No, that's no mistake: on this album, Elena Gaponenko plays cello and piano. Not at the same time of course (no re-recording here), but the Russian piano in the first section, and the finno-ugric cello on the second. Another novelty of the album is the selection of the Opus 8 of as many different composers as possible, all centred around Kodály's sonata for solo cello (1915) and Scriabin's Twelve Études (1894-95). We are also offered the most welcome rarities for piano by Medtner, Lyadov and Lyapunov, and rare pieces for cello by Ligeti and Sibelius. Far from being a simple "double talent" gimmick, Gaponenko is an artist in her own right in both spheres, and on the piano it is clear that she can "breathe with the bow", or form articulated lines and phrases of great beauty, far from the hammering the piano keys, of which an unfortunate number of pianists are guilty. © SM/Qobuz