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Cello Sonatas

Ferdinand Ries is just one among the many talented and once-renowned composers whose legacy has been overlooked due to its being overshadowed by that of his near-contemporary Beethoven. In his case there was a strong connection between the two men: both came from Bonn, and Ries's father was one of LvB's early teachers. This link must have helped him secure a place as one of the great man's very few students, and, later, as his secretary.

After the turmoil of the Napoleonic wars had reached Vienna, Ries set off on the road in an effort to make a name for himself, at length finding fame & fortune during a long stint in London. While there's hardly anyone who would put him on the same level as his former teacher, much of his music is delightful - the Cello Sonatas on the present disc included. These stand up well in comparison with Beethoven's own works for cello & piano, and I personally prefer them.

This is one of several CDs on the CPO label featuring Ries's work. It contains two full sonatas and two shorter works. The op. 21 A major sonata is an ebullient work dating from 1810, with the op, 125 G minor sonata composed in 1823, toward the end of Ries's time in London. The latter is the highlight of disc, with its concluding Rondo a particular delight. Both the playing (by Guido Larisch on the cello and Robert Hill at the fortepiano) and the recording strike me as excellent.

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