Classical Music | Cello Music

Anton Webern

Langsam in G Major  Play

Alexander Hersh Cello

Recorded on 11/27/2019, uploaded on 06/26/2020

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Written when he was just 15 years old, Webern’s two pieces for Cello and Piano are possibly the first pieces the composer ever wrote. This heartfelt work unabashedly wears romanticism and youth on its sleeve.  As early as the work is, a nascent inclination toward distillation and sparseness is in evidence, traits that are hallmarks of Webern’s mature voice. Webern’s entire output lasts only 2.5 hours — about the length of the very shortest of Wagners operas. Yet what his music lacks in duration it makes up for in expression. Webern manages to reduce intense and passionate feeling in music to microscopic events. For Webern, a single sigh can embody a world of expression.     Alexander Hersh