Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4: Sonatas Opp. 26, 27 & 28

cover of Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4: Sonatas Opp. 26, 27 & 28asin: B000PC6G6A
binding: Audio CD
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Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata (Concert Performer)

cover of Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata (Concert Performer)author: Beethoven
asin: 0825617340
binding: Paperback
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A complete Urtext edition of Beethoven's most famous piano sonata. Includes fingering by one of the most highly esteemed pianists in Italy, Carlo Vidusso. With an Italian preface translated into English, French, German, and Spanish.

Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Op. 56; Violin Concerto (frag.), WoO 5; Piano Concerto, WoO 4

cover of Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Op. 56; Violin Concerto (frag.), WoO 5; Piano Concerto, WoO 4asin: B000005ICN
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Piano Concerto No. 5 Grosse Fuge Stephen Kovacevich

cover of Piano Concerto No. 5 Grosse Fuge Stephen Kovacevichasin: B0000BWTKQ
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Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor"

cover of Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 asin: B000051YD6
binding: Audio CD
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Schnabel plays Beethoven: The 'Named Sonatas"

cover of Schnabel plays Beethoven: The 'Named Sonatasasin: B00004U35D
binding: Audio CD
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When compact discs first came out, the first thing many longtime collectors wanted to know was, When does Schnabel's Beethoven become available? That the pianist's pioneering recordings of Beethoven's 32 Sonatas for Piano have been in print almost continuously since 1935 testifies to the esteem in which they continue to be held. Schnabel's performances are best heard in Pearl's five full-priced sets (about $180), rather than in EMI's less expensive box set (just under $80). Listeners who cannot afford such an investment owe it to themselves to investigate this two-disc sampler from Pearl, featuring Sonatas Nos. 8 ("Pathétique"), 14 ("Moonlight"), 15 ("Pastoral"), 21 ("Waldstein"), 23 ("Appassionata"), 26 ("Les Adieux"), and 29 ("Hammerklavier"). Schnabel was a founding father of musical modernism, which demanded that music be performed exactly as written, with the performer serving as no more than a transparent medium. Fortunately, Schnabel's ideology was not consistent with his practice. His softening of melodic contours, his free changing of tempos, his imaginative use of tone colors, his mailed-fist-in-a-velvet-glove power, and the unearthly beauty of his singing legato in pianissimo passages were those of a full-blown Romantic pianist. Certainly, no one ever served Beethoven's music better. Whether in the chain-reaction explosions of the "Appassionata," the sustained reveries of the opening movement of the "Moonlight," or the contrapuntal complexities of the finale of the "Hammerklavier," Schnabel never failed to demonstrate a genius for keeping the listener's ears in a state of perpetual expectation. --Stephen Wigler

Beethoven: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 5 [Hybrid SACD]

cover of Beethoven: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 5 [Hybrid SACD]asin: B000RGSVI0
binding: Audio CD
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Bach-Busoni: Chaconne; Beethoven: Rondos; Schumann: Kreisleriana

cover of Bach-Busoni: Chaconne; Beethoven: Rondos; Schumann: Kreislerianaasin: B00000GV4A
binding: Audio CD
list price: $7.99 USD
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As a preteen, Kissin had a technique most pianists would envy. His solo recordings since have revealed a predilection for Schumann's music, each showing signs of greater interpretive maturity. Now, he uses a combination of great abandon and even greater control to produce a stunning performance of Kreisleriana. The piece is one of the last of Schumann's quixotically titled piano works consisting of generously scaled, poetic movements (eight, in this case) in which technical prowess is absolutely necessary in order to clarify the textures but hardly sufficient to deliver the full expressiveness of this lovely music. Busoni's virtuosic Bach transcription is played with great imagination, and Beethoven's delightful Op. 129 is as wittily performed as it is written. --Paul Turok

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol.5

cover of Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol.5asin: B00000AFJE
binding: Audio CD
list price: $13.98 USD
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