The two Sonatas op. 5 were written in 1796 expressly for the young Beethoven's performance with the cello virtuoso Jean Louis Duportat the Berlin court. That he wasn't eclipsed by the latter was ensured by the extremely scintillating piano part, with which Beethoven the pianist was able to present himself in the best light. In both sonatas, two fast movements are preceded by a slow introduction that, in the case of the Sonata in g-minor, almost grows into a movement unto itself with its six-minute length. The Urtext edition by Jens Dufner is based on his research for the Critical Report of the Beethoven Complete Edition and thus features amusical text at the highest scholarly level. In the preface and Critical Report, he outlines the genesis and source situation of thesonata. Ian Fountain and David Geringas provide the fingerings.
