Voted #1 in the ABC's Classic 100 Composer in 2019, Ludwig van Beethoven is beloved across Australia and around the world for both the grandeur of his musical vision and the intimacy of his emotional journey. His music speaks straight to the heart and makes a direct connection with listeners of all ages.
Beethoven's five sonatas for cello and piano show the composer effectively creating a new medium where the cello and piano are in an equal partnership. They also span the full arc of the composer's creative life, from the young man mastering traditions in order to break them, to the hard-won serenity of the composer triumphing over the catastrophic experience of his growing deafness, to the transcendent inner beauty of the mature master.
On this album these visionary works are paired with the intense emotions of Webern's 20thcentury works for cello and piano: music of immense scope distilled into mere moments of beauty and power. Cellist Timo-Veikko (‘Tipi’) Valve is well known to Australian and international audiences as the principal cello of the Australian Chamber Orchestra but also in demand as a talented, creative and generous soloist and chamber music partner, effortlessly moving between classical and contemporary styles. He teams up here with virtuoso pianist Aura Go, whose recitals blending old and new music have won her acclaim around the world.