Sophie Kauer Releases Unsung On Deutsche Grammophon
Cellist Sophie Kauer, the Breakout Star of TÁR will release her debut EP in March on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Titled Unsung, the album features Kauer playing music by Nadia Boulanger, Anatoly Lyadov, Felix Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann.
Sophie Kauer has captivated cinema audiences worldwide with her performance as cellist Olga Metkina in Todd Field’s latest film TÁR. The 21-year-old British-German cellist is partnered here by pianist Kunal Lahiry, a current BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of the 2021 Carl Bechstein Foundation scholarship. Unsung is set for digital release on 17 March 2023.
Sophie Kauer responded to the TÁR casting call after a friend sent her a link to the open audition for the role of Olga. She thought it would just be a fun experience, but ended up being chosen from hundreds of hopefuls and soon began rehearsing with Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. She is now keen to draw fans of TÁR deeper into the world of classical music. “This is beautifully written, classy music. I didn’t want to compromise on quality, so rather than offering crossover as the way in, I wanted to show that classical music itself can be very accessible,” she explains. The double meaning of her chosen title, Unsung, reflects both the song-like quality of her chosen repertoire and her desire “to promote music by female composers, voices that have been relatively unheard for so long, as well as some other pieces that are not as well-known as they deserve to be”.
The EP opens with the first of Clara Schumann’s Three Romances Op. 22. “It’s so warm and youthful,” Sophie observes, “and has so much emotion packed into such a short space of time.” She describes the Prelude from Lyadov’s Morceaux Op. 11 as “icy sadness” and the first of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words Op. 30 as like “a mixture of going to sleep and the dream that follows”.
The recording also includes the last of Nadia Boulanger’s Three Pieces, originally written for organ in 1914 and later transcribed by the composer for cello and piano. “It’s very sassy and bold, a lot of fun to play and quite sarcastic,” says Sophie. A video for this track has been filmed by the same team – including director Mateusz Miszczyński – who created the video for Hania Rani and Dobrawa Czocher’s Malasana, winner of the 2022 Opus Klassik Video Clip of the Year award. This will be released simultaneously with the digital EP, while the Clara Schumann recording comes out as an e-single on 8 March to coincide with International Women’s Day.
Unsung Tracklist
Clara Schumann: Three Romances Op. 22 – I. Andante molto (arr. Knoth for cello and piano)
Anatoly Lyadov: Three Morceaux Op. 11 – I. Prelude (transcr. for cello and piano)
Felix Mendelssohn: Songs without Words Op. 30 – No. 1 Andante espressivo
(arr. Grützmacher and Knoth for cello and piano)
Nadia Boulanger: Three Pieces for cello and piano – No. 3 Vite et nerveusement rythmé.
Read about Matthias Goerne’s recent release on Deutsche Grammophon.https://www.soundslikesydney.com.au/news/matthias-goerne-schubert-revisited/30938.html
