Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Steven Isserlis, Robert Levin
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Size: 2.72 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Cello Sonata No. 1 in F major Op 5 No 1
01. Movement 1a: Adagio sostenuto –
02. Movement 1b: Allegro
03. Movement 2: Allegro vivace
Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor Op 5 No 2
04. Adagio sostenuto ed espressivo
05. Allegro molto più tosto presto
06. Rondo: Allegro
Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major Op 69
07. Allegro, ma non tanto
08. Scherzo: Allegro molto
09. Adagio cantabile –
10. Allegro vivace
CD 02
Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major Op 102 No 1
01. Andante –
02. Allegro vivace
03. Adagio – Tempo d’andante –
04. Allegro vivace
Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major Op 102 No 2
05. Allegro con brio
06. Adagio con molto sentimento d’affetto
07. Allegro – Allegro fugato
08. Variations in G major on ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’ from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus WoO45
09. Variations in F major on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte Op 66
10. Variations in E flat major on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte WoO46
Horn Sonata in F major Op 17
arranged for cello and piano
11. Allegro moderato
12. Poco adagio, quasi andante
13. Rondo: Allegro moderato
Recorded in Henry Wood Hall, London, on 14–18 December 2012
‘Isserlis’s playing always has spirit to spare. But the fortepiano ensures an even fresher sense of discovery to his cello odyssey’ (The Guardian)
In this new chamber recording, Steven Isserlis together with his regular collaborator, fortepianist Robert Levin, presents a magisterial and long-awaited compendium of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, including Beethoven’s arrangement of his Op 17 Horn Sonata. The use of the fortepiano opens up a wealth of sonic possibilities for these works.
The five Cello Sonatas span Beethoven’s compositional epochs and comprise the most important cycle of cello sonatas in the entire repertoire. Isserlis writes that the composer ‘transforms himself from confident virtuoso to supreme master of classical form, and then beyond that to a mystic exploring strange new worlds of unearthly beauty—a wondrous transfiguration’.