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

asin: B000002RMM binding: Audio CD list price: $16.98 USD amazon price: $16.98

Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, and Vladimir Ashkenazy combine majesty with a splendid sense of flow in the opening movement of the Archduke Trio, and treat the variations of the third movement in the manner of late Beethoven--with an emotive power that is all the more intense for being hushed and stilled. The digital recording, dating from February 1982, is fairly close-miked and dry, but quite acceptable. --Ted Libbey

asin: B00000DI34 binding: Audio CD list price: $23.98 USD amazon price: $23.98

Murray Perahia isn't about flash and, as this diverse collection of music reveals, the pianist's true brilliance is his dedication to the integrity of each composition. Scarlatti's Sonata in B Minor leads things off and reveals Perahia's recent love for baroque music (check out his excellent recording of Bach's English Suites Nos. 1, 3, & 6). Chopin's Ballade No. 1 seemingly unfolds itself in the pianist's hands. Perahia plays close attention to the composition's details but never loses sight of its free-spirited nature. Of course, nothing is quite so free-spirited here as Bartók's Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, where Perahia showcases his faultless technique on the dissonant and adventurous work. Another highlight is found on disc 2, where Perahia leads the English Chamber Orchestra in fine form through Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25. --Jason Verlinde

asin: B000N60H9K binding: Audio CD list price: $6.98 USD amazon price: $6.98 USD

"I don't think I've ever heard Bronfman play better." - Gramophone Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1958, Yefim Bronfman immigrated to Israel at the age of thirteen and later to the US, where he pursued his training at the Juilliard School and the Marlboro and Curtis Institutes under Rudolf Serkin, Rudolf Firkusny, and Leon Fleisher. Bronfman celebrated his international debut in 1975, accompanied by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. He soon acquired an excellent reputation as a pianist on the stages of the world's major concert halls. Highlights of recent years include concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, and the Vienna Philharmonic. Yefim Bronfman also gives regular piano recitals in the leading concert halls of the US, Europe, and Asia. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Emerson, Cleveland, Guarneri, and Juilliard Quartets. Other long-term musical partners include Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Shlomo Mintz, and Pinchas Zukerman. Bronfman became an American citizen in 1989. Born in 1936, American conductor David Zinman has risen to the pinnacle of his career in the last decade. His discography of over one hundred recordings has won five Grammys and two Grands Prix du Disque. Founded in 1868, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra is Switzerland's oldest symphony orchestra.

asin: B000GWHNB6 binding: Audio CD

CD 1
1-2.sonata no.1 for piano & cello op.5 no.1
3-4.sonata no.2 for piano & cello op.5 no.2
5-6.sonata no.4 for piano & cello op.102 no.1
CD 2
1-3.sonata no.3 for piano & cello op.69
4-6.sonata no.5 for piano & cello op.102 no.2
7.7 variations on"bei mannern welche liebe fuhlen"
8.12 variations on"ein madchen oder weibchen

author: Beethoven asin: B000LRYQ5C binding: Digital list price: $3.75 USD amazon price: $3.75 USD

Downloadable sheet music file