Daniel Müller-Schott, Angela Hewitt - Beethoven: Cello Sonatas, Vol. 2 (2009)

On this inevitable follow-up to their first disc of Beethoven's works for cello and piano, German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott and Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt deliver performances that nearly equal those on their earlier release. Certainly, the playing is equally impressive; Müller-Schott possesses an impeccable technique, plus a sweet but strong tone, and he deploys them in readings that are light and joyous in the sets of variations, and deep and probing in the sonatas. Hewitt likewise has an unimpeachable technique and a tone that effortlessly moves from sonorous to crystalline, and she uses them to support as well as challenge Müller-Schott. Together, they form a nearly ideal partnership in these pieces. But only nearly ideal; while no one could fault their cheerful readings of the variations, too often in the sonatas Müller-Schott and Hewitt seem to be having more fun than the works allow, especially in the Adagio con molto sentimento d'affetto from the D major Sonata, Op. 102/2. Still, these are delightful accounts of these popular works, recorded in richly detailed sound, so this disc should interest anyone who has followed Müller-Schott and Hewitt's careers.