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

asin: B000EGFUZA binding: Audio CD list price: $17.98 USD amazon price: $18.09 USD

This is the second volume of András Schiff's projected recording, in chronological order, of the complete Beethoven sonatas. It comprises the three sonatas Op. 10 and the "Pathétique" Sonata Op. 13, all written between 1795 and 1798, but quite different in character and feeling. The first, in Beethoven's dramatic tonality of C minor, is turbulent; the second is light-hearted and humorous. The third is most expansive; in four rather than three movements, it includes a lyrical Menuetto with an all too short, delightful Trio, and a profound, grief-stricken slow movement. The "Pathétique," again in C minor, has become a popular favorite for its high drama and its beautiful, song-like middle movement. Its slow introduction recurs several times; Schiff regards it as a thematic and structural part of the movement and includes it in the repeat of the exposition. (He takes all repeats throughout, at times adding discreet ornamentation.) Schiff's playing, as always, is the essence of refinement and elegance. His virtuosity is invariably at the service of the music, even at headlong speeds; his tone sings with beguiling beauty. He commands variety of touch, articulation, dynamics, and inflection; melody and harmonic background are balanced perfectly. (The Angelo Fabbrini piano sounds clear, but less rich and mellow than the Bösendorfer he often uses.) He combines scholarly integrity with inward expressiveness, steadiness with poised liberties; his identification with Beethoven's changing moods is complete. Strangely enough, he subscribes to the old-fashioned habit of letting the left hand anticipate the right and tends to rush certain rhythms, especially before and after crossing hands. But these are minor flaws in masterfully controlled, deeply affecting performances. -- Edith Eisler

asin: B000002RUP binding: Audio CD list price: $16.98 USD amazon price: $16.98 USD

Here's a disc that really throws down the gauntlet! Beethoven's late piano sonatas have an almost mythical reputation for sublime obscurity. That doesn't mean they don't get played, but rather that performers (and critics) tend to treat them with a seriousness not always supported by the music itself, which is frequently intimate, playful, and charming. In coupling two late sonatas with two earlier ones, Pratt demonstrates both the consistency of Beethoven's musical thought, and also makes a strong case for the late sonatas being far more approachable than most people think. He plays these two late works with the same sort of robust freshness and unaffected musicality that he lavishes on the two earlier ones, and the result is highly engaging. --David Hurwitz