Feuermann's early death in 1942 at the age of 39 was undoubtedly a severe blow to the world of music. He had achieved a reputation as one of the greatest cellists of his day, and as these recordings show he possessed a wonderful technique and a strong, bold quality of tone. Given a highly romantic, passionate work such as Bloch's Schelomo he was in his element, but his recorded performances of more classical repertoire sometimes have a rather heartless quality. In the Beethoven Sonata he plays superbly but sounds uninvolved emotionally, and the result is a somewhat chilly performance. Even the usually warm-hearted Myra Hess does not quite seem herself, and one yearns for more imaginative phrasing from both players. The Variations also receive no more than a plain, efficient performance.
Though it is a lesser work, the Serenade makes a greater impression in performance. Here Feuermann takes more of a back seat, and Goldberg steps into the limelight. He plays with great flair, imagination and humanity, and these qualities show clearly what is lacking in the other two Beethoven performances. Hindemith was by no means a great viola player and as recorded his tone sometimes sounds a little threadbare, but in this work he has one or two opportunities to shine and seizes them to good effect.
The Schubert Sonata was recorded three years later than the other works here, and it is possible that as he moved into his thirties Feuermann began to mellow a little. In any event, he plays with more grace and nobility of phrase in this work, and is given admirable support by Gerald Moore.
In the Beethoven Serenade the sound is perhaps a shade too bright, but otherwise the transfers are first-rate.'