On 13 February 2026, Channel Classics will release a new cd by cellist Lidy Blijdorp and pianist Tobias Borsboom with four sonatas from the period 1886–1918. The programme brings together works by César Franck, Nadia Boulanger, Claude Debussy and Matthijs Vermeulen and forms a coherent choice within the French-oriented late romantic and early modernist repertoire.
The cd contains:
- César Franck – Sonata for violin and piano (1886), transcribed for cello and piano by Jules Delsart
- Nadia Boulanger – Trois Pièces (1914)
- Claude Debussy – Sonate pour violoncelle et piano (1915)
- Matthijs Vermeulen – Sonate pour violoncelle et piano (1918)
The combination of these works reveals a clear stylistic development: from Franck's cyclical late romanticism via the sober and introspective language of Nadia Boulanger and the transparent sound world of Debussy to the pronounced personal and spiritually charged style of Vermeulen.
César Franck
Franck's sonata belongs to the core of the chamber music repertoire and in the transcription by Jules Delsart has developed into a standard work for cello and piano. The warm, vocal quality of the cello emphasizes the long melodic lines and the cyclic character of the work. In the context of this cd, Franck's sonata serves as the late romantic starting point of the programme.
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger's Trois Pièces form a lesser-known but substantively important centre of the cd. These short works are characterized by their sobriety and concentration on timbre, harmony and short motifs. They align with a more introspective and contemplative approach to music that became increasingly present in the early twentieth-century French repertoire.
Claude Debussy
Debussy's Sonate pour violoncelle et piano belongs to his late works and displays a compact, clear style. Traditional formal principles are applied more loosely here and give way to transparent textures and great attention to timbre and articulation. Within the structure of the cd, this sonata forms an important turning point towards a more modern sound language.
Matthijs Vermeulen
Matthijs Vermeulen's Sonate pour violoncelle et piano concludes the programme. This work was written shortly after Vermeulen had become acquainted with Debussy's cello sonata, which served as a clear source of inspiration. The sonata is expressive and personal in character and occupies a special place within Dutch music history.
The recording of Vermeulen's sonata was made at the request of the Matthijs Vermeulen Stichting, which approached the Blijdorp–Borsboom duo to document this work. In this way, this cd serves not only an artistic but also a documentary function.
Duo Blijdorp – Borsboom
Lidy Blijdorp and Tobias Borsboom have been collaborating for several years on chamber music programmes with clear thematic coherence. Their repertoire choices often focus on French-oriented music and works in which timbre, structure and meaning are central. This cd fits within that line and forms a logical continuation of earlier joint projects.
The release on Channel Classics is thus both a document of four important sonatas and a thematically coherent programme that spans more than thirty years of musical development.