Beethoven: Sonataen - Waldstein, Les Adieux, Appassionata

asin: B000001G79
binding: Audio CD
list price: $16.98 USD
amazon price: $16.98 USD

Emil Gilels unfailingly conveys a manly strength in his performances of Beethoven's music, with a feeling of power held in reserve. The technique is stunning, but what is truly extraordinary is the lively, leonine quality of the playing. Gilels's account of the Waldstein has the quintessential energy and gruffness one associates with the work, and his rendition of Les Adieux is among the most imaginative ever captured. --Ted Libbey

Pollini Plays Beethoven: Piano Concerto N. 5 & Mozart: Piano Concert N. 23

asin: B000TQAXU2
binding: Audio CD

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 "Empereur". Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 KV 488

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"

cover of Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5

asin: B0000025M5
binding: Audio CD
list price: $7.99 USD
amazon price: $7.98 USD

Brahms: Concerto No.2/Beethoven: Sonata No.23

asin: B000003EUL
binding: Audio CD
list price: $8.99 USD
amazon price: $10.99 USD

Richter was one of the those great virtuoso egomaniac genius types who was so insecure that he practiced for something like 10 hours a day, even before a scheduled performance. But it wasn't just getting the notes right that he was after. He was looking for the way to somehow get an entire work "into his hands," and trying to figure out the relationships between all of its different parts. That's why his performances--even the very slow one--have such an inevitable sounding organic unity. This performance isn't one of the very slow ones, but it does have that sense of urgency and spontaneity, as though Richter and Leinsdorf were composing as they play. It's one of the great recordings. --David Hurwitz