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Title: came for the cello, stayed for the oboe
Review: I was looking for an all-Britten CD of chamber works that included the cello sonata, which I'd heard at a music school, and this fit the bill. Conceivably Rostropovich's or Ma's versions of the latter might be a tad more impressive, but this sounds rich and fine, the engineering is excellent, and the violin sonata is equally impressive. But the real surprise is the Six Metamorphoses, the variations for oboe. Not a particularly favorite instrument of mine, the oboe in Carter's hands really soars, and Britten's writing here may outstrip that for his cello suites. I don't care about the "programs" in program music but as pure affective sound this is imaginative and wonderful.In all a very worthy compilation for chamber lovers and/or Britten fans.
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