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

asin: 0486452859 binding: Paperback list price: $4.95 USD amazon price: $4.95 USD

Specially arranged and simplified, these Beethoven works for beginner pianists will delight students and teachers alike. They include such popular melodies as "Für Elise," "Ode to Joy," and the opening of the Moonlight Sonata, along with excerpts from other sonatas and highlights from the symphonies.

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