LDV111-2

29 GARY HOFFMAN, DAVID SELIG Let’s take a closer look at the sonatas. The First Sonata, in Fmajor, dates from1796 and was dedicated to the cellist Jean-Pierre Duport, a member of the remarkable Parisian Concert Spirituel who had settled in Berlin in 1773 at the invitation of the King of Prussia. Beethoven and Duport played together in concert. Is it possible to detect the influence of the French cello school in this piece? Gary Hoffman: Some elements of the first two sonatas may suggest the influence of Duport’s Études. It’s important to understand that Beethoven, who couldn’t play the cello and whose predecessors had little or no experience of using it as a solo instrument, was pushing into unknown territory, as it were! While it’s conceivable that there’s a French influence in the First Sonata, I also feel a certain elegance, even an Italianate charm. Finally, there is also a tribute – an intentional one? – to Mozart (who wrote no solo pieces for cello) and to the spirit of his ‘alla turca’ pieces. All this has virtually disappeared in the Second Sonata. David Selig: I agree. The Second Sonata, again in two movements, is more ‘modern’. For example, its opening seems much more serious, more dramatic in tone. In this introduction, the silences are striking, foreshadowing certain bold strokes you find in Schumann.