Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Daniel Shapiro :: Beethoven Masterworks: Diabelli Variations; Sonata Op. 90

Shapiro plays Beethoven

Timothy Ehlen | champaign, IL | 11/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Daniel Shapiro teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and while music lovers may not all know this name, Shapiro is highly respected in the musical community as one of the finest interpreters of the classical repertoire, in particular, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, although his repertoire extends far beyond these also.

This Beethoven disc is Shapiro's first solo CD, and it's long overdue. I, for one, hope that more are in the works. With a monumental interpretation of the monumental Diabelli Variations, Shapiro immediately establishes himself as a musician on a par with the finest Beethoven interpreters. I strongly recommend the CD for its probing, insightful intellect as well as the wildly energetic enthusiasm that permeates the renditions. The combination is unbeatable. There's definitely something for everyone here: as a "musician's musician", Shapiro will appeal to the musical cogniscenti, or those that consider themselves as such, but the sense of spontanaety and daring, hair-in-the-wind exhuberance will be lost on no one as well. This is Beethoven as he should be played (but seldom actually is), as the daring titan of expressive power, whose conceptions seem to coherently emerge as a transcendent philosophical entity. It takes a master musician to achieve this, and Shapiro is up to the task.

In Op. 90, the duality of purpose that Anton Scindler described comes to mind: the symbols of the head and heart wage a conflict in this work. In Shapiro's reading, the conflict is understood and internalized in such a way that underscoring its meaning is unnecessary. There is a sense of immediacy in the playing, that of a performance, as opposed to a recording, and Shapiro follows the composer wherever he goes structurally and emotionally; therefore the overall impression of the playing is its sincere devotion and committment. This is heart-felt playing, and you can't go wrong with that. You can't go wrong with this CD either.



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FANTASTIC!

Halley, Noah and Hannah's Mom | Southern California | 11/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Superb interpretation of Beethoven. This is absolutely as good as it gets. If you are interested at all in the works of Beethoven, you will not find any better than that played by Daniel Shapiro, a true virtuoso in every way."