Beethoven—Cello Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 5 (1796)
- Adagio sostenuto e espressivo – Allegro molto più tosto presto
- Rondo allegro
Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 to begin a career as a fiery pianist, quickly gaining support from the city’s aristocratic elite. Four years later, he set out on his only performance tour, traveling through Prague, Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin with Prince Lichnowsky, who funded the trip and made important introductions. During their two-month summer stay in Berlin, Beethoven socialized with King of Prussia and cello enthusiast Friedrich Wilhelm II, to whom he dedicated several new works for his favorite instrument, including the Opus 5 set of two cello sonatas.
Generally, the sonata would have featured the keyboard with the additional instrument offering harmonic support, often mimicking the left hand of the keyboard. This appears to be the case in the opening bars of the first Cello Sonata, until the cellist breaks away to present the first theme. In the novel treatment of the cellist as an independent operator, Beethoven composed perhaps the first modern cello sonata.
The cello’s capacity for lyrical range is on display in the introductory Adagio, seamlessly shifting from cheery to brooding. Beethoven performed the work with Wilhelm II’s court cellist at the palace, and one can imagine Beethoven at the keyboard performing acrobatics in the Allegro. The cellist carries less of the load here, yet provides singing, whimsical melodies with the occasional flourish, as with an electric Presto that launches into a final return of the theme. There is no shortage of viruosic excitement from both musicians in the Rondo finale that opens with the recurring theme that sways gently, and each alternating section more ebullient than the last, save for the hushed Adagio at the end, finally interrupted with fireworks.