“[…]Sachryn and Rivinius offer a highly competent performance that accurately captures the specific atmosphere of this work, skillfully balancing the line between the fundamentally lyrical lines of the cello and the restless hesitation of the music. […]” It is remarkable how powerfully Shostakovich’s personality shines through in the six miniatures performed here, despite their brevity. The recording, made at the Bavaria Musikstudios in Munich, offers a beautiful immediacy, restoring the depth of both instruments, while the piano magnificently embraces the cello.”

‘[…] Joanna Sachryn possesses all the virtues of a cellist who is rightly held in high esteem internationally. Her playing is impressively relaxed, with a slender, straight tone, dynamically extremely colourful and sensitive. And she ‘speaks’, can captivate with suspense, offer excited rhetoric or – in this case – transport the listener into a world full of thoughtfulness and internalisation even without great tonal effort. This applies equally to the pianist Paul Rivinius, who is hardly a mere accompanist here, on the contrary. This is because the piano writing is much less voluminous and full-bodied. He favours an extremely sound-sensitive, transparent, often equally linear compositional style. And with delicate-sounding precision. Both performers are therefore ideally suited to give the three movements of the work the most concise profile imaginable.[…]”

Superb players
 […] This sonata for cello and piano is the first music of his [Meyer] that I have ever heard and I was drawn swiftly by its uncomment blend of lyricism, combativeness and an unmistakable Polishness in gesture and phrasing. […] The music is fascinating on many levels and, when paired with the Shostakovich cello sonata opus 40, irresisitible. On one and the same record, you can hear both composer and commentator. Who could ask for anything more? The superb players and Joanna Sachryn and Paul Rivinius, passionate and immaculate.[…]

In the spirit of Shostakovich
[…] The intensity of Sachryn’s playing, her blossoming and then tart tone, the spectrum of her expressive possibilities from rough attack to extinguishing pianissimo, from great aplomb to lyrical intimacy are qualities that the cellist impressively brings to life in the spirit of Shostakovich and Meyer. Of course, piano partner Paul Rivinius plays an equally large part in the high standard: alongside powerful, chiselled chords, we hear filigree, finely graduated piano artistry. Supported by excellent recording technology, the performers always achieve a transparent sound – not a matter of course in connection with the heterogeneous partners cello and piano.[…]

Impressive, tense atmosphere ‚
[…] Sachryn and Rivinius deliver a competent interpretation that precisely realises the specific atmosphere of this work, skilfully balancing the line between the fundamentally cantabile lines in the cello and the restless stagnation of this music. When it comes to the great culmination in the extended finale, in which the cello obsessively circles the note G for several minutes, flanked by powerful chords and booming octaves in the lower registers of the piano […]. Meyer’s sonata alone – in my opinion one of the most profilished contributions to the genre of the last 50 years – makes this a highly recommendable release.[…]

Perfectly attuned music-making ‚
[…] Meyer’s sonata develops a very unique tone that is immediately memorable. It possesses a specific tonality that Sachryn and Rivinius have ideally externalised and made directly tangible: through perfectly coordinated music-making that is almost exemplary. Rivinius gives the piano part an unusual presence through the intensity of his playing, while Sachryn enlivens and even animates the style of the music melodically […]’.

Mysterious atmosphere ‚
[…] Of course this music is modern, but it doesn’t block the listener. There are echoes of Shostakovich, and the mysterious atmosphere of this music reveals itself even without much analysis. Sachryn and Rivinius move confidently in this world of sound – as true ‘narrators’ on their instruments. […] A duo that understands each other brilliantly and can also realise complex music such as that of Krzysztof Meyer in a gripping way.’

Joanna Sachryn with excellent Meyer and Shostakovich interpretations ‚
[…]plays the work with passionate virtuosity in the fast parts, and with great expressive warmth in the lyrical passages. She also achieves the spiritual dimension that gives the work its status. The pianist also deserves a lot of praise because he plays his part very vividly in constant dialogue with the cellist. […]’

Crystal-clear gloom
[…] The programme of this album is […] a delightful combination. Cellist Joanna Sachryn and pianist Paul Rivinius play all these miniatures in a very tidy manner. With a clear, sonorous cello tone, as if sung, and also with a crystal-clear treble tinkling from fine bells in the piano Joanna Sachryn and Paul Rivinius also play very clearly and precisely here. This sound characterises all the interpretations on the album; it is easy to follow the duo, nothing is lost and they hide nothing – their technical ability is beyond question. […]

[… Meyer’s cello sonata is also full of new surprises, located somewhere between ‘Misterioso’ and ‘Furioso’, exploring all pitches of the grand piano, when Paul Rivinius conjures up little bell effects in the highest treble and then immediately switches to muffled bass clusters, while Sachryn lets the cello bow dance across the strings in par force chases, intersperses pizzicato chains and forms haunting vocal lines that virtually burst with intensity. […]

First recordings of great romantics
[…] Works for cello and piano – Hiller’s second sonata and first serenade as well as Urspruch’s individual sonata – come together on this wonderful recording that is irresistible for cunning repertoire hunters. […] As far as tone and passion are concerned, the sparks from Joanna Sachryn’s playing jump across to the listener immediately; Maria Kliegel came to mind while listening … in some phrases even Pierre Fournier. Paul Rivinius is meanwhile not only an accompanist, but also a soloist, thanks to the piano-friendly disposition of the works. The recording is a pure joy and deserves the full attention it can get through the Kaleidos label’s distribution channels. […]

Forgotten musical treasures
[…] Here the cellist indulges on her wonderful cello with a sonorous, soulful or even fine tone in pianissimo to a congenial, subtly romantic, sometimes virtuoso piano by Paul Rivinius. […] In terms of interpretation, presentation and sound quality, this experienced ensemble leaves nothing to be desired.
musenblätter.de, Johannes Vesper

A reference recording
[…] With an equally sure and light hand, Joanna Sachryn and Paul Rivinius restage something that has already been forgotten. Fresh momentum and superior maturity go hand in hand. […]
„ Die neue Platte“

Perfect tone
[…] Sachryn and Rivinius present their discoveries with perfect intonation and enrich the romantic repertoire for cello and piano with three real masterpieces. […]

Unmistakable
[…] Hiller especially enchants. While his colleague Urspruch is at the very least surprising. This has to do with the delicate quality of the scores. But above all with the wonderful, sensitive, hands-on interpreters Joanna Sachryn and Paul Rivinius. Full of refinements and subtleties. Be sure to listen. […]

Recommended first recordings by Hiller and Urspruch
[…] The Polish cellist Joanna Sachryn and the pianist Paul Rivinius are convincing in their very lively and perfectly balanced interpretations of these sonatas as well as the charming serenade. Joanna Sachryn always makes you sit up and take notice with soulful singing on her melodious cello. […] In the interpretation, Paul Rivinius shows himself to be a powerfully hands-on, but also sensitive partner of the cellist, who is in contrast very rhetorical in feeling. Due to the clear repertoire value and the excellent interpretations, this CD can be recommended to every friend of aspiring and attractive chamber music. […]