WILHELM FITZENHAGEN (1848-1890): Cello Concerto No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 4, for Cello and Piano: Elegie, Op. 21, Capriccio, Op. 40, Serenade, Op. 35, Gavotte, Op. 42, Impromptu, Op. 43, Ave Maria, Op. 41 (versions for cello and piano and for cello and harmonium), Dämonenfantsie on Themes from Anton Rubinstein's Opera "The Demon", Op. 34.

Description: Think of the (undated) 20-minute concerto as the "Schumann Cello Concerto No. 2", such is its form and style. It's really attractive and melodic too, as one would expect from this cellist-composer for whom Tchaikovsky wrote his Rococo Variations (and who revised and edited them, which is the usual version we hear today). The 47 minutes of cello-and-piano pieces are somewhere between Popper and Tchaikovsky, not too simple and salon-like, with the 15-minute Fantasie on two themes from Rubinstein's opera a truly well-crafted and virtuoso work which ought to be heard in concert. Jens Peter Maintz (cello), Paul Rivinius (piano), Munich Radio Orchestra; Peter Rundel.