Gabriel Schwabe: Tchaikovsky

The Strad Issue: June 2026

Description: A fine cellist presents Tchaikovsky’s original thoughts to striking effect

Musicians: Gabriel Schwabe (cello) Aachen Symphony Orchestra/Christopher Ward

Works: Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations; Pezzo capriccioso; Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture; Nocturne op.19 no.4; Valse sentimentale op.51 no.6; Violin Concerto – Canzonetta (all arr. Schwabe)

Catalogue number: NAXOS 8574741

Gabriel Schwabe is by no means the first cellist to have recorded Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations in their original form. Nonetheless, the version altered and reordered by its dedicatee Wilhelm Fitzenhagen is by far the most often heard, and I still did a double take when variation 8, cut by Fitzenhagen, popped up. The German–Spanish cellist produces a generous tone from his 1695 Guarneri, all the more immediate in this rather up-front recording. His cadenza is nicely paced and the carefree spirit is joyfully conveyed in a well-executed performance.

In the Pezzo capriccioso Schwabe again chooses to go with Tchaikovsky’s original thoughts rather than the souped-up, more virtuosic version by the cellist of the first performance, Anatoly Brandukov, which majors on the instrument’s highest range. Schwabe makes a lot of its dramatic gestures and keeps the semiquavers neat and tight.

What’s new on this disc is the premiere recordings of the second version of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture and Schwabe’s three cello and orchestra arrangements. Two are from piano pieces, Valse sentimentale, in which he milks the sentiment, leaning in on the expressive notes, and the Nocturne, rather bland compared with the Violin Concerto’s Canzonetta, where the vocal quality of the cello sound enhances this already moving music.

Janet Banks