Featured Artist:
Bob Cafaro - Cello
Bob Cafaro Cellist Philadelphia Orchestra
Bob Cafaro was a fixture in the cello section at the Philadelphia Orchestra for 39 years. He was honored by Yo-yo Ma himself at his last performance of the 2023-2024 season! A multi-talented individual with far-ranging interests both inside and outside of music, he enjoys distance biking, organic gardening/cooking, and a focus on vibrant health. This last interest was awakened during his extreme challenges and amazing recovery from MS (multiple sclerosis), documented in a self-published 2015 book called When The Music Stopped: My Battle and Victory against MS". He also happens to be an all-around nice guy!
It was at a music event hosted by my good friend, Vince Pierdomenico from KeepMusicAlive.org where I was introduced, and I am very honored for the opportunity to work with him here in my Jangada studio on this recording. ("Jangada" is Portuguese for an iconic Brazilian wooden fishing boat with a beautiful sail, famous in the Northeast where my father was born.)
Worth mentioning also is his incredible pianist, Luba Agrinofky with whom he has worked for many years. It is easy to hear the synchronicity between these two while listening to these pieces. Luba was able to execute these pieces beautifully, even though my studio was a bit cold that day (Sorry again, Luba!)
Some gear stats: Mr Cafaro's cello was close-mic'd with a Royer 121 ribbon mic and a Neuman TLM128 in mid-side technique. The Bosendorfer 200CS grand piano was mic'd in spaced pair configuration using 2 DPA4011's and 2 QTC30 Omnidirectional mics. Cello mics went through an Avalon AD2022 outboard mic pre, and piano mics used those from the Apollo X interface. Ableton Live was the recording DAW. Music was mixed/mastered through a Burl B80 AD/DA converter, a Neve Master Buss Transformer, Audioscape G-Buss, Audioscape VCOMP+, Audioscape LA-2A and a Swift Tube EQ. Logic Pro was the mixing/mastering DAW.
Hungarian Rhapsody, Op.68
The Hungarian Rhapsody (Ungarische Rhapsodie) is a dazzling showpiece, offering a perspective of skillful idiomatic virtuosity through a Jewish lens of Hungarian folk music.
It feels improvisational as Rhapsodies do, but it's the sheer joy countered with deep pathos executed with virtuosic athleticism that truly sets this recording apart. It's a joy to sit down to - one feels as if these two performers are in the room with you!
The Swan
The 13th and most famous movement of Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals. Composed in 1886, this graceful, melancholic piece is originally scored for solo cello and two pianos. It represents a swan gliding on water and is the only movement the composer allowed to be performed during his lifetime.
Air on The G String
From Wiki: "Air on the G String", also known as "Air for G String" and "Celebrated Air", is August Wilhelmj's 1871 arrangement of the second movement of Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068.The arrangement differs from the original in that it is transposed down into C major so the part of the first violins can be played entirely on the violin's lowest string (the G string, hence the name), which gave the piece its popular title.