This is an extraordinary journey through the most preeminent of classical symphonies. With an ensemble of only 12-16 top-quality musicians, the Pocket Philharmonic Orchestra explores Beethoven's musical origins. All the great conductors and orchestras have shown where Beethoven led: how his ideas paved the way for later masters like Schumann, Bruckner and Mahler. What hasn't been shown yet is where Beethoven was: where his musical language came from, how he shifted standards and developed techniques in a completely new and revolutionary way. The Pocket Philharmonic has a new approach to this idea: instead of a full chamber or symphony orchestra, the ensemble performs as a chamber ensemble in a symphonic manner – symphonic chamber music, or chamber music symphonies, so to speak. "This is the most vivid performance of the Eroica you have ever heard" said the critics. “It makes the revolution in his music audible. "An outstanding listening experience."

The Glenn Gould wonderful musical talent was very precocious in all his provocative originality. Goul’s approach to the traditional repertoire left the audience completely amazed and admired at the same time. His Beethoven and mainly his Bach had that was predictable both for performance and choice of repertoire. In this CD , some very rare recordings are collected, realized by Gould when he was just twenty for the Canadian Radio

Composed in 1798, a few years after he settled in Vienna, Beethoven’s Gassenhauer (‘popular song’) Trio gained this nickname from its set of variations on Pria ch’io l’impegno from Weigl’s comic opera Il Corsaro. It opens with a finely crafted sonata-form Allegro con brio, followed by an Adagio based on his own Piano Sonata Op. 49, No. 2. The Clarinet Trio, Op. 38, published in 1803, is Beethoven’s own stylish transcription of his extraordinarily popular Septet, Op. 20 (1799).

Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Named for violinist Wouter Vossen’s 1794 Laorentius Storioni violin and founded in 1995, the Storioni Trio seems to be making its international recorded debut with this outstanding Beethoven coupling. To say that these performances impress more for their refinement than their intensity is not to imply that the playing is in any way underpowered or underinterpreted; the musicians simply aren’t obsessed with the extreme emotional tension that can be found among the likes of the highly admirable Beaux Arts and Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson trios. Consider merely the first movement of the early but by no means daintily Classical second trio. With unfailingly warm tone, the musicians make the contrast between the Adagio introduction and the faster main section matter through characterful playing rather than extreme tempo changes or big rhetorical gestures. There’s a wonderful lightness and cheer in play through much of this disc, and while, for example, the finale of the second trio benefits from the group’s precision and energy, such qualities never seem mechanical or forced.

All this holds true for the more popular “Ghost” Trio. Here, especially, pianist Bart van de Roer calls Joseph Kalichstein to mind insofar as he expertly puts his part across without letting Beethoven goad him into bullying his partners. Later, the musicians bring weight to the slow movement without putting a drag on the performance. This is a most impressive calling card for the Storioni Trio.

PentaTone’s sonics, as usual, are absolutely free of distortion, constriction, or glare in any format, but they are especially true-to-life in the 5.0 SACD layer.

James Reel, FANFARE

Beethoven: Piano Trios 'Ghost' and 'Archduke'

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas: No. 11 in B?, op. 22; No. 13 in E?, op. 27/1; No. 31 in A?, op. 110 • Garrick Ohlsson (pn) • BRIDGE 9266

(62:21)


BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas: No. 29 in B?, op. 106, “Hammerklavier”; No. 16 in G, op. 31/1 • Garrick Ohlsson (pn) • BRIDGE 9262 (69:15)


A recital of Beethoven piano sonatas that includes early and late music, as is the case with both of these new releases from Garrick Ohlsson’s series of the complete sonatas, should make the listener aware of the degree to which Beethoven evolved as an artist, but also those elements that marked him as a singular genius throughout his career. Some pianists do this by underlining elements in the earlier pieces that point to the unique, even eccentric nature of the composer; highlighting an odd harmony or an exuberant melodic structure, as examples.


Ohlsson takes a different tack. Although Beethoven was well into his so-called first period by the time of the Sonatas Nos. 11, 13, and 16, they are still classically conceived constructions, more so in mold of his teacher Haydn than Mozart, especially in his frequent use of humor. Ohlsson does not downplay the brilliance of this music, or even its boldness, but hears it as a continuation of a tradition rather than anything radical. Beethoven’s music, from the outset of his career, is filled with surprises and wonderful dramatic twists, but in this playing, they are always neatly within the context of the overall logic of the music. It is an equally good prescription for playing Mozart and Haydn.


The Piano Sonata No. 31 is full of extraordinary imagination, but is familiar enough to our ears to be considered the most accessible of the late sonatas, especially because of its magnificent neobaroque counterpoint writing. And the “Hammerklavier” is simply sui generis as a work of art. So somehow tying this music to earlier Beethoven isn’t really necessary, and Ohlsson plays them for their own sake. As has been noted in previous reviews, his tempos are on the broad side, which, in the case of both these late sonatas accentuates the grandiloquence of the music. This approach makes for an especially rewarding rendition of No. 31, which can sound rushed in less-mature hands.


The tempo question gets a bit sticky in the case of the “Hammerklavier.” Ohlsson makes no attempt whatever to play the first movement at the composer’s supposed metronome marking, but few do. Many have questioned the veracity of the marking, which seems ridiculously fast. A few pianists, notably Peter Serkin, can bring it off, with exhilarating results, but it is hard to deny that the more measured tempo of Ohlsson ultimately gives us a more musical and sensible interpretation. But for the full measure of what Ohlsson contributes to an immense and storied recorded legacy, one needs only to turn to his superb rendition of the hulking slow movement to this work. It is one challenge to gather up the furious notes of the outer movements of this behemoth, but in some ways even more daunting to hold together the oceanic center, which Ohlsson does with supreme grace and intelligence. It reflects everything else he plays. I can only echo previous Fanfare commentary from Boyd Pomeroy and Jerry Dubins to say that despite the multitude of excellent choices already available in this music, great artistry like this is always welcome.


FANFARE: Peter Burwasser

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 9, 10, 24, 27 and 28

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 5-7, Op. 10 and No. 25, Op.

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE: 'BBC Music Choice' (September 2008) for Garrick Ohlsson: Beethoven Sonatas, Vol. 5 (BRIDGE 9250). This disc includes three of Beethoven's most popular sonatas- 'Pathetique, Op. 13; 'Moonlight', Op. 27, No. 2; and 'Waldstein', Op. 53

Beethoven, L. Van: Piano Sonatas Nos. 30-32, Opp. 109-111

2008 Grammy Winner! - "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance"

The god of inspiration sprints hand in hand with Garrick Ohlsson as the pianist nears completion of his Beethoven sonata cycle. The present disc opens with one of Op. 2 No. 3's finest recorded performances. Ohlsson's lean, propulsive first movement incorporates distinctly contrasted themes and subtle tempo modifications. Everything hangs together so well that when Ohlsson leans on the accelerator for the movement's final octave outburst the effect is conclusive rather than vulgar.

Ohlsson also plays Op. 14 No. 1 beautifully, bringing a refreshingly terse quality to the Allegretto by underlining its sudden dynamic shifts. The pianist's genial, expansive account of Op. 14 No. 2's opening movement evokes memories of Claudio Arrau's likeminded mid-1960s recording, yet Ohlsson stresses different details, such as the left hand's chromatic broken octaves. Ohlsson's crisp yet full-bodied shaping of the second movement's detached chords brings out the music's Haydn-like wit, to say nothing of the finale's aptly timed, elegant fingerwork.

Excellent sound and notes.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Just Released -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol 5 / Garrick Ohlsson
The newest volume in Garrick Ohlsson's impressive and illuminating cycle.

Piano Sonatas 2,3,7,8 "Pathetique" 11,12 "Funeral March," 24. Brendel's monumental cycle continues with this delightful collection.

Includes sonata(s) for piano by Ludwig van Beethoven. Soloist: Garrick Ohlsson.

The workmanlike quality I've inferred from many of Gerhard Oppitz's recordings hardly prepared me for the sheer inspiration and commitment the pianist displays throughout his first installment of a projected Beethoven sonata cycle. Indeed, if Oppitz has made a finer disc, I have not heard it. The Op. 10 No. 1 sonata comes alive with brutal resilience and quivering nuance, capped by a finale whose true Prestissimo pulse never lets up in intensity. Some listeners may prefer a lighter touch in the Op. 10 No. 2 sonata's outer movements, yet you can't take issue with Oppitz's rhythmic equilibrium and sure sense of where the lines are going. Interestingly, Oppitz takes a less iconoclastic, more conventional route through Op. 10 No. 3's four movements (more comfortable basic tempos and symmetrical phrasing). Strokes of individuality--such as his surging scales and roulades in the outer movements--lift Oppitz's solidly played "Pathétique" out of the sonata's "regulation model" box. Perhaps the slow movement is a bit foursquare and downbeat oriented, but not ploddingly so. Keep tabs on this Beethoven cycle, and savor its impressive first fruits, despite a recording that's thinner and more constricted than Hänssler's best efforts.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com