Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Pierre Fournier, Wilhelm Kempff
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalogue: E4530132
Release: 1996
Size: 581 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
CD 01
Sonata For Piano And Violoncello Op. 5, No. 1 in F Major
01. I. Adagio sostenuto – Allegro
02. II. Rondo – Allegro vivace
Sonata For Piano And Violoncello Op. 5, No. 2 in G Minor
03. I. Adagio sostenuto e espressivo – Allegro molto più tosto presto
04. II. Rondo – Allegro
Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69
05. I. Allegro ma non tanto
06. II. Scherzo – Allegro molto
07. III. Adagio cantabile – Allegro vivace
CD 02
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102 No. 1
01. I. Andante – Allegro vivace
02. II. Adagio – Tempo d’andante – Allegro vivace
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102 No. 2
03. I. Allegro con brio
04. II. Adagio con molto sentimento d’affetto
05. III. Allegro – Allegro fugato
12 Variations on “See the conquering hero comes” for Cello and Piano, WoO 45
06. Thema – Allegretto
07. Variation I
08. Variation II
09. Variation III
10. Variation IV
11. Variation V
12. Variation VI
13. Variation VII
14. Variation VIII
15. Variation IX
16. Variation X. Allegro
17. Variation XI. Adagio
18. Variation XII. Allegro
7 Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen”, for Cello and Piano, WoO 46
19. Thema. Andante
20. Variation I
21. Variation II
22. Variation III
23. Variation IV
24. Variation V. Si prenda il tempo un poco più vivace
25. Variation VI. Adagio
26. Variation VII. Allegro, ma non troppo
12 Variations on “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” for Cello and Piano, Op. 66
27. Thema. Allegretto
28. Variation I
29. Variation II
30. Variation III
31. Variation IV
32. Variation V
33. Variation VI
34. Variation VII
35. Variation VIII
36. Variation IX
37. Variation X – Adagio
38. Variation XI – Poco Adagio, quasi Andante
39. Variation XII – Allegro
Before anything else is said, it has to be admitted that the 1963 recording with Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter is beyond all argument the greatest set of Beethoven’s cello sonatas ever recorded. Nevertheless, for the single best recording of Beethoven’s cello sonata, it should be this 1965 recording by Pierre Fournier and Wilhelm Kempff. Because while Rostropovich and Richter are the greater virtuosos, their virtuosity is also inevitably the prism through which Beethoven’s music radiates and his music is colored by their virtuosity. But Fournier and Kempff are arguably the greater musicians because they are not so much the prism as the lens through which Beethoven’s music flows, and his music is ineluctably clarified by their musicianship. When one hears the ardent objectivity of their Sonatas, Op. 5; the dramatic lyricism of their Sonata, Op. 69; the exhilarating serenity of their Sonatas, Op. 102; the serious fun of their Mozart Variations; or the playful strength of their Handel Variations, one is hearing less of Fournier and Kempff and more of Beethoven. The consummate musicianship renders their playing translucent, letting the clear light of Beethoven’s music shine through. As great as Rostropovich and Richter are — and they are very, very, very great — it is Fournier and Kempff who contain more of Beethoven because they includes less of themselves.