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As with the Bach sonatas, I first heard Beethoven’s cello sonatas recorded by Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter, and my current favourite recording features Pieter Wispelwey and Dejan Lazić, again on modern instruments (Channel Classics CCS SA 22605). I must say, however, that a new period performance of Beethoven Cello Sonatas, Op. 5 by cellist Keiran Campbell and Sezi Seskir (fortepiano) (leaf.music/keirancampbell-seziseskir-beethoven) is growing on me for its sheer rawness and exuberance.
“Performing on a fortepiano with its leather hammers, and on a gut-strung cello with a supple classical bow allows the players to recapture these beloved sonatas’ intended original sound. The two cello sonatas (Nos. 1 and 2) were composed in 1796, and saw Beethoven attempting to make the two instruments more equal while celebrating the capabilities of the five-octave piano.”
Campbell is co-principal cello of Tafelmusik, and on faculty at the Chamber Music Collective, an intensive chamber music program on period instruments which focuses on post-1750 performance practice. Seskir is a co-founder of the Chamber Music Collective, and an associate professor of Music at Bucknell University. Together they bring new life to these timeless pieces.
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas, Op. 5