![]() | asin: B00000AFQJ binding: Audio CD list price: $11.98 USD amazon price: $11.98 |
This troika of piano sonatas shows off some of Beethoven's most crystalline writing: from the impressionistic, sensual Moonlight to the somewhat mournful Appassionata to the wonderful, intricate aural shoving match of Waldstein. On the grounds of their sheer power, these three took novelist and erstwhile liner notician John Fowles by quiet storm. He writes in his notes to the CD that he's easily brought to tears, and that Beethoven "knew how to move people quasi-divinely." What happens in Ashkenazy's performance may--or may not--be divine.
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
(1833-1897).
Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor Op.15:
1 - I. Maestro
2 - II. Adagio
3 - I. Rondo: Allegro non troppo.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770-1827).
Piano Sonata No.21 in C minor Op.53 "Waldstein":
4 - I. Allegro con brio
5 - II. Introdizione: Adagio molto
6 - III. Rondo: Allegretto moderato Prestissimo.
CLAUDIO ARRAU, piano.
The Philarmonia Orchestra,
BASIL CAMERON.
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1-3.sonata no.1 in c op.53.4.andante favori op.57/5-77.sonata no.30 in e op.109
![]() | author: Ludwig van Beethoven asin: 0486401480 binding: Paperback list price: $14.95 USD amazon price: $14.95 |
Two of the composer's most innovative and original works — teeming with his characteristic perfection of detail, grandeur of effect, and intense emotionalism — appear in this inexpensive, high-quality volume. Reprinted from the authoritative Breitkopf & Härtel editions. Contents. Instrumentation. Text of Fantasia.
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Pollini's performances of Beethoven's last five piano sonatas have assumed almost legendary status, and this reissue at midprice in improved sound ought to win them many new friends. Sometimes considered a cold interpreter, Pollini here pays scrupulous attention to Beethoven's instructions, an attention that never gets in the way of sincere expression. There's a lot to be said for approaching this music with a maximum of clarity and simplicity, and a minimum of Romantic panting and heaving. In fact, Beethoven's instructions are so detailed, and the music itself is often so elaborately developed, that it's all most pianists can do to play it as he wrote it. Pollini does that, and much more. --David Hurwitz
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If Hélène Grimaud hasn't yet appeared on your radar screen of today's outstanding artists, do yourself a favor and get to know the amazing work of this young French pianist. As with her previous releases on Teldec, Grimaud hasn't set out to occupy a specialized niche of repertory. Instead, in knockout recordings of Brahms and Rachmaninoff, Grimaud's been staking out the prime territory. Any initial reservations about such works being over-recorded are quickly dispelled by the unique poetry and power her imagination brings to them, above all in this marvelous live performance of what is probably Beethoven's greatest piano concerto. Entire readings of the Fourth collapse due to misjudgment of its brief but microcosmic opening five bars of solo piano; listen to Grimaud's eloquent articulation of the all-important rhythm, given without intrusively subjective fuss. Her balance of lyricism against energetic momentum sets the stage perfectly for what is to follow. Masur--in almost telepathic sympathy with the soloist--brings a grandly expansive sensibility to the first movement that allows for deliciously precise details from the New York Philharmonic, without losing sight of the music's dramatic thrust. The disc also includes two of the late sonatas; Grimaud understands their complex emotional fabric and brings both clarity and intensity to her articulation. Especially beautiful is the variation movement of Opus 109, sensitively shaped and unencumbered with a dubious "mysticism." No matter how well you know this music, Grimaud is the kind of artist who can make you rethink and--most importantly--feel again what is taken for granted. --Thomas May