Beethoven: Complete Works for Cello and Piano, Vol. 1

On the eve of the Beethoven bicentenary, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and Martin Helmchen present the first volume of their complete recording of works for cello and piano. Ten years separate his Sonata Opus 5, composed when he was 25, and Sonata No. 3 Opus 69, which was written in 1807-08 at the same time as Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7.

A great admirer of Handel, the young Ludwig published, in 1797, Twelve Variations for cello and piano on a theme from the oratorio Judas Maccabaeus. Did the teenager from Bonn really audition for Mozart upon his arrival in Vienna in 1787? No one can say for certain, though this did not prevent him from composing, in 1801, Seven Variations on 'Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen', based on the famous Pamina-Papageno duet from the opera The Magic Flute.

By turns melodious, mischievous and virtuosic, Beethoven's style unfolds in this first instalment, brought to life by two exceptional musicians, recognised as the finest ambassadors of his music.