Classical Music | Cello Music

Recorded on 11/27/2018, uploaded on 11/27/2018

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Allegro, ma non tanto
Scherzo, in A minor
Adagio cantabile

The third sonata inhabits a different world altogether [from the previous two sonatas]. Beethoven worked on this sonata between 1806 and 1808; by then, his deafness was acute, if not quite complete. In his tragic letter known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, written in October 1802, Beethoven admitted that he had harbored thoughts of suicide. "It was only my art that held me back. Oh, it seemed to me impossible to leave the world until I had produced all that I felt was within me." Yet this sonata - in common with several other works from the same period - is one of the most positive works imaginable; from the opening phrase, it radiates serenity, humor and joy. There is not a note that is trivial, however. The A major Sonata is a thoroughly classical work, its proportions carefully measured, the themes answering each other in perfect symmetry. It is also the first equal sonata for cello and piano. Previous cello sonatas had either been cello solos with continuo accompaniment or, like Beethoven's first two, piano sonatas with cello obbligato. Here, every theme is perfectly conceived for both instruments; Beethoven had invented a new genre.       Notes by Steven Isserlis

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Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69

Beethoven’s sonatas for the cello bear the actual title “Sonata for piano with violoncello.” It was the customary nomenclature of the time for sonatas for piano and a solo instrument. Perhaps it was born out of the tradition of the Baroque continuo tradition, yet it serves to adequately stress the mutual importance placed on both instruments. It was no doubt for this reason that Johannes Brahms resurrected the tradition in naming his own sonatas for the cello.

The Third Cello Sonata in A major is the most performed of Beethoven’s five sonatas for the instrument. It was composed during the highly productive year of 1808 which also saw the composition of the Violin Concerto, the two piano trios of op. 70 and the completion of both the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies.

Like the traditional 18^th century and early 19^th century sonata, it has three movements. However, the typical slow middle movement is replaced by a scherzo. The first movement begins with the cello alone playing a lyrical subject answered later by the piano. This principal theme and its subsidiary ideas are treated contrapuntally throughout the movement. The following scherzo, in the tonic minor, makes use of a syncopated main theme and a lyrical trio that is heard twice. The last movement is preceded by an Adagio introduction in the key of E major, making up for the lack of a proper slow movement. It soon gives way to the lighthearted and energetic A major Allegro which forms the remainder of the finale.     Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.