Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Sonatas for Cello and Piano
Sonata in C major, Op. 102, No.1
Sonata in D major, Op. 102, No.2
Sonata in A major, Op. 69

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in the Rhineland city of Bonn in 1770, the son of Johann van Beethoven, a singer in the musical establishment of the Archbishop of Cologne, and, more significantly, grandson of his namesake, former Kapellmeister to the same prince. Trained as a musician, he followed his father and grandfather in the archiepiscopal service, and in 1787 was despatched to Vienna for lessons with Mozart. This first journey south came to nothing. Recalled to Bonn by news of his mother's illness, Beethoven remained there after her death, responsible for his younger brothers, as his father's dissolute way of life rendered him increasingly incapable.

In 1792 Beethoven was allowed to travel once again to Vienna, this time for lessons with Haydn. In the imperial ca