Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Jenö Jandó :: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3

Full of Youthful Ebullience

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 10/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Taste is, as they say, a matter of taste, and it would be asking too much for everyone to enjoy this disc as much as I have done. Nevertheless, I would like to document here the fact that this is one of my all-time favourite Naxos recordings, one which seems to get better every time I listen to it (and I have lost count of the times I have listened to it.) The three piano sonatas on this recording are the ebullient products of an exuberant young Beethoven (they were published in 1796, dedicated to Haydn). The music is clever but without leaving the traditional framework, it is eminently good-humoured, and each movement has something attractively characteristic about it, making one want to listen over and over again. Jenö Jandó may not be a 'star' in the modern hyped-up sense of the word, but he has gained a worldwide following with his crisp, clear, transparent piano recordings for Naxos, and in an interview with a German-language music magazine he confirmed that it has always been his ideal to present the music he plays in a way that puts not his own quirks or idiosyncracies into the foreground but rather the intentions and ideas of the composer. Of course one can question this or that aspect of his playing (as one can do with practically any musician's work), but personally I find this approach eminently satisfying and the whole disc a most enjoyable experience, especially as the recording, made at Budapest's famous Italian Institute, is one of the best I have heard from those early Naxos years: very present and clear-cut. Of course I know that Beethoven later wrote music which is generally considered much 'greater'; but Opus 2,1-3 have, through this recording, won a special place in my heart."

Good performance, attractive bargain, good start to cycle

Ed Ting | Amherst, NH USA | 09/17/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm usually suspicious of pianists who can and do record everything, but Jando is certainly up to the task. There's not much you can do to these early "Haydn" sonatas if you just play them; I enjoyed the performances. Jando's spirited playing of op 2 #3 (the most substantial piece here) is worth the price of admission by itself.Jando is definitely in the "virtuoso" mold and the only mild criticism I might make is that he tends to play a little too loudly, especially in the slow movements. He also takes a repeat of the development and recapitulation in the 1st movement of the op 2 #1 that is not in my version of the score.Recommended."

As if Beethoven played them himself

Micaloneus | the Cosmos | 12/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What I love most of all about Jeno Jando's "Beethoven" playing is that he does them just as they are written. Surely, Beethoven would approve of that don't you think. One Amazon critic said, "Jando tends to play a little too loudly, especially in the slow movements." Well, probably Ludwig would have done the same, maybe even louder! Again, Beethoven would approve. By the way, these affordable recordings sound amazing.



I also have another version of the Op. 2 set performed by John O'Conor (Telarc) and although it's a completely different approach, they're wonderful performances as well. O'Conor/Telarc has a mellower quality with a softer piano sound, but having both versions gives the listener a more complete picture of these great early sonatas."