in 1864 for cello virtuoso Friedrich Grützmacher, Reinecke’s Cello Concerto in D Minor, Op. 82, is melodious, skillfully crafted and gives eloquent voice to the instrument.

It was not without difficulty that Samis, a cellist in the Nashville Symphony and co-principal cellist of the Gateway Chamber Orchestra, uncovered it via an online site devoted to “unsung composers” (for details, see http://www.musicincincinnati.com/site/news_2013/A_Forgotten_Concerto_Remembered.html). He learned the cello part from a piano reduction, finally locating a set of orchestra parts in a library in Philadelphia. They were so tattered and worn, however, that they had to be reprinted (by the publisher Schott).

Unable to find any evidence of the Concerto’s performance in the U.S., Samis gave what is believed to be its U.S. premiere in February, 2013 with the Gateway Chamber Orchestra in Clarksville, Tennessee. It was recorded by Delos the following June.

The three-movement Concerto is classic/romantic, in the style of Mendelssohn and Schumann (both teachers of Reinecke). Samis brings it to life this with great skill and dedication. His plush tone draws the listener in from the first statement of the shapely opening theme, and he soars in the calisthenic cadenza that concludes the first movement. (Reinecke was known for his cadenzas.) The yearning Andante con moto functions as a kind of song without words, again enhanced by Samis’ warm, caressing tone, and he fills the Allegro Vivace finale with folk-like verve and good humor. Wolynec leads the Gateway Chamber Orchestra in a precise, well-crafted accompaniment. All in all, it is more than enough to persuade one that Reinecke’s Concerto should take its place among the active works in the cello repertoire.

Coupled with the Reinecke on this inviting disc are works for solo cello by John Tavener and Ernest Bloch, Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70, arranged for cello and orchestra by Ernest Ansermet, and Osvaldo Golijov’s “Mariel” for cello and marimba.

Both Tavener’s “Threnos” (1991) and Golijov’s “Mariel” (1999), were written in memory of departed friends. Samis captures the aching desolation of “Threnos,” and with Eric Willie on marimba, the heart-rending emotion of “Mariel.” Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro pairs a sweetly sung Adagio (which features lovely oboe work by James Burton) with a vivacious final Allegro.

Samis is faithful to Bloch’s ideal is his four-movement Suite No. 1 for Solo Cello (1956), patterned after the cello suites of J.S. Bach. He pays close attention to its “implied counterpoint,” crafts a lyrical Canzona and a lively, dance-like Allegro finale.