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

asin: B00049QOGG binding: Audio CD list price: $8.99 USD amazon price: $8.98 USD

First the good news, though it's hardly new: Murray Perahia is a marvelous pianist. His performance of the Beethoven Sonata must be one of the best on record. Everything about it is "right": the sound is beautiful, with an extraordinary variety of touch, color and nuance; the rhythm is flexible but steady, the phrasing perfect; tempo and mood changes are subtle and poised, transitions balanced.

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.

asin: B0000648YA binding: DVD list price: $24.99 USD amazon price: $24.99

This concert, with Sir Georg Solti as guest conductor of The London Symphony Orchestra, marked the climax of the fifth anniversary celebrations at London's Barbican Centre. Murray Perahia, recognized as one of the most sought-after pianists, having come to international prominence as the first American to win the Leeds International Pianoforte competition, plays Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in C" in his typically probing, elegantly poised style.