"This recording of a selection of Beethoven's earlier Sonatas is masterfully performed by the great American pianist, Murray Perahia. For nearly thirty years now, Maestro Perahia has continually produced wonderful recordings full of unwaivering lyricism and a sense of selflessness; thus, totally dedicating his energy to the composer's music and thoughts. This recording is yet another step on Perahia's rise to pianistic immortality. These Sonatas are fresh, thought-provoking, and realistically recorded by Sony engineers. The "Pastoral" Sonata, Op. 28 is particularly riveting, and reminds one of the classic recording of Wilhelm Kempff. Precision, economy of rubato, and faithfulness to the score put this submission of Perahia near the top.
The case is not the standard jewel case, rather, it is a sturdy cardboard packaging with an informative booklet enclosed. Definitely nothing to dissuade one from purchasing a wonderful performance. Highly recommended!"
A Delight
E. K. | Los Angeles, CA USA | 02/10/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Forget the idiocy about the packaging. That's hopefully not why you buy a CD. Focus instead on this delightful rendering of Beethoven by one of the world's most gifted pianists. In particular, Mr. Perahia's interpretation of the "Pastorale" is performed with an effortless charm and lyricism that immediately transports the listener into the countryside. The performance is also lightly infused with subtle warmth and humor befitting a sojourn in the country. The entire CD is sure to please."
Perahia's refined technique lends itself to a superb "Pastor
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/15/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This new Beethoven recital from Perahia presents itself as aristocratically poised but struck me too often as bland. I detect a trend toward caution in Perahia's playing since his thumb injury and slow recovery, but there's also undoubted maturity. He's mostly avoided Beethoven's sonatas, forgoing the chance over forty years to set down a complete cycle, but here Perahia has chosen early sonatas that are for the most prt restrained and classical, which suits his temperament.
These are not technically challenging works, so everything comes down to style and personality. As a touchstone, take the funeral march after which Sonata 12 (Op. 26 no. 1) is named. The romantic way with this movement was to make it slow, somber, and moving in its pathos (Schnabel, Arrau, and Gulda do it that way), while the modern trend is to move faster and, frankly, to erase any sense of grief. Pollini, Richter, and Perahia belong in this camp, yet among them, Perahia is the most blank-faced and uninflected, as if he believes it's good manners to hide your emotions.
Decorum is the hallmark of his Beethoven throughout this CD, although one hears many refined touches, and there are times, such as the first movement of Sonata no. 9 (Op. 14 no. 1) when Perahia's inflections are sprightly and perfectly gauged. Yet even here he indulges in some affetuoso touches that halt the music's momentum and skirt preciousness. His clipped staccato and added bounce in the finale is a nice touch, though, rather in the Brendel mode.
Of the four offered here, my favorite sonata is the "Pastoral" (Op. 28), and here Perahia works wonders. As always Perahia's sense of balance and his shaping of the melodic line in the first movement attract admiration. (Sony's nice recorded sound brings out the pearly quality in Perahia's touch.) Maurizio Pollini adds touches of micro-rubato to break up the continuous flow of melody, an instance where the relaxed, mellow Perahia is more on the right track. Young Jonathan Biss on EMI plays in the same gliding style, but Perahia manages to find more variety and interest in the finale.
In all, I admired what Perahia brings to all this music, with kudos to his "Pastoral," but I found my attention wandering, and in the end I wished for more color and life. Refinement can't carry the day in Beethoven."
Perahia + Beethoven sonatas 9.10.12, 15: High art that conce
Dan Fee | Berkeley, CA USA | 02/24/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The duly famous living pianist Murray Perahia has taken his time with the Beethoven sonatas. This is the latest volume, number five? We have so far gotten stellar readings of the early three Opus 2 sonatas, plus sonatas 7, 8, 17, 18, 23, 26, 28 ... spread across four previous, separately released red book CD discs. Now we are able to add four more to the growing list of completed recordings. Not quite halfway through the famous 32 sonatas, then.
This CD starts off with 12, then goes to 9,10, and 15. I confess I don't quite get the shifted order, not that it makes that much difference; but as piano student I got comfortable with just taking the piano sonatas in sequence. If I really continue to be bothered, I can re-record a CDR in the serial sequence for home play.
The glorious thirty-two piano sonatas are a set, and not at all a set, all at the same time. One of the most fascinating things about following Beethoven is that followers may get involved in the challenge and fascination of his musical development and growth and deepening over the years of his singular, pivotal creative life. Thank goodness the composer was so prolific. We can follow amazing and wonderful paths of change in the symphonies, in the piano sonatas, in the string quartets, and to a lesser extent in the five piano concertos or the violin sonatas or the cello sonatas. Plenty of other works in the composer's catalog mark additional high peaks and enhanced musical topographies of sheer western classical discovery. Single works like the violin concerto, the Missa Solemnis, Diabelli Variations, Fidelio, the Triple Concerto - further light up the heart and mind, provided we can pay decent attention to so much treasure.
To my ears, the piano sonatas are like having unfettered access to a secret treasure vault filled to the brim with, say, Fabergé Russian Easter Eggs. Each is fabulous and uniquely wrought on its own. Taken altogether, the collection almost overwhelms the senses, and perhaps the mind.
Great pianists have played these 32 sonatas for a couple of centuries, and indeed the best of the available particular readings have seemed to plumb such depths that they strike the ear and heart and mind as musically exemplary, fulsome, wise, complete. Only to be superseded by more amazement as other pianists worked the seemingly inexhaustible veins of priceless raw ore. As Artur Schnabel said, Beethoven's music is better than it can be played.
One touchstone for comparisons is the Bruce Hungerford sonatas I can take down from the fav shelves. Hungerford did not live to do a complete set, though one dearly hopes that Perahia is able to finish. I also like the complete sets by Anton Kuerti (Canada), John Lill (UK), John O'Conor (Ireland), and Claudio Arrau (Chile, then the world). Other superb sets have been published. Among the many strong complete sets that we can properly consider front runners I fail to warm sufficiently to the relentlessly gray piano tone of Richard Goode to be able to stay that particular course.
One of the complex serendipities of Perahia's cycle so far is his complex, ringing, nuanced piano tone. He cannot make a harsh sound, though his szforzando is as vital and punchy as, say, Hungerford or Kuerti or Lill. Beyond the sheer joys of the player's fundamental physicality stand the high intellect and forceful humanity of the composer himself. Thus, one of the further delights of Perahia's readings is that he knows how to let his basic musical nature become transparent enough that our distance from Beethoven dissolves into shocking and alive encounter.
Some will criticize Perahia's physicality, perhaps; but the piano has changed greatly since the composer's era, and anybody now playing Beethoven on the modern concert grand piano must go far beyond simplistic originalisms or period performance practices. How little can the earlier fortepiano comprehensively define what Beethoven was saying to us, let alone limit or hold captive how we in this current century now bring ourselves to hear the message.
Another delight in Perahia's readings is how he lets the composer's fecund improvisatory genius shine through, particularly in the last fast movements of these four sonatas. Of the four, the Pastoral (15) is the better known and more often played in concerts. Yet what joy to hear Perahia taking each and every sonata for all its considerable worth, no orphans, no fairy tale lesser sister Cinderellas sentenced to the laundry or kitchens of mundane musical life on the grand Beethoven estates.
Despite not being SACD, the piano sound is just about as good as it gets. And given the resonance of Perahia's touch and tone, failing to record that keyboard without any touch of glass or hardness might have been the only downside. Compared to Kuerti, for example, the piano sound here is whole and round and balanced.
Most buyers will already have their established favs, but if not, the Perahia Beethoven discs are very fine places to start collecting the piano sonatas. The longer this series goes on, the nearer it stretches towards finishing, and the undertone of nail-biting worry sets in, that for whatever reasons Perahia may not finally be able to give us all thirty-two sonatas. But spin this disc, set aside worries, and let Beethoven remind us how humanity at its best is replete with wit, spunk, soaring intellect, and such generous, free warmth. Nothing at all on this disc prevents it from taking and sharing pride of place on the same shelves with Kuerti, Lill, O'Conor, Arrau, Hungerford, and a great many others of note.
All the Perahia Beethoven discs, highly recommended. My guess? These readings will last, and last, and last."
