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Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
12 variations on ‘See the conqu’ring hero comes’ in G, WoO45 [12:17]
Cello Sonata No.1 in F, Op.5/1 (1796) [23:45]
Cello Sonata No.2 in g minor, Op.5/2 (1796) [28:05]
12 Variations on ‚Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen‘ in F, Op.66 [9:40]
Cello Sonata No.3 in A, Op.69 (1808) [25:46]
7 Variations on ‚Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen‘ in E-flat, WoO46 [9:17]
Cello Sonata No.4 in C, Op.102/1 (1815) [15:09]
Cello Sonata No.5 in D, Op.102/2 (1815) [20:24]
Nicolas Altstaedt (violoncello Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1711-1786), Piacenza 1749)
Alexander Lonquich (fortepiano by Conrad Graf, Vienna c.1826/27)
rec. July 2019 Teldex Studio, Berlin. DDD.
Reviewed as lossless press preview.
ALPHA 577 [74:03 + 70:58]

Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas span almost the whole of his career and Alpha have helpfully laid them out for us here in chronological order. It’s the second set to be released recently from the Outhere group: earlier this year we had one on modern instruments from Ori and Omri Epstein on Linn (CKD627 – review). David Dunsmore thought those performances competent and enjoyable and, like him, though I enjoyed hearing the performances, would be tempted to look elsewhere for my Desert Island – Spring 2020/1B.

The new Alpha is more distinctive in that the music is played on instruments of the time, so there’s less direct competition. Even so, the alternative from Steven Isserlis (cello) and Robert Levin (fortepiano) is first-rate, with more awards than you could shake the proverbial stick at (Hyperion CDA67981/2). Albert Lam was so impressed that I’m surprised that I didn’t add a ‘Download of the Month’ accolade when I edited his review in DL News 2014/3. Having, inexplicably, missed it at the time, I downloaded the Isserlis – Levin from hyperion-records.co.uk in 24-bit sound. At £25.50, that’s slightly more expensive than the CDs (£20 from the same link), with 16-bit offered at £16.99.

Mark Zimmer found much to enjoy in the Alpha performances, but thought the Graf fortepiano sometimes too prominent in the balance – review. As if to prove that such matters are often subjective, another review suggests that the Graf provides an ideal balance with the cello which a modern piano wouldn’t, while yet another noted the ‘slightly unstable partnership of equals’, but thought that exactly suited Beethoven’s intentions. De gustibus … but I couldn’t resist the challenge to listen for myself, which gave me an excellent excuse to return to the Hyperion set for comparison.

There’s general agreement that the performances on both recordings are good or very good, so I decided to test drive one sonata from each of the three periods of Beethoven’s career from both recordings. The only variable which I couldn’t control in the process was that my press copy of the Alpha came in 16-bit CD-quality sound, while the Hyperion was a high-def 24-bit download.

Sonata No.1 comes from very early in Beethoven’s career. Even thus early, he was breaking out of the Haydn – Mozart mould; it was the third of the piano trios, Op.1, that caused the rift with his mentor Haydn. Both Op.5 sonatas are in two movements, with an adagio sostenuto preface. Both recordings track the two parts of the first movements separately.

There’s little disagreement in the case of No.1, but there is less accord in the case of No.2, with Isserlis and Levin taking the opening section slightly faster than Altstaedt and Lonquitch. Beethoven asks for this section to be adagio sostenuto ed espressivo, and, indeed, it’s much longer and more intense than the same section of No.1. But does it need to be quite as extended as it is on Alpha? The Brendels, father and son, would certainly agree; on their highly-regarded recording of the complete sonatas, they take almost exactly the same time as Altstaedt and Lonquitch (Philips 4753792, 2 CDs for the price of one).

András Schiff and Miklós Perényi, on the other hand, on another fine set on modern instruments, see the opening section in much the same, rather speedier, light as Isserlis and Levin (ECM New Series 4724012). Both approaches sound convincing when heard separately, but in direct comparison I’m inclined to prefer the Hyperion – the performance meets all three requirements of the tempi indication, yet it sounds just a little lighter, a tad more lyrical.

In the rondo allegro finale, it’s Isserlis and Levin who take the slightly longer route. This time, it’s the Brendels who are in broad agreement with them, with Schiff and Perény concurring with Altstaedt and Lonquitch in choosing a faster timing. And, this time, it’s the rather more upbeat Alpha recording that catches my fancy slightly more.

The Op.69 Sonata comes from the same period as the Razumovsky quartets, that middle period when the germ of the late-period quartets and piano sonatas was beginning to be apparent. It’s obvious from both performances that this is music on a higher level and Isserlis and Levin give all the movements their due weight. It’s just a few seconds difference in each movement, but it does make their Hyperion performance sound slightly more as if the composer has something important to say. Once again, however, it’s only detailed comparison that brings out the difference, and there’s still all to play for as we move onto the last two sonatas.

In Beethoven’s late works it’s usually the slow movement that makes the greatest effect and the composer often gives the most detailed indications of how it should be played. In Op.102/2, it’s labelled Adagio con molto sentimento d’affetto and, while both pairs of performers are largely in agreement about the outer movements of this work, the Hyperion team take the slow movement considerably faster than the Alpha performers. The divergence of opinion is again reflected in other top performances of these sonatas; in fact, the Brendels are slower than Altstaedt and Lonquitch, while Schiff and Perényi take the movement considerably faster than any recording that I know.

I had to listen to their recording on ECM to make sure that I hadn’t mis-read the timing of 6:34; I hadn’t, yet miraculously the performers caress the music and manage not to seem to hurry it unduly. Heard straight afterwards, Altstaedt and Lonquitch sound almost dozy, but that’s the danger of making these snap comparisons, and the reason why I’m often cautious about the Building a Library method. Heard with both the extremes in mind, the differences between the Hyperion and Alpha recordings of this movement sound much less than the numbers suggest.

The Hyperion recording has one final trick up its sleeve in the form of the composer’s own arrangement of the 14-minute Horn Sonata in F, Op.17, which extends the playing time of the set to 2:38:55. It’s hardly a great work, but, being by Beethoven, it could hardly be a Schusterfleck, and it makes an appropriate sign-off to an enjoyable and recommendable recording. It’s Beethoven with a smile, to match the free-wheeling account of the Handel Variations which opens the Alpha recording.

I mentioned that it was a little unfair to compare the Alpha in 16-bit sound with the Hyperion in 24-bit but, truth to tell, though the Hyperion sounds a little brighter, there’s little to criticise in the Alpha recording. I didn’t notice the imbalance that my colleague mentions. Overall, both sound very good.

Which version to choose? If I incline towards the Hyperion, that’s partly because the style of cello playing seems a little closer to what Beethoven would have heard, while there’s little to distinguish between the two fortepianos – neither is likely to put off any but the most obdurate haters of the instrument, though both sound dry until the ear (quickly) adjusts. Then there’s the bonus of the transcription of the Horn Sonata – one of the less odd oddities that Beethoven 250 has been throwing up. Otherwise, both recordings meet the need for a good period-instrument performance and do so very well.

Brian Wilson

Previous review: Mark S Zimmer



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