Classic II HAUSER

• Tomaso Albinoni (1671 - 1751):
• 1 Albinoni: Albinoni Adagio 05:55
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791):
• 2 Amadeus Mozart: Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 05:25
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 3 Bach: Arioso 03:45
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943):
• 4 Rachmaninoff: Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 05:25
• Antonín Dvorák (1841 - 1904):
• 5 Dvorák: Slavonic Dance 05:00
• Michel Colombier (1939 - 2004):
• 6 Colombier: Emmanuel 05:06
• Yiruma (b. 1978):
• 7 Yiruma: Kiss the Rain 04:23
• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828):
• 8 Schubert: Serenade 04:24
• Antonín Dvorák:
• 9 Dvorák: Song to the Moon (from Rusalka) 06:24
• Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848):
• 10 Donizetti: Una Furtiva Lagrima 04:42
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827):
• 11 Beethoven: Pathétique Sonata 04:17
• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897):
• 12 Brahms: Intermezzo 06:00
• Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849):
• 13 Chopin: Tristesse 03:06
• Alessandro Marcello (1673 - 1747):
• 14 Marcello: Adagio d'Amore 04:57
• Sergei Rachmaninoff:
• 15 Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 02:49
• Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937):
• 16 Silvestrov: Postlude No. 3 04:08
• Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911):
• 17 Mahler: Adagietto 11:16
• Johannes Brahms:
• 18 Brahms: Lullaby 02:00
• Total Runtime 01:29:02

Info for Classic II

The star cellist HAUSER, founding member of 2CELLOS and social media phenomenon with 13 million followers, is releasing his new album "Classic II" on 19 April. As with his successful album "Classic", the cellist and talented arranger from Croatia has once again gone into the studio with the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Robert Ziegler to give a completely new sound to some of the greatest classical melodies of all time.

The 18 melodies that HAUSER has selected for "Classic II" come from a wide range of eras, from the Baroque to the present day, and were originally written for a wide variety of instruments and instrumentations - for voice, piano or oboe. They include Bach's famous Arioso, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 and Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variation Op. 43. HAUSER's declared aim was to transfer these melodies to the cello - the most "vocal" of all orchestral instruments - and make them "sing". The first single is an arrangement of the piano piece "Kiss the Rain" by the internationally acclaimed Korean composer and pianist Yiruma.

HAUSER produced "Classic II" himself and worked on all the arrangements with arranger Robin Smith. "That gives me so much pleasure," says HAUSER, who describes "Classic II" and "Classic" as his "dream albums". "It's what I enjoy most - going back to my roots, to the classical repertoire. When I was a little boy, that was my dream: to play with a great orchestra, in a good studio, on a good cello. These melodies are some of my earliest memories, when I fell in love with music. It comes naturally to me."

Stjepan Hauser, cello
London Symphony Orchestra

Stjepan Hauser
The dynamic young cellist who rocketed to fame as half of the genre-busting worldwide musical sensation 2CELLOS, HAUSER now gears up to release his new solo album entitled Classic, set for release February 7 from Sony Classical.

Drawn to the cello as a little boy when he first heard it played on the radio in his native Croatia, HAUSER began to learn the instrument at the age of 8. His remarkable potential was recognized not long after, when he began an intense study of music, the cello and classical repertoire that eventually took him to London, Manchester and Boston for conservatory training. Upon graduation in 2011, HAUSER joined fellow cellist Luka Šulić to become 2CELLOS, creating a viral cello version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal," which catapulted the duo's global success.

In the classical world, HAUSER collected some 21 first prizes in prestigious national and international cello competitions, performing twice in London for Prince Charles at Buckingham and St. James's Palaces. He was also the last student to play for and perform with the iconic Russian cellist/conductor/humanitarian Mstislav Rostropovich. As a soloist, HAUSER has performed in many of Europe's greatest classical venues, including London's Wigmore Hall and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw.

The meteoric rise of 2CELLOS led HAUSER and Šulić to join Sir Elton John on tour globally, sign with Sony Music Masterworks and release five successful albums, as well as sell out arena dates around the world. As 2CELLOS, they have performed in iconic venues such as Rome's Colosseum, New York City's Radio City Music Hall, London's Royal Albert Hall, Italy's Arena di Verona, the Olympia in Paris, Tokyo's Budokan and the Sydney Opera House.

This album contains no booklet.