Already having won considerable acclaim for her Dvořák and Elgar concerto recordings for Naxos, cellist Maria Kliegel teams up with pianist Nina Tichmann for a delightful foray into chamber music with this outstanding first instalment of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano. Regrettably, the master from Bonn left us with relatively few actual sonatas for the cello, but the oeuvre is nicely appended by sets of variations, and a transcription of a sonata originally written for horn.

Beethoven’s sonatas are early examples of a then-new trend in sonata composition in which the piano and the solo instrument act as equal partners. Opus 5 was first heard on a concert tour of 1796 that followed a route similar to a 1789 journey made by Mozart. He and the cellist Jean-Pierre Dupont, teacher to Friedrich Wilhelm II and nephew of Frederick the Great was Beethoven’s collaborator. The works so impressed the king that he rewarded the young composer with a golden snuffbox filled with Louis d’or. Mozart’s incredibly popular German opera Die Zauberflöte had been staged in Vienna in 1791 and provided the thematic material for Beethoven’s set of variations on the duet "Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen" (When men fall in love) from 1801.

Kliegel and Tichmann are a duo with which to be reckoned in these splendid sparkling performances. Ms. Kliegel’s warm rich tone and clear articulation in faster passages is coupled with a fine sense of cantabile and line. She also has a good feeling for structure and pacing, and is able to keep the long opening movements of the two Opus 5 sonatas interesting and focused. Nina Tichman is no mere accompanist, but a partner with an excellent ear for counterpoint. Flawless passagework is further enhanced by her touch at the keyboard, which is at the same time lush and articulate.

Naxos have produced a fine sounding disc here. The sound is ambient and warm and the balance between instruments is just right. Keith Anderson’s notes are their customary shade of excellent, striking just the right balance between historical background and analysis of the music itself. This is a disc not to be missed.

Kevin Sutton

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