“A supreme mastery of tempi, sonorities, polyphony and of course technique permits Biret to embrace all the moods of the great Beethoven and gives her playing a symphonic depth rarely heard until now.”
— Le Nouvel Observateur (France) / H-L de la Grange

“The performances here truly represent a lifetime of musical thinking and are essential for serious Beethovenians.”
— All Music Guide (USA) / James Mannheim

“Love of Beethoven’s works threads through Biret’s life like a red ribbon. Her studio recordings and live concerts show this in an unequivocal language…Next to the Piano Concertos, the Triple Concerto and the Choral Fantasy she has also recorded and performed on stage all the Piano Sonatas and Symphony Transcriptions becoming perhaps the only artist to reach this level of completeness…This knowledge of Beethoven one hears in every nuance in Idil Biret’s playing.”
— Piano News (Germany) / Carsten Dürer

“From the outset of the 1st Symphony one feels that Idil Biret grasps the size of Beethoven’s style. The polyphony is laid out in a relaxed way with little indulgence in point-making. She keeps her big line, and yet is thankfully sparing in her use of fortissimos…The piano tone is sumptuous. Biret’s gentle and almost sensuous sonorities are really captivating…This is a remarkable achievement.”
— Gramophone (UK) / J. Methuen-Campbell

“Biret’s concertos are quite classical in approach. Her articulation is crisp and wonderfully clear, rhythm is firmly controlled, and extremes are avoided. As a result the playing is never pushed, either by excessive speed or wide dynamics. The moderate tempos allow lots of detail to come through, and we find once again the elegance and beauty of Beethoven.The Bilkent Symphony, in Antoni Wit’s hands, plays musically, with a fine sense of style.”
— American Record Guide / Paul L Althouse

“Idil Biret not only recorded all nine of the Beethoven symphonies in less than a year but, in a superhuman feat which astounded all those who know about music, she also publicly performed all of them in four recitals at the Montpellier festival in France. To learn and also memorise scores of such length and difficulty in such a short time is a mind-bogglingachievement.”
— Fonoforum (Germany) / Peter Cossé

Agreat deal has been written about Michael Korstick’s interpretation of the Beethoven Sonatas. Extraordinary comments for the most part. Oehms Classics has released the complete edition in a luxurious presentation. 10 CDs in a fine cardboard package plus an extensive booklet including an essay by Attila Csampai and an interview with the artist conducted by Dr. Christoph Vratz. The recordings of this complete edition will not be issued on SACD; the individual editions retain their sonic luxury as is customary. - Oehms Classics

"...In the “Moonlight” Sonata Korstick’s approach also reminded me a bit of that taken by Solomon Cutner, the superb British pianist whose career was cut short by paralysis. Listen to the famed opening movement: Korstick gets exactly the same dead, almost ghostly rhythm that Solomon achieved back in the 1950s. I always liked that interpretation and always will. His performance of the “Waldstein” has almost the same driving energy as Gieseking’s famous 1939 recording, and I for one found his “Pathétique” the best I’ve heard since Schnabel. Most other pianists, in my estimation, get the opening of the first movement wrong by not emphasizing the dynamic contrasts as dramatically as they are written in the score, but Korstick does. And many of his slow movements are absolutely magical: Listen, for instance, to the Adagio of Sonata No. 3. Here, as in many others, the notes almost seem to float in space or on the surface of a pond, replicating (for me, anyway) an almost “altered state” within the composer’s psyche..." - Lynn René Bayley, Fanfare

Beethoven’s compositions for piano duet embrace works written for students as well as those designed for aristocratic acquaintances and friends. This release presents two recordings of the complete works: the first (CD 1) on a modern Yamaha piano, and the second (CD 2) on chronologically accurate reproductions of the fortepianos Beethoven was composing on at the time. The modern piano was recorded in a concert hall, whereas the period instrument recording was made in a much more intimate space, showcasing the salon performance settings of the past.

Alpha proposes rediscovering the three discs of the complete recording made between 2004 and 2008 by Arthur Schoonderwoerd, conducting the Ensemble Cristofori from the keyboard. These recordings had been widely hailed by the international press at the time of their release. Beyond that success, it was the singularity and p rofundity of Arthur Schoonderwoerd's approach that convinced Alpha to assemble these discs in the same box, offered at an aVractive price. Since the dawn of sound recording, this great Beethoven cycle has motivated a large number of artists and give n rise to memorable interpretations. No doubt that, thanks to its aesthetic coherence and the originality of the musical options retained, this reference on early instruments will convince even more widely than in its initial edition on separate discs.

Beethoven’s five sonatas for violoncello and piano form a cosmos all of their own. They exemplarily represent this Titan’s three compositional periods, and the interrelations between them shape a surprisingly self-contained work group surveying the composer’s entire life. Reason enough for Manuel Fischer-Dieskau and Connie Shih to present an absolutely new recording of this cycle. The two early Sonatas op. 5 show us the impetuous “wild youth” who delights in playing with fresh Viennese influences. There are reminiscences of courtly Baroque music, Viennese classicism is in full flower, and the boy from small-town Bonn shows the Viennese just how things can and should be done. The Sonata op. 69, a principal work among the compositions of his “middle period,” is considerably more concentrated. Here the piano and cello vie with great seriousness to see which one will leave its mark on the character of the piece. And then we have the two Sonatas op. 102. Beethoven’s enigmatic, often unwieldly late oeuvre begins with this pair of sister works, and it is surely no coincidence that it is not until the last Sonata op. 102,2 that a slow movement takes shape in which the cello is allowed to develop its lyrical potential. Manuel Fischer-Dieskau and Connie Shih dedicate themselves to this opus magnum with passion and play a brilliant game of musical catch.

Classical Music

Shot in various venues in Vincenca, Vienna, Turin, Padua between 1986 and 1987.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 101 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

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CHOPIN Piano Sonata No. 2, “Funeral March.” Polonaise in f?, op. 44. Prelude in B?, op. 28/21. BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas: No. 27; No. 32. SCRIABIN Etude, op. 8/2. 2 Poems, op. 32 • Ivo Pogorelich (pn) • C MAJOR 701308 (DVD: 101:00)


This video was filmed in 1987, when Pogorelich was in his late-20s. The locale is an ornate Italian villa with excellent acoustics. The sound engineering has held up very well, and the camerawork is unobtrusive. There is no showmanship. Pogorelich simply plays the music, without jumping about or making faces. He has one of the most compulsively watchable pairs of hands I’ve ever seen. I haven’t been this taken with the physical act of a pianist’s playing since I saw Earl Wild play the Gershwin Concerto in 1986. There is a balance of form and function in Pogorelich’s hands that is just enthralling. Pogorelich performs the Chopin and the Scriabin in a black tunic, switching to a plain blue shirt for the Beethoven. Perhaps there’s something revealing in that. The video footage was originally divided into five separate television programs, which simply are played here in succession. I didn’t find this distracting.


I believe Chopin’s Second Piano Sonata was one of the works Pogorelich performed in the 1980 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. That was where Martha Argerich resigned from the jury after Pogorelich’s elimination, calling him “a genius.” This video contains a great rendition of the sonata. Even the brief introductory chords are dramatic and arresting. In the first movement, Pogorelich has a beautiful response to the second subject, varying it with richness and nobility on each of its appearances, the third time giving it beautiful tone coloring. The scherzo features a dynamic left hand, while its second subject is highly rhapsodic. The opening of the Marche funèbre is grand, even triumphant, whereas its second subject is shaded nocturnally. The return of the Marche is terrifying, leading to the finale’s splendid virtuosic chaos. Throughout the sonata Pogorelich’s conception is bold, dynamic, and vivid.


The remaining Chopin works are equally impressive. The polonaise is freely shaped, colorful, and propulsive. The return of its main theme at the end is immense and thrilling. Pogorelich’s interpretation of the prelude is slow and stately. He brings the same ingratiating talents as a miniaturist to the short works by Scriabin. They highlight his craftsmanship as a subtle colorist and superb technician. The étude is languorous. As for the Two Poems , the first is dreamy, while the second is torrential.


Pogorelich’s Beethoven is more provocative, owing to his preference for slow tempos. In the first movement of Sonata No. 27, I prefer to think of his tempo not as slow but as spacious. The music’s structure always is apparent. In the final movement, Pogorelich offers a truthful representation of Beethoven’s cantabile marking. This issue, however, bedevils the last sonata. In its first movement, Pogorelich’s concept of maestoso is assisted by his ability to clarify voices. This movement’s contrast of virtuosity and repose seems here to prefigure Liszt. Things bog down, unfortunately, in the last movement. There Pogorelich takes the adagio molto marking too literally, interfering in his slowness with the other instruction for cantabile playing. His phrasing becomes choppy. Beethoven did offer the instruction semplice , but that doesn’t mean to proceed so slowly as to be simple-minded. I watched this DVD four times before writing this review, and the last movement of Sonata No. 32 was the only performance I grew weary of.


If you are collecting these works on CD, I can make some recommendations. In the Chopin sonata, I like Cécile Ousset (whose muscularity recalls Pogorelich), Leif Ove Andsnes, and Idil Biret. Richard Goode and Bernard Roberts are interesting in both of the Beethoven sonatas. For No. 32, there also are fine recordings by Bruce Hungerford, Jerome Rose, and, on a Graf fortepiano, Peter Serkin. Scriabin’s Two Poems appears in a lyrical presentation by the Russian-American pianist Dmitry Paperno, on a lovely collection of shorter works titled Through the Years . As for Pogorelich’s DVD, it is fascinating and compulsively watchable almost all the way through. If you can overlook some rather zany Beethoven, it might be for you.


FANFARE: Dave Saemann

Beethoven: Cello Sonatas Nos. 3-5

Beethoven's oeuvre only comprises a small collection of works for cello and piano, but that the composer was an accomplished writer for this combination of instruments is evident from the fact that Jean-Louis Duport, one of Frederick II's court cellists and one of the most revered musicians of his day, incorporated many of the techniques found in the Op.5 sonatas into his instruction manual for cello. The two works each contain only two movements, and the absence of a slow movement was probably to avoid the problem of dynamic imbalance between the instruments (which would have been accentuated in adagio passages) -- something that is also the case with the Op.68 sonatas, composed in 1807. Only with the second Op.102 sonata does the composer finally replace the slow introduction, as found in No.1 and all of the above works, with a full-scale slow movement, one that precedes the massive fugal finale that was to form such an intrinsic part of Beethoven's late-period works.

Also featured are the three delightful sets of variations for cello and piano, each modelled on a different aria from Handel's opera Judas Maccabeus and Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and each (just like the sonatas) placing the piano on an equal footing with the cello throughout. The works are an engaging addition to a collection that marks the return of Israeli/Dutch cellist Timora Rosler and Hungarian pianist Klára Würtz, whose previous Brilliant Classics release 'Cello Rhapsody' (9157) was released to critical acclaim, and which provides a snapshot of the composer's stylistic development over a period of nearly 20 years.

Other information:
- Filling "only" two CD's, the complete works for cello and piano are quintessential and vintage Beethoven. The two youthful Opus 5 sonatas are written in virtuoso concerto style, with an especially glittering role for the piano (Beethoven was a tremendous pianist in his early years), the sonata Op. 69 is in the expansive, sonorous and deep-feeling tonal language of Beethoven's Middle-Period, whereas the two Late sonatas Op. 102 are marvels of originality, experiment, "quirkiness" and humanity.
- The two musicians Timora Rosler and Klára Würtz have been playing together for more than 15 years, having won several chamber music prizes. They performed the Beethoven cycle several times in concert over the years, and their interpretation has ripened to such an extent that the time came to record it. And here it is: every note alive and vibrant, played with gusto and feeling, alternating melancholy and joy, sadness and sheer fun.
- Contains notes on the music and detailed artist biographies.
- Recorded 19--23 January 2013, Sala congressi del Parco naturalistico di Onara, Padua, Italy.

BEETHOVEN: Cello Sonatas No. 3, Op. 69 and Op. 64

The Delian Quartet’s approach to the first numbered of Beethoven’s string quartets (not actually the first one he wrote, however) is nothing if not distinctive. In an interview printed in the accompanying booklet, the Delian players (it is not indicated which of them is speaking at any given point) identify this work as “one of the larger Beethoven string quartets,” and their interpretation is clearly guided by such a perception. To these musicians, the work is not “early Beethoven” but just Beethoven, and they de-emphasize its high spirits in favor of deep seriousness. Their interpretation is an expansive one in terms of tempo. Surveying 13 other performances of this work I have on CD in my collection, I find that three of them exceed the Delian’s timing in the slow movement, the 1952 Budapest Quartet by a small amount, the 1991 Tokyo Quartet by bit more, and the 1936 Calvet Quartet by a lot. With those three exceptions, the Delian players’ timings are the longest in every movement. Nonetheless, their tempos do not seem excessively slow in the context of their overall approach, and there is also a good degree of flexibility in their handling of tempo. The performance has its own kind of momentum, but the Delian players are less concerned with urgency and linear flow than with precise articulation, pronounced vertical stresses, and a distinct statement and characterization of each phrase. I felt that they underplay some of the peaks, for instance, the angry minor-key outbursts in the development of the first movement. In the second movement, said to have been inspired by the tomb scene of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet , the anger and despair build up gradually and reach their zenith only near the end. The trio of the third movement is less assertive than in many performances. The finale would not seem slow if one were not aware that everyone else plays it faster, and I much appreciate the very clean articulation of rapid runs, which some distinguished ensembles that favor a more breathless approach do not achieve. Technically, the playing is highly accomplished, with sumptuous, well-rounded tone, accurate intonation, and precise ensemble. Balances are impeccable and textures are very clear, in keeping with the ensemble’s evident desire that each strand of music should be heard distinctly. I find the Delian approach to this work interesting and rewarding; others might find it studied.


Beethoven’s C-Major String Quintet dates from 1801, the same year as the revised version of op. 18/1 that is nearly always the one played today. I have never understood why the quintet fails to attract the degree of attention and veneration accorded the quartets. It’s a gorgeous, imposing work, about 35 minutes in duration and full of invention and dazzling compositional skill. The Delian Quartet feels that it “contains inklings of the Beethoven of the middle and late periods,” but I think it also has some strong reminiscences of Mozart. It receives a fine performance from these musicians, assisted by violist Gérard Caussé. Their characteristics of precise articulation, shapely phrasing, and clear textures are again in evidence, but the playing seems a bit freer and more spontaneous than in the quartet. Tempos are once again on the deliberate side, but one wouldn’t know it without comparisons, since they seem quite appropriate. Here my comparisons are limited to four: the Endellion (Warner), Tokyo (RCA), and Zürich (Brilliant) quartets, and the 1945 Budapest Quartet recording on Sony. The Delian’s first movement tempo seems consistent with the Allegro moderato marking and works well. At a much faster pace, the Endellion is urgent but sometimes rushed. The Tokyo Quartet is closer to the Delian tempo but offers a more blended sound, with less clarity of texture. The poignant slow movement is nicely shaped and well sustained in the Delian rendition, while the scherzo is lively without being overly fast and has a grandeur that is missing from the rather hurried Endellion performance. The finale too is effectively paced, with a pronounced contrast in tempo between the Presto and Andante sections that is sometimes missing in other performances.


The op. 137 Fugue for String Quintet dates from 1817 and lasts under two minutes. In style it is suggestive of some of the fugal movements or sections in Beethoven’s late works. The Delian performance is once again comparatively deliberate and very clearly articulated, with exemplary clarity of texture. Those of the Endellion and Zürich quartets (coupled with their recordings of the op. 29 quintet) are quicker and livelier.


The Delian performances are recorded in clear, detailed, and tightly focused sound, with minimal reverberation, qualities I have come to associate with the Oehms label. With its distinctive rendering of the quartet and compelling one of the underrated quintet, this release deserves an enthusiastic recommendation.

FANFARE: Daniel Morrison

Beethoven: Bagatelles, Opp. 33, 119 and 126

Jenó Jandó's Naxos survey of Beethoven's Bagatelles and dances for solo piano reaches Volume 3. Jandó's adroit and stylish readings have much to commend them, especially in their technical agility and clarity of execution. The greater part of this release is given over to the 12 Minuets--not normally the kind of music that lends itself usefully to cyclical hearing. But in these performances Jandó manages to get away from any repetitiveness and predictability, a potential danger in genre pieces, particularly when heard en masse. That he characterises each so effectively comes down to taut rhythms and clinical exactitude in matters of dynamics and articulation.



The disc opens with six more substantial items, including the two Op. 51 Rondos, the A major Rondo WoO 49, the so-called "Andante favori" (Andante in F WoO 57), and the famous "Rage over a lost penny", otherwise the Rondo a Capriccio in G Op. 129. Again, Jandó's performances are enjoyable and illuminating. Note for example how he highlights contrasts of mood and dynamics so effectively in the last of these works, sharpening the acerbity of its more fevered passages through a clarity of attack that owes more to keyboard articulation than to the pedal--commendable, given his brisk tempo. The two Op. 51 Rondos are also more tersely etched and rigorous than you'll often hear, so I'm inclined to rate Jandó's accounts more highly than Brendel's here. Another welcome addition to a useful budget series.
--Michael Jameson, ClassicsToday.com

Lambert Orkis offers three performances of Beethoven's Appassionata sonata, each featuring a different instrument of Viennese design. No doubt period piano connoisseurs will anticipate a bountiful taste test of timbre and resonance between the disparate Wolf and Regier fortepianos and the modern Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand. Orkis, for his part, discusses in the booklet notes how he had to change his performance technique in order to adjust to each instrument's physical characteristics, although the interpretations (recorded on consecutive days) appear to be cut from the same conscientious, perceptively detailed cloth.

The Wolf fortepiano, based on instruments by Nannette Streicher circa 1814-1820, has a transparency and bite that lends itself to the high degree of nervous tension Orkis cites in his performance. Actually I hear "tense" more than "tension", in that the pianist's earnest adherence to Beethoven's combative accents and sudden dynamic shifts sometimes pulls focus from the music's dramatic sweep and rhythmic momentum. Although Orkis clearly enjoys the Bösendorfer's sustaining power in the slow-movement variations, he pursues a surprisingly limited dynamic range in comparison to Garrick Ohlsson's more powerfully projected version (also played on a Bösendorfer Imperial Grand). However, the R. J. Regier fortepiano's alluring tonal differentiation inspires a similarly detailed reading with greater note-to-note continuity and backbone, as well as the newfound abandon in virtuosic passages Orkis accurately cites. A fascinating disc.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Performing on early 19th-century pianos from the Frederick Historic Piano Collection, competition prizewinners Dmitry Rachmanov, a Juilliard graduate, and Cullan Bryant, a graduate of Manhattan School of Music, explore the interrelationships between the keyboard music of Beethoven and his principal teachers in this fascinating double-album of rarities for piano four-hands, culminating in a revelatory account of the Great Fugue in Beethoven’s own keyboard arrangement. The distinctive sonorities of these highly esteemed period instruments transport the listener back to the time when Beethoven, his teachers or his own pupils, may have performed this music themselves for the first time.