Duo Leonore – The 5 Sonatas for Piano and Cello – Beethoven

Description

It is very difficult to find another composer whose uncompromising approach to his work created such an overwhelming impression on both his contemporaries and following generations. Ludwig van Beethoven leaves no-one untouched and is perhaps even more relevant in our modern, ephemeral society, in which there is seldom time to reflect. It therefore seems important and natural to us to present our version of these fantastic works.
Beethoven’s five cello sonatas are the quintessence of his personality and work: they exemplify creative development in an unparalleled manner.

We begin with the F major Sonata, marked by almost supernatural virtuosity in the typical spirit of Viennese Classicism. Our programme proceeds with the profound and powerful G minor Sonata, the A major Sonata with its much more lyrical subject matter, the C major Sonata with its concentrated musical material and vision of the future, and finally confronts the vast dimensions of the D major Sonata, with its magical slow movement and the final movement in the form of a wild fugue whose uncompromising ending might be the answer to the proposal in the F major Sonata.

We, Maja Weber, cello, and Per Lundberg, piano, have been playing chamber music together for more than twenty years, mostly in piano quartets and quintets. The idea of forming a duo was a natural consequence of our work together, and it was together that we chose the name “Duo Leonore”. We have always shared a strong need for artistic expression – and that, like many other things in our society, is something that has hardly changed since Beethoven’s time. We find our mutual musical passion reflected most especially in his music. That is perhaps because of Beethoven’s uncompromising belief in the power of music. Leonore, the heroine of his opera Fidelio, symbolizes Beethoven’s aesthetics for us: her humanism, personal readiness to make sacrifices and courage ultimately lead to triumph.