Cellist Paul Watkins, a veteran of the Nash Ensemble and the Emerson Quartet, has released his first recording of Beethoven's complete cello sonatas, pairing with pianist Alessio Bax. The album, out on Signum Classics, showcases Watkins's deep immersion in Beethoven's chamber music over decades.
Watkins chose Bax after hearing him play the Moonlight Sonata, and their collaboration proves instinctive. Their performances are unfailingly eloquent, never striving for effect, with a shared impulse that drives the music forward.
The five sonatas span Beethoven's career. The earliest two, from the time of his first piano concertos, break new ground by treating cello and keyboard as equal partners. Both feature slow, serious introductions leading to extended movements that highlight the pianist's virtuosity, to which Bax responds with a light, crisp touch.
The expansive third sonata, Op 69, composed alongside the Fifth Symphony, centres on a perky middle movement akin to a symphonic scherzo. Watkins and Bax weight it nicely, maintaining momentum through texture changes. The final pair harness Watkins's full expressive powers, particularly in the fifth sonata, the only one with a full-blown slow movement. It begins in reticent, hymn-like style and blooms into deeply felt emotion, with tightly controlled restraint in the closing passages before the wrangly little fugue of the finale.
Overall, this recording is beautifully done, offering a masterful interpretation of Beethoven's cello sonatas.
