In the Romantic era, guitar played an important role as accompaniment for vocals, even if Schubert seems to have written almost nothing specifically for the guitar, except a short vocal trio with guitar. In those days, it was common to transpose and redistribute depending on availabilities, so this version of the Arpeggione Sonata for cello and guitar is nothing surprising. Surprising however is the fact that almost no one today plays this work on the arpeggione, as this lost instrument has been replaced by cellos and altos. And yet the arpeggione is “tuned just like a guitar”! This rewriting is the work of Konrad Ragossnig, an Austrian guitarist and lutenist who recently passed away, and was able to keep all of Schubert’s spirit while giving it a more pastoral touch, more “Wanderer” if you will. Ragossnig is also behind the adaptation of Granados’ Spanish dance for cello and guitar that closes the album, as the guitar is naturally very appropriate for the Hispanic idiom. Guitarist Aljaž Cvirn and cellist Isabel Gehweiler, who have formed a duo for a few years, also offer an original work for this same formation of Brazilian composer Radamés Gnattali (1906-1988), at the crossroads between the country’s rich popular music and classical writing. Finally Cvirn and Gehweiler also deliver on a Vivaldi sonata for cello and continuous bass, with the bass part here, of course, given to the guitar. © SM/Qobuz