Gabriel Schwabe: Beethoven

The Strad Issue: December 2024

Description: Newcomers to a crowded field enjoy partial success

Musicians: Gabriel Schwabe (cello) Nicholas Rimmer (piano)

Works: Beethoven: Complete Works for Cello and Piano Volume 1: Sonatas nos.1 and 2; 12 Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’; Seven Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’

Catalogue number: NAXOS 8574529

The early cello sonatas of Beethoven already demonstrate an extraordinary range of expressive content together with an astonishing amount of detail in the piano and cello parts in terms of articulation and dynamics. Indeed, each note demands careful observation without losing the sense of overall melodic phrases. The finest readings of these works fully realise this, and convey a wide spectrum of emotions within these parameters. In the Sonata no.1 and ‘Ein Mädchen’ Variations, Gabriel Schwabe and Nicholas Rimmer seem somewhat constrained, operating within a rather narrow band of colours. This is especially noticeable in the piano part, which plays such a commanding role in the musical proceedings. That said, their ensemble is impressively honed, and Schwabe, performing on his 1695 Guarneri, offers an eloquent singing line.

In contrast, the ‘Bei Männern’ Variations and Second Sonata offer far greater interest and impact. The players seem particularly inspired by the Sturm und Drang elements of the sonata, affording more extreme dynamics and phrasing that make the music come alive. There is a greater sense of musical dialogue between the two of them, creating a performance with greater personality.

Overall, Schwabe and Rimmer provide a middle-of-the-road view of the music, neither too mannered nor hidebound by period-performance conventions. But these are undoubtedly accomplished renditions, and in the G minor Sonata, we get an interpretation that is positively absorbing.

JOANNE TALBOT