The sonatas for piano and cello (cd)

Gramophone Magazine, Recording of the Month, June 2026

Paul Watkins (cello), Alessio Bax (piano)

Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5 No. 1
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5 No. 2
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102 No. 2

This double-album release from Signum Classics presents Ludwig van Beethoven’s five cello sonatas, charting the composer's creative evolution. Spanning across his early, middle, and late periods, the collection journeys from the Op. 5 sonatas written during his 1796 Berlin visit, through the lyrical A Major Sonata Op. 69 (composed alongside the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies), to the dense Op. 102 sonatas that mark the threshold of his visionary final creative phase.

Recorded in December 2024 at Cedars Hall, Wells, the set captures a highly intuitive dialogue between cello and piano. The duo balances fiery dramatic intensity with absolute transparency, reflecting Beethoven’s evolving formal structures and expressive architecture.

"Watkins and Bax have embraced Beethoven's fire and storms, but also found beauty and balance that others miss. Certainly it feels as though a new Beethoven cello sonatas benchmark has landed." — Gramophone Magazine, June 2026