Beethoven: Sonatas for Cello & Piano; Variations, WoO. 46; Variations, Op. 66

Read About This Recording

We often hear the term great chemistry used in reference to two actors who work particularly well together. Well, that same term must be applicable to two great musicians especially when those musicians are the cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the pianist Emanuel Ax. As an added bonus, throw in the music of Beethoven and you have a recording that surpasses great chemistry and becomes superior art.

This two-CD set of Beethoven's five cello sonatas must rank among the best collections of these majestic works ever made. What is particularly beautiful is the way these artists give each sonata its own personality, its own style. Rarely in a collection of similar works have I ever head such a wide range of moods or emotional richness. This is music making at its highest level; one need only listen to the first movement of the Second Sonata to understand what I mean. Here, the two voices blend and parry in exquisite fashion, letting the listener know that these are interpretations that have been well thought out, well rehearsed and well executed.

As a fantastic bonus the set includes Beethoven's two sets of variations based on two arias from Mozart's The Magic Flute. While the pieces themselves are a delight, to hear Beethoven's imprint on Mozart's melodies is worth more than I can describe.

As is true of all of Yo-Yo Ma's recordings, the sound is spectacular: rich, full and incredibly well-balanced.

You'd be hard pressed to find a better set of the Beethoven Cello Sonatas anywhere.

—Jacob Anthony

Contents

Sonata Nos.: 1 in F Major for Piano and Cello, Op. 5 No. 1; 2 in G Minor for Piano and Cello, Op. 5 No. 2; 3 in A Major for Piano and Cello, Op. 69; 4 for Piano and Cello in C Major, Op. 102 No. 1; 5 in D Major for Piano and Cello, Op. 102 No. 2; 7 Variations on the Theme In Men, Who Know the Feeling of Love, from Mozart's The Magic Flute, WoO.46; 12 Variations on the Theme A Maiden or Little Wife, from Mozart's The Magic Flute, Op. 66; 12 Variations on the Theme See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes, from Handel's Oratorio Judas Maccabaeus, WoO.45;

Yo-Yo Ma, Cello; Emanuel Ax, Piano.