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

asin: B000001GCC binding: Audio CD list price: $71.98 USD amazon price: $39.47 USD

Wilhelm Kempff was the premier German pianist of the postwar period, so it's no surprise that he was considered one of the supreme interpreters of Beethoven. He recorded complete sets of the sonatas and concertos twice, and just about all the rest of the chamber music with piano as well. Kempff was a classicist by nature, and his approach to Beethoven was clear and poised rather than impulsive, but it was never lacking in sheer power or virtuosity when necessary. His last cycle of Beethoven sonatas is rightly regarded as his musical testament. Even if the mono recordings offered a few more exciting moments in a couple of works, you can't go wrong here--there isn't a dud in the lot. --David Hurwitz

asin: B00004W9CK binding: Audio CD list price: $25.98 USD amazon price: $25.98 USD

If the "Hammerklavier" Sonata (No. 29), perhaps the most profound work ever written for the piano, were not on this disc, one would dwell on the singular charms of the rarely heard, two-movement Sonata No. 27 or the astonishing rightness of Solomon's interpretation of the Sonata No. 26, "Les Adieux." But the "Hammerklavier" is the touchstone of any Beethoven sonata cycle, and it's the rock upon which most pianists founder. Solomon meets its challenges as well as anyone who's every recorded it. Solomon may not match Artur Schnabel's intensity, but he's far superior technically, and he comes close to Claudio Arrau's depth and Wilhelm Kempff's poetry. Solomon is unique in bringing all these attributes to bear on a piece whose mysteries can never be encompassed in one interpretation. He captures the dynamism of the opening Allegro, makes the Scherzo a witty romp, and sustains the long, 22-minute Adagio with a flowing poetry that's breathtaking. The final fugue, played with superhuman ease by Solomon, for once seems an inevitable culmination of a timeless journey. An indispensable disc. --Dan Davis

author: Beethoven asin: B000LRYPWG binding: Digital list price: $3.75 USD amazon price: $3.75 USD

Downloadable sheet music file

asin: B0000012YO binding: Audio CD list price: $68.98 USD amazon price: $101.57 USD

Nine CD Box Set, Including the Complete Recording of Beethoven's Sonatas.