Beethoven Cello Sonatas Volume One

Philadelphia Inquirer
11/26/06
New Recordings

Beethoven
Cello Sonatas (Op. 5, No. 1-2, and Op. 69)
Zuill Bailey, cello
Simone Dinnerstein, piano

(Delos ****)

There's the sign of a promising Beethoven cello sonata cycle when the early works don't make you want to skip to the later ones. So it is in this first in a two-volume set of Beethoven cello/piano works - partly because Zuill Bailey and Simone Dinnerstein are able to access the music's youthful energy, partly because the performers have true charisma in their surface sound and a hyper-alert way with a phrase.

And once you do get to the great Op. 69 cello sonata, Bailey and Dinnerstein show themselves to be one of the most fascinating chamber-music duos anywhere, in performances that are practically bursting with heart and soul. They take chances at every turn, with results that consistently take you deeper into the music. Those who have heard Dinnerstein's local concerts, sponsored by Astral Artistic Services, could mistake her for having a miniaturist's temperament. Not here. Sound and gestures are big; the vision is even bigger.

— David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer