Given the rather impressive pedigree and pedagogical lineage of cellist Richard Sher, one might expect that a recording made of standard repertoire compositions made during the artist's full maturity would be one to rave about. Surprisingly and disappointingly, this MSR Classics album of the Beethoven A major Sonata and the Bach D minor Solo Suite is no such beast. While Sher's playing is not all that it could be, the primary problematic culprit for the album is sound quality. Very little resonance or depth is to be found here, making Sher's cello sound more like a cardboard box than a musical instrument. The poor sound quality also wreaks havoc on articulation for both cello and piano, running rapid notes into blurs of indecipherable sound. As for Sher's playing, there seems to be a great deal of carelessness. Intonation problems are quite obvious in these works that most listeners can sing by heart. There's a lot of sliding into shifts in the Beethoven and a sense of disconnect between Sher and pianist Bernard Rose. In the Bach, Sher chooses some very unusual bowings, grouping together small numbers of notes resulting in an out-of-breath feeling throughout the prelude. Rhythm is very subjectively executed, particularly in the Gigue, which constantly changes tempo. With countless exceptional recordings of both of these works available to listeners, Sher does not offer many reasons to choose his over another.