Beethoven: Complete Works for Piano & Cello

Featuring

Julius Berger
Margarita Höhenrieder
Ludwig van Beethoven

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Compositional Technique

Beethoven experimented with sonata form, departing from the traditional fast-slow-fast structure; his first two sonatas, Op. 5, begin with a slow introduction, followed by a sonata-form Allegro and a Rondo.

Composer's Artistic Vision

In his conversation book, Beethoven noted Kant's observation: 'the moral law in us and the star-studded heaven above us,' reflecting a humanist aim to glorify the divine in human beings.

Performer Biography

Cellist Julius Berger has been called 'a prophet of the cello' by the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper and has had more than twenty cello concertos or chamber works dedicated to him.

Composer Biography

Beethoven's cello sonata Op. 69 is dedicated to Baron von Gleichenstein, an amateur cellist and friend who managed Beethoven's affairs and even sought a wife for him, though he ended up marrying her himself.

Composition History

Beethoven's first two cello sonatas, Op. 5, were composed for King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, who played the cello daily and employed prominent cellists at his court.

Compositional Technique

Beethoven's cello sonatas were groundbreaking, establishing a new genre of duo works for piano and cello where both instruments engaged in a true dialogue, unlike previous works where the keyboard merely accompanied.

Performer Biography

Pianist Margarita Höhenrieder is considered a 'great-great-great-grand pupil' of Beethoven, tracing her pedagogical lineage through Carl Czerny, Theodor Leschetitzky, Artur Schnabel, and Leon Fleisher.