Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Sonate pour violoncelle et piano n° 2 en sol mineur, op. 5 n° 2
Sonate pour violoncelle et piano n° 3 en la majeur, op. 69

Stanislaw Firlej, violoncelle
Wojciech Kubica, piano

Within two decades, Ludwig van Beethoven created five sonatas for piano and cello. The sonatas reflect transformations of the still developing style of the composer. The Sonata in G minor No. 2, Op. 5 and the Sonata in A major, Op. 69, presented on the CD, are arranged on the basis of contrast. The first is a youthful work, full of virtuoso fantasy and vigour, whereas the second is a piece of a mature composer, author of significant symphonic works. The first was written in 1796 for the Prussian King Frederick William II, while its individual movements, maintained once in an atmosphere of court majesty, once in the one of a military drill, correspond to the personality of the dedicatee. The character of the Sonata in A major, created in Vienna at the times of the Napoleonic army’s occupation, is much more elegiac and reflective.