OFFENBACH: Cello Duets Opp. 49, 51 & 54 [CD de audio] Andrea Noferini, Giovanni Sollima and Offenbach

Jacques Offenbach, the successful composer of light and cheerful Parisian operas and operettas, was also a noted cellist. For his instrument he wrote a Cours Méthodique de duos pour deux violoncelles, a substantial collection of duets for two cellos. While maintaining the didactic and technically challenging form of the Étude, he wrote music that is sometimes charming, melodious, witty, and sometimes hilarious, in imitation of hymns, choruses, funeral marches, and the sound of other instruments, such as a tuba or a French horn. French: a pure delight! The two cellists, Giovanni Sollima and Andrea Noferini, are obviously having a lot of fun, delivering infectious and technically astonishing performances. New recordings, liner notes written by the artists.