That flute-loving/playing monarch, Frederick the Great (1712-86), inspired a considerable literature for flute by some fine composers of the post-Baroque era, and wrote a bit of it himself; several recordings take that repertoire as their focus. Bylsma's illuminating program sheds light on Frederick's nephew and successor, the cello-playing/loving Friedrich Wilhelm II (1744-97). In a sense, the final victory of cello over gamba can be attributed to Friedrich Wilhelm's personal preference as a player, to his hiring of great cellists and cellist-composers for his court, and to his encouragement for more prominent cello parts in the quartets of Mozart and Haydn. Friedrich's most important move in the evolution of the cello as a virtuoso solo instrument was his retention of the Duport brothers, virtuoso cellists, as court composers. Jean-Pierre (1741-1818) wrote a sonata for two cellos that, while conventionally Rococo/early-Classical from a musical standpoint, rises to heights of virtuosity more commonly found in isolated pockets of the early Baroque—the era of the gamba. Bylsma and Slowik are simply astounding in their rapid scales, arpeggios, string crossings, and other demonstrations of high velocity, all with ideal ensemble. The keyboard part for right hand alone is credited to Bylsma, but the notes are utterly silent as to what if anything Duport left out and what Bylsma did with it. This marvelous performance is the ideal way to begin the recital; once you've heard this you are prepared to go where Bylsma cares to lead you. The technical exercises by Jean-Louis Duport (1749-1819) are of a once-common sort: extreme technical display of one basic variety per piece for the "A" player; a simple harmonic line for "B," presumably the teacher. Bylsma flies around the fingerboard with the high metabolism rate of a small bird; ever so slight as music, true, but a rare opportunity for this cellist to really cut loose with pure flashiness.

Friedrich Wilhelm's "celebrity" court composer was Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805), who evidently never stayed at the court itself, but who kept his patron well supplied with music focusing on the cello(s). This Sonata is typically elegant; Boccherini manages to provide plenty of traded-off virtuoso opportunities for Bylsma and Slowik without ever sounding frenetic.

Beethoven visited the court to play his op. 5 Cello Sonatas with J.-L. Duport; they were dedicated to an appreciative Friedrich Wilhelm, and there is some speculation in Slowik's notes that Beethoven meant to further please the Handel-loving monarch with his Variations on the famous tune from Judas Maccabaeus. Bylsma's tone and attack taken on a greater virility for Beethoven, and Hoogland's own virtuosity makes for impressive versions of these two works. Beethoven also performed the op. 5 Sonatas with Bernhard Romberg (1767-1841), whose own relationship to Friedrich Wilhelm is indirect; he never played for the King but did perform with J.-L. Duport. It is the cello virtuosity and important cello literature that Friedrich Wilhelm encouraged that explain why Romberg belongs on this disc; his Sonata is a fascinating mix of high virtuosity for cello—way beyond what Beethoven calls for in op. 5—and a musical power and expressive scope that identify Romberg as a musician of Beethoven's time and influence. The entertainment value in the music of the Duport brothers is one thing, but Romberg is a potential source of active repertoire. The Sonata is a real find; Bylsma and Hoogland play it in early-period Beethoven style.

-- David K. Nelson, FANFARE [1/1999]