Classical Music | Cello Music

Recorded on 04/03/2013, uploaded on 09/17/2013

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Ludwig van Beethoven composed only five sonatas for the cello and singlehandedly set the precedent for future composers in a genre that was practically non-existent. The instrument itself had only recently come into its own as a solo instrument, released from its restrictive role as part of the basso continuo largely by the efforts of Joseph Haydn. Though the cello had already assumed for itself a more predominant role in the string quartet, and secured a position in piano trio, there was nevertheless no example for Beethoven to follow in the composition of cello sonatas.

The five sonatas for cello also spanned a large part of Beethoven’s career. The first two, published together as his opus 5, were early efforts composed in 1796, and the third appeared a little more than a decade later in 1808. The final two sonatas, published as opus 102, appeared in 1815 during a turbulent time in the composer’s life. Plagued by illness, Beethoven’s output dropped off significantly beginning in 1811. His deafness grew increasingly worse as well, yet caused the composer’s gaze to turn evermore inward, leaving behind the outward heroism for a profound introspection which culminated in the last string quartets. The opus 102 sonatas marked the beginning of this transition, and already show the composer searching for a more personal means of expression. Besides a piano sonata and a collection of folk song settings, they were the only significant compositions to emerge until the Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony.

The first of the opus 102 sonatas, No. 4 in C major, is an unusual two-movement work which displays Beethoven’s strikingly original approach to musical form. Though some of its elements may be traced back to earlier works, its mode of expression has more in common with the composer’s burgeoning late period. Of roughly equal length, the sonata’s two movements are strongly connected through their shared motives. Both movements, in Allegro tempos, are preceded by slow introductions built around the same melodic kernel, yet the length of the latter movement’s introduction nearly gives it the feeling of being a brief slow movement preceding without break into a finale. The movement’s themselves are lively and energetic, full of the rhythmic and melodic vitality one expects of Beethoven’s music. The introductions, particularly that leading into the second movement, are ethereal, approaching that strange and wonderful vocal quality Beethoven so miraculously could elicit from his instruments in his last works.      Joseph DuBose

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Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1      Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) composed this sonata in 1815 by which time he was almost completely deaf. The work was dedicated to his close friend, Countess Maria von Erdödy. Beethoven subtitled the work “Free Sonata” because it consists of two movements instead of the usual three, and each movement begins with a slow section followed by an Allegro. The Andante in the first movement has a transcendent quality and is followed by tumultuous struggle in the Allegro Vivace.  In the second movement’s opening Adagio, the cello and piano take turns being primary voices. The Adagio is followed by a brief Tempo d’ Andante, reminiscent of the Andante from the first movement, and leads into the Allegro Vivace which is full of humor and sudden starts and stops. As is the case for all the Beethoven cello sonatas, the piano and cello are very much equal voices.     Benjamin Lash

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.