Strong, sensitive, and often quite funny, this 2004 recording of
Beethoven's last two Cello Sonatas coupled with his
Handel Variations for cello and piano and his Duet for viola and cello by cellist
Maria Kliegel, pianist
Nina Tichman, and violist Tabae Zimmermann will be a welcome addition to any large and deep collection of
Beethoven's works for cello.
Kliegel is a persuasive cellist with a warm tone and a powerful bow,
Tichman is a convincing accompanist with a deep tone and a marvelous technique, and together they perform with telepathic ease and complete understanding. In the late Sonatas,
Kliegel and
Tichman catch the work's odd shapes and eccentric melodies and unite them into a singularly moving musical structure. In the
Handel Variations,
Kliegel and
Tichman grasp both the affection and the humor of the work as well as holding its long line through 12 variations. And in the quirky "Duet with Two Obbligato Eyeglasses,"
Kliegel and Zimmermann play together like old friends happily catching up on their lives in one of
Beethoven's most charming little bagatelles. Naxos' sound is as finely detailed and warmly textured as any recording from any of the bigger, more expensive companies.