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Beethoven's Sonatas for Piano and Cello, Op. 5 are revolutionary works, with neither instrument subservient and the piano fully independent. This release also features his vivacious variations on 'Ein Madchen oder Weibchen' and 'Bei Mannern, welche Liebe fu�hlen' from Mozart's Die Zauberflote. Volume 2 is scheduled for release on 8.574530 in November.

The Kammerakademie Potsdam (Chamber Academy Potsdam) and it's principal conductor Antonello Manacorda will complete their new Beethoven cycle with the release of all nine Symphonies in a special 5-CD boxset out on Sony Classical on May 3. As the third and final installment in the series, the release will include their new recording of Beethoven's Third, Fourth and Eighth Symphonies as well as the composer's legendary Ninth Symphony. The release coincides with the 200-year anniversary celebrations of the premiere performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in early May. The first two installments in the ensemble's Beethoven cycle recording have been released to great critical acclaim.

Adorno's speech reads like a commentary on recording the string quartets op. 130 including the later final movement and the Great Fugue op. 133 with the phenomenal Auryn Quartet on TACET 38: It's as if the subject retreated from his music, and, leaving the apparition to it's own devices, then really made the apparition speak... - One really could not present this late work in a more up-to-date way and yet more entranced, removed from all subjective whispered prompts.

V1: COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS

Christopher White and Melanie Reinhard have been performing the Beethoven Violin Sonatas together for over thirty years, from when they first met in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music. They have become a staple of their recitals in combination with other repertoire. Although the ten sonatas are mostly early works and not his most significant (compared to the string quartets for example) they are a charming and varied set of compositions. It is a shame that often one only hears the select (and famous) few such as the Spring or Kreutzer sonatas because some of the lesser-known sonatas (for instance Op. 12 No. 2 in A major or the glorious slow movement in the sixth sonata) deserve a much wider audience.

Starring William Pleeth.

Directed by Andre Delacroix. Starring William Pleeth.

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas

CONCERTO FOR PIANO

BEETHOVEN Piano Trios: No 1 in E?; No 3 in c • Peabody Tr • ARTEK 38 (64:12)


For those unfamiliar with this fine group (formed in 1989), it should be noted that it is currently the “resident ensemble” at the Peabody Institute. This CD marks its second in what apparently is to be a cycle of these trios, the previous one, which I have not heard, being devoted to the op. 70 pair. In the main, the Peabodys are very much attuned to the spirit of these bold assertive scores that suggest the young lion composer flexing his muscles and asserting himself with a freshness that, for all its individuality, never turns its back on tradition. Outer movements crackle with energy, slow movements are never unduly expansive, and the ensemble, as one would expect, is technically adroit. Refreshing, too is Seth Knopp’s Hamburg Steinway, a less brilliant and brittle instrument than its American counterparts, yet one that, owing to the pianist perhaps, seems a tad closer to the piano of Beethoven’s day. The only trait one might object to consists of a few instances of breath pauses—perfectly appropriate in the hall, to be sure—but possibly wearisome when heard repeatedly. In this regard, the accounts of the Parnassus Trio, often similar to these in many respects, may, in their freedom from such features, have more staying power. Both versions are first-rate. Like the Parnassus, the Peabody observes all exposition repeats. Incidentally this release benefits from one of Manhattan’s better kept secrets, the superb acoustics of the auditorium of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a favorite venue of the widely respected producer Judith Sherman, who oversaw this release.


FANFARE: Mortimer H. Frank

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The meticulously prepared releases by the Stuttgart label Tacet deserve attention... this tells me that Gerrit Zitterbart can rank with the most gifted Beethoven performers of his generation... (Frankfurter Rundschau)