The five cello sonatas span Beethoven’s three creative periods, with the audacious op.5 sonatas dating from the early years on his time in Vienna as a piano virtuoso and aspiring composer (1792-9), the great op.69 sonata is from the period that saw the composition of symphonies 4-8, the violin concerto, Mass in C and the String Quartets op59. The two op102 sonatas are from the cusp of the ‘late’ period, this is the time of the 9th Symphony, the Missa Solemnis, the great string quartets op127 – 135 and the last five piano sonatas.

The cello and piano are truly equal partners in all these works, and Beethoven exploited the full range of the cello placing great demands on the player. The op.17 sonatas from the 1790s was composed for horn and piano. The transcription is believed to be by the composer, or at least approved by him.