Hoechan Lee: Letters
Solaire Records

Considered one of Korea's ascendant cellists, Hoechan Lee also distinguishes himself in the programming department with this forty-eight-minute addition to Solaire's catalogue: the three Romantic works he and pianist Sangwook Park recorded in Berlin in June 2022 amplify the cellist's sensitive side and accentuate his refined technical command. Above all else, Lee's artful renditions of classics by Franz Schubert and the Schumanns are lyrical in the extreme and all the more appealing for being so. In liner notes, the cellist describes the abiding affection he has for the works but communicates that most powerfully in the performances.

Interestingly, the three pieces weren't originally composed for cello and piano; instead, each is a transcription of a work written for different instruments, the oboe for Robert Schumann's Three Romances, Op. 94 (1849), the violin for Clara's own Three Romances, Op. 22 (1853), and the arpeggione—a fretted, guitar-like instrument whose curved bridge is bowed—for Schubert's Sonata in A Minor, D. 821 “Arpeggione” (1824). Lee and Park's renditions are so genuine and natural, however, one would never think that they originated as anything but works arranged for cello and piano.

Letters opens with Clara's ten-minute-long setting, like the others a three-movement work that's characterized by elegance and concision. A romantic tone asserts itself immediately when the “Andante molto” introduces it with poignant yearning, and it's here too that we're introduced to the poise of Lee's playing and the sympathetic accompaniment of his partner. The “Allegretto” is slightly livelier though still wistful, the cellist again entrancing with exceptional control, clarity of intonation, and artful trills. Imbued with romantic feeling, the closing “Leidenschaftlich schnell” is perhaps the most lyrical of the movements, not to mention radiant.

Slightly longer at twelve minutes, Robert's own Three Romances follows, and though they apparently were written during a period when his mental health was deteriorating no sign of disorder is detectable in the composition. The somewhat tranquil “Nicht schnell” is affecting in its solemnity and memorable for featuring long melodic lines that lend themselves exquisitely to the cello. The central “Einfach, innig” is marked by a lovely, almost folk-like melody Lee delivers gracefully and articulates with deep feeling. Though the closing movement at first suggests it will be pensive too, it opts instead for a more spirited presentation that leaves lugubriousness behind.

Written by Schubert in Vienna in November 1824, the sonata's opening “Allegro moderato” finds Park and Lee embarking on a scenic, twelve-minute excursion that includes breezy passages, dramatic ruminations, and impish episodes, all of it connected by a motif that's as stirring as it is singing. Published posthumously in 1871, the piece is today performed in transcriptions for cello and piano or viola and piano, though versions also have been created where flute, alto saxophone, and clarinet are substituted for the arpeggione and guitar and harp for piano. After that action-packed adventure, the serenity of the “Adagio” provides a welcome rest-stop, after which the “Allegretto” re-embraces a livelier tone to end the release on a jubilant high.

December 2022