CCMusic.com

On this recording, Steven Isserlis, together with his regular collaborator, forte pianist Robert Levin, presents a magisterial compendium of Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano, including Beethoven's arrangement of his Horn Sonata. The use of the fortepiano opens up a wealth of sonic possibilities for these works. The five Cello Sonatas span Beethoven's compositional epochs and comprise the most important cycle of cello sonatas in the entire repertoire. Isserlis writes that the composer, "transforms himself from confident virtuoso to supreme master of classical form, and then beyond that to a mystic exploring strange new worlds of unearthly beauty - a wondrous transfiguration."