Jean-Louis Duport was considered to be the premier cellist of his time
In 1796, a then-26-year old Ludwig van Beethoven concluded a tour throughout Europe with a one-month residency at the Prussian court of King Friedrich Wilhelm II in Berlin. Wilhelm was an avid music lover and himself an amateur cellist, having studied with the court’s own Jean-Louis Duport, considered to be the greatest cellist of his time. Looking to make a splash against this backdrop, Beethoven composed the two cello sonatas of Op. 5 that would redefine the canon for the instrument.
While the first sonata of op. 5 brings to mind Mozart, the second is clearly indebted to the simple yet stark drama of Handel. The latter’s masterwork Judas Maccabaeus was in production in Berlin at the time of Beethoven’s visit, and King Friedrich Wilhelm was known to be an admirer of the work, so it’s no wonder the young composer sought to incorporate those influences. Earlier cello sonatas were generally structured in the Baroque style of cello and basso continuo accompaniment (usually a harpsichord), while those of the early classical period flipped those roles, having the cellist play a simpler part, often duplicating the left hand of the keyboard.
But Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5 No. 2 leaves the Baroque behind, opening fresh new sonic territory right from the start of its opening Adagio sostenuto ed espressivo movement. It begins with a jarring opening full of dramatic pauses, and then unfolds through an exciting and danceable sonata-allegro form and tempestuous interludes in which themes are introduced, passed off between the two instruments, and reimagined throughout. It was premiered at the royal palace that same year, with Beethoven himself playing piano with Duport, and accounts recall that Wilhelm “rewarded a delighted Beethoven with a golden snuffbox filled with one hundred Louis d’or.”
Sadly, no golden snuffboxes, but plenty of warm applause was the reward for Heifetz 2021 student Kyle Victor and faculty pianist Jessica X. Osborne when they joined together to play the opening movement. Their performance is captured in concert at a Heifetz Sunday Matinee at First Presbyterian Church in Staunton, VA, home of the Heifetz International Music Institute and its Festival of Concerts.