Stiastny: Works for Two Violoncellos, Vol. 2

Little is known about the cellist and composer Johann Stiastny, and what is known contradicts each other in the sources. František Jan Št’astný, also known as Jean Stiasny or, indeed, Johann Stiastny, was probably born in Prague around 1764. In his standard work The Violoncello and Its History, Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski wrote that Stiastny’s cello works “are qualified to be placed amongst the best productions of the older Cello literature, as they contained effects which for that period were entirely novel.” Alexander Hülshoff and Martin Rummel, two celebrated cellists of our time, present premiere recordings of Stiastny’s Trois Duos Concertans, Op. 6, creating a unique album for cello lovers and collectors of rare 18th century repertoire.