Soloist: Rimmer, Nicholas

Soloist: Schwabe, Gabriel

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Composer: Beethoven, Ludwig van

Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1

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Date of Concert: 2023

Playing Time: 00:15:41

Catalogue Number: NVF1432

UPC: 730099643016

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The shadow of the Op. 5 sonatas continues to be cast over the Sonata Op. 102, No. 1, begun in late July 1815. Another two-movement work and the briefest of all five sonatas, Beethoven once again dispenses with a slow movement, but introduces each of the two movements marked Allegro vivace - the first in sonata form, the second a rondo ?EUR" with a section in a moderate tempo. Out of the calm C major introduction comes the stormy (but admittedly catchy) A minor first theme in the cello and piano together, while the second theme offers brief moments of repose. The slow introduction to the finale reveals Beethoven experimenting further with form: between the Adagio and the beginning of the Allegro vivace he inserts a seven-bar reminiscence of the Andante that opened the sonata (now in 6/8). This fusion of sonata form with elements of free fantasia style are the hallmarks of the work, and indeed Beethoven even called it Freye Sonate ('free sonata') in the autograph.