Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich - Beethoven: Cello Sonatas (1993)

There have been great performances of Beethoven's works for cello and piano before -- the classic Casals/Serkin, the magisterial Rostropovich/Richter, the magnificent Fournier/Kempff -- but for sheer passion and power, these recordings by cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Martha Argerich simply cannot be bettered. Maisky has a virtuoso technique coupled with a warmly singing tone; Argerich has a super-virtuoso technique coupled with fiery interpretations; together they play like lovers who know every way to excite and satisfy each other. In Maisky and Argerich's performances, the early sonatas sound like the greatest works ever written for cello and piano, the Op. 69 sonata sounds as great as the Symphony No. 5 or the "Waldstein" Sonata, the Op. 102 sonatas sound as innovative and profound as the late quartets, and even the sets of variations sound like brilliantly inspired works. This is as great a set of Beethoven's cello and piano works as has ever been recorded.