Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"; Piano Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata.". (sound recording review): An article from: Sensible Sound

no imageauthor: John Puccio
asin: B0008EZACG
binding: Digital
list price: $5.95 USD
amazon price: $5.95 USD


This digital document is an article from Sensible Sound, published by Sensible Sound on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 401 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"; Piano Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata.". (sound recording review)Author: John PuccioPublication: Sensible Sound (Magazine/Journal)Date: January 1, 2002Publisher: Sensible Sound Page: 88(1)Article Type: Sound Recording ReviewDistributed by Thomson Gale

Beethoven: 5 Piano Concertos / Choral Fantasy

cover of Beethoven: 5 Piano Concertos / Choral Fantasyasin: B0000041UT
binding: Audio CD
list price: $33.98 USD
amazon price: $33.98


Alfred Brendel Plays Beethoven, Vol. 4

cover of Alfred Brendel Plays Beethoven, Vol. 4asin: B000001K38
binding: Audio CD
list price: $10.98 USD
amazon price: $10.98 USD


Beethoven Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 for Piano: Instantly download and print sheet music

cover of Beethoven Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 for Piano: Instantly download and print sheet musicauthor: Beethoven
asin: B000LRYQ5C
binding: Digital
list price: $3.75 USD
amazon price: $3.75 USD


Downloadable sheet music file

Sviatoslav Richter 2

cover of Sviatoslav Richter 2asin: B00000I0LK
binding: Audio CD
list price: $23.98 USD
amazon price: $23.98


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

cover of Brahms: Concerto No.2/Beethoven: Sonata No.23asin: 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

Martha Argerich: Live from the Concertgebouw, 1978 & 1992

cover of Martha Argerich: Live from the Concertgebouw, 1978 & 1992asin: B00004LCAQ
binding: Audio CD
list price: $16.98 USD
amazon price: $14.58 USD


The relationship between pianist Martha Argerich and the recording studio has always been an on/off affair. Consequently, many of her discs derive from live concert tapings. EMI is doing a great service to the pianist's legion of fans by issuing excellent-sounding live broadcast recordings, like the two concertos contained on this disc. Mozart's C Major Concerto K. 503 is new to Argerich's discography. Her skittish fluidity in the passagework of the outer movements downplays the music's operatic overtones, stressing instead the music's big-boned virtuosic parameters. Occasional patchy tone and unsettled entrances are a small price to pay for Szymon Goldberg's sensitive, well-balanced support at the helm of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Why are the cadenzas unaccredited (Mozart left none for this work)? Argerich made a studio recording of Beethoven's joyfully brash First Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Giuseppe Sinopoli for DG in the late 1980s. This 1992 live version, however, finds the mercurial virtuoso in more spontaneous, rabble-rousing fettle. At the same time, she conveys more breadth and breathing room in the slow movement. Heinz Wallberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra turn in an alert, yet firmly rooted orchestral framework that supports the soloist without indulging her headstrong tendencies. One might expect a pianist of Argerich's capabilities to let rip in Beethoven's longer, wilder, first-movement cadenza, but she opts instead for the more frequently played shorter one. --Jed Distler

The Artistry of Philippe Herreweghe

cover of The Artistry of Philippe Herrewegheasin: B00000J7DB
binding: Audio CD
list price: $6.98 USD
amazon price: $6.98


Beethoven: Kreutzer, Spring Sonatas / Perlman, Ashkenazy

cover of Beethoven: Kreutzer, Spring Sonatas / Perlman, Ashkenazyasin: B00001IVOQ
binding: Audio CD
list price: $11.98 USD
amazon price: $11.98


Hands down, this is the recording to own of two of Beethoven's chamber music masterpieces, the Kreutzer and Spring Sonatas. It captures one of classical music's greatest duos--Vladimir Ashkenazy and Itzhak Perlman--at the height of their powers, and the results are glorious, made only better by a great digital remastering. The 1973 recording of the Kreutzer is filled with impassioned playing (particularly in the case of Perlman) and spot-on tonality. The first movement is unbelievably riveting in the duo's capable hands. Spring is slightly more restrained, but just as beautiful. Simply gorgeous. --Jason Verlinde