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

asin: B000PDCGXQ binding: Audio CD

Tracks:
Robert Schumann KlavierKonzert A-Moll ~~1. Allegro Affettuoso ~~2. Intermezzo (Andantino Grazioso) ~~3. Allegro Vivace ~~~Ludwig van Beethoven Symphonie No. 8 ~~4. Allegro Vivace ~~5. Allegretto Scherzando ~~6. Tempo Di Minuetto ~~7. Allegretto Vivace

asin: B0000041UF binding: Audio CD list price: $47.98 USD amazon price: $42.99 USD

There are two really famous Beethoven violin sonatas, the Kreutzer and the Spring. The Kreutzer Sonata inspired the story by Leo Tolstoy, which in turn became the subject of Janácek's First String Quartet, so if you're into comparative studies in the arts, there's a thesis topic for you! The Spring Sonata was featured in Woody Allen's Love and Death, among other places. And perhaps most intriguingly of all, the scherzo of the late sonata, Op. 96, turns up quite clearly in the third movement of Mahler's Second Symphony. So you may already know more about this splendid music than you think. Why not take the plunge with these superb performances and get to know the sonatas at first hand? Just as there are two truly famous Mozart sonatas, there are also two sides to Itzhak Perlman's musical career--the flashy virtuoso and the considerate partner. Chamber-music recordings such as this feature Perlman in this second role, one that gets less attention than his other, more sensational, persona, but which for many listeners is even more musically rewarding. Ashkenazy, no mere accompanist, is very much involved in the proceedings, and the two musicians combine to produce one of the finest sets of Beethoven violin sonatas available as well as one of Perlman's very greatest recordings in any genre. --David Hurwitz

asin: B000001HCQ binding: Audio CD list price: $6.98 USD amazon price: $6.98

This live Appassionata, from a Moscow recital of 1960, is one of the most thrilling piano performances ever recorded. Sviatoslav Richter fills every moment of the first movement with intense drama, creates the illusion of total repose in the central variations, and then takes off in the finale with an exhibition of musical virtuosity and ever-increasing tension that becomes almost unbearably intense (and unbelievably fast and accurate). The studio Pathétique is quite fine, and the Fantasy (sung in Russian!) well performed by all but still rather quaint in its effect. But don't miss that Appassionata! --Leslie Gerber

author: Beethoven asin: B000LRYPS0 binding: Digital list price: $2.75 USD amazon price: $2.75 USD

Downloadable sheet music file