Sonate für Klavier und Violoncello (A-Dur) op. 69

The first edition of Beethoven’s third Sonata for Piano and Violin in A major, published in 1809, is dedicated to Freiherr Ignaz von Gleichenstein, himself an amateur cellist and a close friend of the composer. Gleichenstein lived at the Hohen Brücke in Vienna city centre. Around this time, advances in technology were helping pianos to produce stronger bass notes. Beethoven exploited this progress by freeing the violin from its traditional role as an accompanying instrument and giving it its own, independent part. During the second movement, the balance between the piano and the violin is as close to equal as it could possibly be. In the Scherzo, which is characterised by the by the discrepancy between the steady rhythm of the accompanying piano part and the “voice” of the violin, the two instruments are put on a genuinely equal footing.

This 1930 recording represents one of the most important made by the duo Otto Schulhof (1889–1958) and Pablo Casals (1876–1973). Schulhof was an Austrian pianist who achieved international success, and was much in demand as a piano accompanist. His Jewish descent meant he lost his position at Vienna’s Academy of Music after the Anschluss of 1938, but he was able to resume his successful career as an accompanist after the Second World War. He spent much of his career accompanying chamber music, and worked with Pablo Casals over many years. The most famous cellist of his era, Casals revolutionised the way cello was played by adopting new technical principles, and used his high profile to campaign tirelessly for peace and democracy.
(Constanze Köhn)