Beethoven Piano Your resource for the piano music of Ludwig van Beethoven

asin: B0000028NZ binding: Audio CD list price: $8.99 USD amazon price: $9.95 USD

Why this 1968 recording of Sonata No. 24 (Op. 78 in F Sharp) lay dormant until now is a mystery. Gould obviously relishes this little jewel, and plays up the two movement's contrasting qualities with exquisite poise and superb characterization. An unreleased CBC broadcast of the mighty Hammerklavier sonata, on the other hand, is scaled down to drawing-room size. Gould brings out the knotty counterpoint with microscopic clarity, yet ducks from Beethoven's surging dynamism in the outer movements. The Andante Sostenuto is reticent and stark under Gould's introspective hands, touching upon but not yielding to the music's tragic overtones. Not the first choice Hammerklavier for your collection, but Gouldians should hear it. --Jed Distler

asin: B00004VXOM binding: Audio CD list price: $25.98 USD amazon price: $25.98 USD

From the mysterious, hushed opening notes of the Appassionata sonata to the conclusion of the grand fugue of Beethoven's penultimate A flat Sonata, 79 minutes later, this CD encompasses playing of matchless purity and stylistic insights. Solomon's legendary status is summed up in this final CD of Testament's five-disc series of Solomon's unfinished Beethoven sonata cycle. In addition to the authoritative command he exhibits throughout, one is struck by the way Solomon captures a multitude of tonal and emotional shadings in each of the works. There's repose in his graceful rendition of lyric passages and emotional struggle (though never technical struggle) in the heaven-storming ones. Slow movements, even the famous central movement of the Appassionata, are never static. They always flow gently, leaving an effect of profundity that more distended approaches miss. Another trait of Solomon's playing is his precise articulation in even the fastest sections, where others often lose detail in a wild blur of notes. This disc, like its four companions in this series, is essential. --Dan Davis

asin: B000HRMAN6 binding: DVD list price: $29.95 USD amazon price: $26.99 USD

VAI 4388 Mozart: Sonata No. 7 in A minor, K.310, Beethoven: Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111. Bonus: Arrau interview. Telecast of March 5, 1964, 60 min., B&W, All regions.

asin: B000PDKUES binding: Audio CD

1-3.sonata no.1 in c op.53.4.andante favori op.57/5-77.sonata no.30 in e op.109

asin: B00004W9CI binding: Audio CD list price: $25.98 USD amazon price: $25.98 USD

Solomon's brilliant interpretations of four of Beethoven's most popular piano sonatas make for an irresistible disc. His graceful, aristocratic style brings each piece to life. Lest you associate "grace" and "aristocratic" with brittle, small-scale playing, be advised that Solomon's energetic playing and his unerring choice of tempo and dynamic relationships fully convey the power and beauty of these great works. Listen to the way he sustains the deep emotions of the opening of the "Moonlight" without wallowing in it, or the way the unadorned simplicity of his phrasing of the Largo movement of the Sonata No. 7 strikes at the heart. Fast movements bristle with agitated energy, but always within a classical framework--Solomon does not turn Beethoven into a late-19th century composer. Within that frame, he gives us the whole man, full of passion and feeling. Few pianists have managed this feat, even fewer as well as Solomon does here. --Dan Davis