Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Pianoforte & Violoncello (CD) by Anner Bylsma (cello), Jos van Immerseel (fortepiano)

Beethoven's five sonatas for piano and cello are distributed through his works with unusual symmetry. The first two are quite early, published by the young careerist in 1797 to impress the cello-playing King Frederick Wilhelm II of Prussia, while the third dates from 1808 and is contemporaneous with the 'Pastoral' Symphony. The last two were written in 1815, when his output was slowing prior to his great late period.

Dutch cellist Anner Bylsma approaches these sonatas with characteristic gentility and winsome charm. He plays a modern instrument in a manner informed by early music practices, and is partnered by Jos van Immerseel on a vintage fortepiano, meaning that the performances are scaled back somewhat in volume. Not that Bylsma would be dominating anyhow; romantic heroism is not his game, but he and Immerseel balance each other quite well, reminding one that these pieces are not called cello sonatas on their title pages but rather 'Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violoncello.'