More than any other works of Beethoven, except his single song cycle, his works for cello and piano represent the creation of an entirely new genre. There were a few works for the combination before Beethoven, but they reflected the archaic terminology publishers continued to use for Beethoven's sonatas, "for piano and cello." Beethoven was the first to create a true dialogue between the two instruments, and as such, these works are amenable to the kind of quiet, detailed traversal they receive here from cellist Julius ...
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More than any other works of Beethoven, except his single song cycle, his works for cello and piano represent the creation of an entirely new genre. There were a few works for the combination before Beethoven, but they reflected the archaic terminology publishers continued to use for Beethoven's sonatas, "for piano and cello." Beethoven was the first to create a true dialogue between the two instruments, and as such, these works are amenable to the kind of quiet, detailed traversal they receive here from cellist Julius Berger and pianist Margarita Höhenrieder. It's easy to overplay the cello sonatas, but they avoid the temptation at every turn. They are especially effective in the early Op. 5 sonatas, where they achieve a fascinating effect in which the listener seems to enter into Beethoven's spontaneous, experimental frame of mind here. The two late sonatas, arguably the first works in which the vast formal freedoms of Beethoven's late style begin to unfold, are also very strong here, and the...
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