Lots of violin and viola passages are almost entirely above the staff. I don't have that Beethoven Sonata in front of me, but so long as it does not go above an A4 (i.e., three ledger lines in bass clef), my own instinct would be to leave it in bass clef.
This is one of the differences between cello and violin parts. The passage isn't specially high: the highest notes are Bs, which would have four ledger lines in bass clef. For a violinist, seeing this number of ledger lines above the staff for an extended period is completely normal. For a cellist it would be unusual. This passage just fits nicely into the upper half of the tenor clef, with just a ledger line or two from time to time.
Do three ledger lines above bass clef really throw off many cellists? (Not a rhetorical question -- I'm quite curious. FWIW, the cellists I've worked with have all been fine with it.)
No, three or even four ledger lines above bass clef don't throw cellists. What I said was that cellists rarely see more than three ledger lines above the staff. It really is a question of habit: once you've learnt the tenor clef, you prefer seeing a passage written in tenor clef with few ledger lines to seeing the same passage written in bass clef with many. It just feels more comfortable. As to the 8vb treble clef: yes cellists do have to learn it, but it's a bore. It's only a step away from tenor clef and tenor clef fits the cello better: you get the open D and A strings on staff lines, just as in the bass clef.
Michael Cook
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