Live Classics’ Natalia Gutman “Portrait” series continues with a second volume documenting the cellist’s work from her early career up to the present. A 1967 German radio broadcast of the Debussy Cello Sonata stands out for Gutman’s warm, expansive tone and strong, fluid support from pianist Alexei Nassedkin. A few moments of uncertain intonation and less-than-centered articulation in the second movement’s opening pizzicatos are a small price to pay for fine overall ensemble values. Gutman shines in the declamatory, slow-motion passages that dominate the outer movements of Schnittke’s First Cello Sonata, and throws herself head first into the central Presto’s roller-coaster arpeggios and ruthless clusters. A gripping performance, this: every bit as authoritative as Alexander Ivashkin’s with the composer’s widow Irina Scnittke at the piano. She’s a more sensitive colorist than Gutman’s solid yet comparatively monochrome Vassily Lobanov. The Bach G major Suite is hit and miss. Gutman’s self-conscious rubatos and teasing holdbacks in the Prelude obstruct the music’s harmonic continuity, while the soft-grained Sarabande wilts at its center. Yet the Counrante, the two Menuets, and Gigue lightly dance off the cellist’s bow with no fuss and all beauty. The sound is excellent for archival source material. Worth hearing.
