Beethoven : Sonates pour violoncelle et piano

Description

This two-album release from the Signum Classics label presents the five cello sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by cellist Paul Watkins and pianist Alessio Bax. These works, composed over a long period, illustrate the composer's early, middle, and late styles: from the Opus 5 sonatas written during his stay in Berlin in 1796, to the Sonata in A major Opus 69, contemporary with the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, and finally the Opus 102 sonatas, which mark the beginning of his final creative period. Recorded in December 2024 at Cedars Hall in Wells, this recording highlights the close collaboration between cello and piano, as well as the evolution of Beethoven's formal and expressive language.