audite - 2 CD

Beethoven
Early Works for Flute & Piano

Johannes Hustedt – flute
Sontraud Speidel – piano

Ludwig van Beethoven
Serenades Op. 8 & Op. 41
Sonata after String Trio Op. 9/1

CD Trailer
Bonus-Track (Video)
Hörprobe I
Hörprobe II
Hörprobe III

CD order

Beethoven
Late Works

On their 2 CD box "Early Works for Flute & Piano," Sontraud Speidel and Johannes Hustedt bring to life the joy, lightheartedness, and humor of Beethoven's early Viennese music. The works presented were immensely popular in their time and were frequently arranged to ensure their widespread performance. They convey a sense of lightness, yet every chord reveals a profound humanity.
 
Following their CD "Late Works for Flute & Piano" this release presents the early treasures. Together, these recordings offer a comprehensive overview of Beethoven's output for flute and piano.

“Sontraud Speidel – epochal piano playing”
(online review by Dr Moritz von Bredow)
 
It's important to get to know this side of Beethoven as well. Not just the deeply philosophical aspects. It's something delicate, very intimate, yet also powerful, masterfully presented but also pleasing.
(Sontraud Speidel)
 
“Anyone who plays a CD by this musician in the car is tempted to take a detour.”
(Mitteldeutsche Zeitung on Johannes Hustedt)
 
Beethoven's early Viennese period is remarkable, during which he composed his Serenades Op. 8, Op. 41, and Trio Op. 9 No. 1. Shortly after his arrival in Vienna in 1792, his father died. In 1794, French troops occupied the Rhineland, resulting in the cessation of his maintenance payments and salary from the Elector's court in Bonn. Furthermore, he felt his hearing beginning to fail. He could no longer rely on his career as a pianist and instead resolved to become an independent, exceptionally talented composer. This decisiveness is evident in his early Viennese works. Even before his first string quartet, the Trio Op. 9 No. 1 became a chamber music highlight in Beethoven's oeuvre. In its scale, it foreshadows his later symphonies. Equally masterful and popular are the serenades, in which, surprisingly given Beethoven's tragic circumstances, sweetness, gentleness, and his unmistakable humor predominate. (Johannes Hustedt)
 
JOHANNES HUSTEDT & SONTRAUD SPEIDEL
 
At the Karlsruhe University of Music, Sontraud Speidel and Johannes Hustedt met and developed a mutual appreciation for each other as colleagues. They enjoy, also international, a high reputation and worked together as jurors at various music competitions and on cultural policy committees before coming together as a duo for the Clara Schumann Year 2019. Their Beethoven interpretations to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth led them to the audite label in 2020, where they are recording a series of several CDs.

Supreme Intellectual Perception
Johannes Hustedt and Sontraud Speidel captivate from the very first note. Their interplay reveals a perfect symbiosis of their two instrumental sound worlds and demonstrates sensitivity and profound intellectual understanding of Beethoven's writing.
IOCO – Kultur im Netz, Uschi Reifenberg (April 11, 2026)

AUDIOphile Pearls, Vol. 40 Jubilee Edition
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: SERENADE IN D MAJOR, OP. 41, ENTRATA
The [Entrata] is unmistakably a parody of the martial: simultaneously small and grandiose, miniature and garish. Flautist Johannes Hustedt parries this dwarfed berserker fervor with witty irony.
AUDIO+STEREOPLAY 05/26, Martin Mezger 05/26 (May 1, 2026)

Power and Grace
Hustedt's Magic Flute can shade wondrously, radiate powerfully into the stratosphere, and sketch fiery Allegro flashes. Speidel's piano playing corresponds with power and grace: sensitive, yet unpretentious.
AUDIO+STEREOPLAY 05/26, Martin Mezger 05/26 (May 1, 2026)

Refreshingly lively
The interpretations by Johannes Hustedt, flute, and Sontraud Speidel, piano, are refreshingly lively, light, colorful, and correspondingly inspiring.
pizzicato (12.04.2026)

Early Beethoven in a New Soundscape
Hustedt and Speidel bring rarely performed arrangements for flute and piano to life. Expressive, beautifully resonant, and with a fine sense for Beethoven's spirit – a worthwhile discovery.
Johannes Hustedt's soulful, finely articulated flute playing corresponds perfectly with Sontraud Speidel's crystal-clear, exquisitely shimmering piano sound.
The flute's rhetorical phrases blossom beautifully in all registers.
Sontraud Speidel captivates with her excellent touch, finely chiseled articulation, and soulful rendering of the pianistic figures.
In the Adagio, Hustedt allows the silvery timbre of his flute to bloom brilliantly, then again to sigh melancholically; expansive cantilenas soar above the sensitively crafted piano part, transporting the listener to paradisiacal realms. Pure joy of life!
The recording quality of the CDs meets the highest standards, and the informative booklet contains insightful articles by Dr. Jürgen Schaarwächter and Johannes Hustedt.
Another absolute must-see – not just for Beethoven enthusiasts who also want to enjoy his lesser-known gems.
Uschi Reifenberg, IOCO – Kultur im Netz (April 11, 2026)

For the review at ioco.de

Awards:
HIGH RES AUDIO.com – Listening Tipp
AUDIO – AUDIO Klangtipp
AUDIO – AUDIOphile Pearls (Vol. 40 Jubilee Edition)
Pizzicato – 4/5 Noten
Spotify’s playlist “New Classical” from 27th February until 5th March (#74/82)