More than any other works of
Beethoven, except his single song cycle, his works for cello and piano represent the creation of an entirely new genre. There were a few works for the combination before
Beethoven, but they reflected the archaic terminology publishers continued to use for
Beethoven's sonatas, "for piano and cello."
Beethoven was the first to create a true dialogue between the two instruments, and as such, these works are amenable to the kind of quiet, detailed traversal they receive here from cellist
Julius Berger and pianist
Margarita Höhenrieder. It's easy to overplay the cello sonatas, but they avoid the temptation at every turn. They are especially effective in the early Op. 5 sonatas, where they achieve a fascinating effect in which the listener seems to enter into
Beethoven's spontaneous, experimental frame of mind here. The two late sonatas, arguably the first works in which the vast formal freedoms of
Beethoven's late style begin to unfold, are also very strong here, and the performances have a sense of real discovery. A disincentive is sound that is both over-resonant and too close to the performers. An added attraction is the presence of three rarely heard cello-and-piano variation sets at the end of the program. This is an offbeat item by a pair of players better known as teachers than as performers, and it's a nice find.