Daniel Müller-Schott, Angela Hewitt - Beethoven: Cello Sonatas, Vol. 1 (2008)

Beethoven's cello sonatas haven't received treatment like this since the glory days when Rostropovich met Richter in 1961 or, reaching even further back, when Casals met Serkin in 1951. Now Angela Hewitt, the Canadian pianist Hyperion has been assiduously touting as a Bach and now a Beethoven player, and Daniel Müller-Schott, a German cellist whose recordings for a wide range of labels, including Orfeo, PentaTone, and Deutsche Grammophon have won him an international audience, can join that fine company. Hewitt and Müller-Schott turn in elegant, lyrically effusive, and virtuosic performances of Beethoven's two Opus 5 sonatas and his lone Opus 69 sonata. Müller-Schott's big but nuanced tone, his subtle interpretative choices, and his impeccable intonation are well-matched by Hewitt's pearly tone, collegial manner, and consummate musicianship. With an ensemble that seems nearly telepathic, they create sentimental yet witty accounts of the two Opus 5 sonatas and a truly heroic reading of the glorious Opus 69 sonata. Captured in crisp but smooth digital sound by Hyperion, this disc deserves to be heard by anyone who enjoys the repertoire.