Beethoven: Cello Sonatas / Variations
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas / Variations
Steven Isserlis (cello) Robert Levin (fortepiano)
[ Hyperion / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Sunday 15 December 2013
This item is currently out of stock. We expect to be able to supply it to you within 2 - 4 weeks from when you place your order.
'Isserlis's playing always has spirit to spare. But the fortepiano ensures an even fresher sense of discovery to his cello odyssey' (The Guardian)
In this new chamber recording, Steven Isserlis together with his regular collaborator, fortepianist Robert Levin, presents a magisterial and long-awaited compendium of Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano, including Beethoven's arrangement of his Op 17 Horn Sonata. The use of the fortepiano opens up a wealth of sonic possibilities for these works.
The five Cello Sonatas span Beethoven's compositional epochs and comprise the most important cycle of cello sonatas in the entire repertoire. Isserlis writes that the composer 'transforms himself from confident virtuoso to supreme master of classical form, and then beyond that to a mystic exploring strange new worlds of unearthly beauty-a wondrous transfiguration'.
This set contains of the finest Beethoven perfroamnces you are likely to hear. Steven Isserlis is on blazing form: every note lives, every movement is characterised with infectious relish; his range is breathtaking. The ensemble with Robert Levin is dynamic, intimate, often electric." (BBC Music)
"Isserlis commands attention first, if only for the extraordinary bass growl of his cello's bottom register...Isserlis's love of big, throbbing gestures is equally apparent further up his cello. But he never chews the scenery and the music's drama fully deserves the duo's strong emotions, firm accenting and virile leaps." (The Times)
Gramophone Magazine Recording of the Month February 2014
Tracks:
Cello Sonatas Nos. 1-5 (complete) and variations
Horn Sonata in F major, Op. 17 (arranged by Beethoven)
