Paul Watkins - Beethoven: The Sonatas for Piano and Cello

This two-album Signum Classics release presents Ludwig van Beethoven's five cello sonatas, performed by cellist Paul Watkins and pianist Alessio Bax. The works were composed over a wide period and illustrate Beethoven's early, middle and late styles, from the Op. 5 sonatas written during his 1796 Berlin visit, through the A major Sonata Op. 69 from the period of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, to the Op. 102 sonatas marking the beginning of his final creative phase. Recorded in December 2024 at Cedars Hall, Wells, the set reflects close collaboration between cello and piano and Beethoven's evolving formal and expressive concerns.