Cello Sonatas 2 & 3

Ludwig van Beethoven created in five decades five sonatas for piano and cello. The sonatas reflect the transformations of the composer's constantly developing style. The Second Sonata in G minor, Op. 5 No. 2 and the 3rd Sonata in A major, Op. 69 are contrasting. The first is a youthful work, full of virtuosic fantasy and vigor, the second is the work of a mature composer, the author of significant symphonic works. The first of these was written in 1796 for the Prussian King Frederick William II, and it's individual parts maintained once in the mood of court dignity, and once militarily correspond to the personality of the recipient of dedication. Inspired by the Napoleonic army occupation of Vienna, the Sonata in A major has a much more elegiac and reflective character.