Haydn – Cello Concertos in C and D
‘I find Haydn’s music to be more earthly than Mozart’s — it’s more surprising as well. As a solo cellist I’m of course very grateful to Haydn for composing his two fine cello concertos, and although the D major concerto is more lyrical than the C major concerto which was composed twenty years earlier, I love both works equally. They both demand a virtuoso style of playing, but the D major concerto has more depth.
I first played the C major concerto when I was ten years old, the D major concerto somewhat later. At that time my playing was very much based upon my own intuition, but it was thanks to my father, the cellist Yke Viersen, that I was made to study scores as closely as possible from a very young age and to know how important it was to realise the composer’s intentions as embodied in the score as closely as possible.’
Quirine Viersen, from liner notes by Katja Reichenfeld. Translation by Peter Lockwood
‘Viersen proves to be an engaging soloist. She brings great imagination, colour and above all spontaneity to her performances of Haydn’s two cello concertos. Her turns of phrase can be surprising: with an array of subtle shades of colour and dynamics at her disposal no two phrases are the same. She happily deploys vibrato, not indiscriminately but as a targeted colouristic device. This variety makes for riveting accounts of the outer movements of each concerto but does not get in the way in the slower music. Her account of the slow movement of the C major concerto has a wonderful singing quality and her generous legato phrasing in the first movement of the D major is simply ravishing, but not at all overblown.’
— MusicWeb International
‘Höhepunkt des Programms in der Stadthalle war der Auftritt der niederländischen Cellistin Quirine Viersen. Vom Stuttgarter Kammerorchester hellwach begleitet, ließ sie auf ihrem edlen Guarneri-Cello Joseph Haydns Cellokonzert C-Dur ertönen – mit so viel Spannung und Ausdruck, dass man das berühmte Stück ganz neu zu entdecken glaubte. Wie magisch zog die Solistin das Publikum in ihren Bann, gestaltete Ton für Ton voller Intensität.’
— Rheinische Post (Live performance, 2018)
‘Throughout Quirine Viersen has sufficient technique and an informed musicianship to shape the lines most convincingly as well as adding ‘impromptu’ ornamentation that beautifully embellishes the music. The only manners portrayed in the concertos are that of good taste. The sheer energy and sense of vivaciousness is awe inspiring.’
— HR Audio *****