Review: Beethoven sonatas for cello and piano

Abstract

Luis Magalhães (piano) and Peter Martens (cello) Beethoven: Sonatas for Cello and Piano. 2010. Two Pianists Records. ISBN 6-009801-039053.

In 2010, two South African musicians, Peter Martens and Luis Magalhães, released a recording of the sonatas for cello and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven under the ‘Two Pianists’ label, of which Magalhães is the co-founder and -owner.
Martens and Magalhães, both from the University of Stellenbosch, state in the CD liner notes that they have aimed to incorporate “Carl Czerny’s insights on performing Beethoven’s music” (quoted from the CD liner notes). This “groundbreaking” approach (Ibid.) is not located exclusively in the engagement with Czerny (specifically Czerny’s writings on tempo choices for these works), but also in the general approach to the marketing and presentation of the product, which is set up as a creative project informed by scholarly research.
It is the purpose of this review article to examine some of the scholarly claims made in the liner notes (composed jointly by the performers and Dr Stewart Young), as well as the artistic content of the performances. Several claims made in the liner notes concerning period performance practice, the use of metronome tempi and other related issues are perceived to be problematic; this article addresses these issues.