Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69

The finest of Beethoven's five cello sonatas and a landmark in the chamber music repertoire. Composed in 1808 during the same fertile period as the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the sonata opens with the cello singing an expansive melody unaccompanied. The three movements display a perfect balance between the two instruments, with Beethoven treating them as true equals.