Search - Beethoven, Paul Lewis :: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, vol. 3

Very satisfying

YIP Alex | 01/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Remember in these well known works, one is competing against some of the greatest pianists. Although I have not been very enthusiatic about previous volume of Paul Lewis playing, this volume is very impressive. The playing in many sonatas reminds me of Arrau ( Op. 7 ), Gilels ( in the Moonlight ) or Serkin ( in the Appassionata ) - there can be no higher praise. The recording is excellent. Strongly recommended."

The real thing, a natural Beethoven pianist

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For me, Paul Lewis comes with suspicious baggage -- he's a pupil of Alfred Brendel (if I don't like the master, will I like the disciple?), and he's been praised to the skies by The Gramophone. But the first movement of Op. 2 No. 1 made me feel better. Lewis does favor Brendel's clipped style, but he's not as chilly, and in the development section he plays as if this music matters emotionally -- nothing is prettified or detached. Reservations crop up with the slow movement, which feels pushed and overly objective. Back to a more positive note is the Minuet, which shows nuance and flexibility in phrasing. The finale begins forcefully and mounts to a true climax, not just for this movement but for the whole sonata.



In just one sonata I felt I had gotten a good sense of Lewis's artistic personality. Now on to more challenging things. The "Appassionata" immediately reveals whether a pianist belongs in the big leagues. Lewis surely does. He plays with strength and confidence; however, he dials the passion back more than Serkin ever would, and I'm not sure the first movement tells a story form beginning to end (as it does with Richter and Serkin). But there's tons of virtuosic excitement combined with serious intent. The second movement could be more poetic, and the finale more alive. So now I feel I know something else about Lewis: he's mature and solid, and he will probably always be closer to Brendel the classicist than Richter the adventurer/poet.



My reactions to the rest of this program followed suit. Lewis has strength in plenty, which is the best thing about him, and he's got Beethoven's idiom down (unlike, say, Andras Schiff). My own taste veers toward the Serkin-Richter pole of pianism, but I cna ecognize a major talent when I hear one. Lewis deserves all the extravagant notice he's been getting. I also love the Beethoven from another young virtuoso, the American Jonathan Biss -- at this point he, the veteran Mikhail Pletnev, and Paul Lewis ofer me the most excitement on the Beethoven front."

Excelente pianista

Pilar Garcia | 11/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"despues de haber escuchado practicamente todas las versiones de las sonatas de Beethoven, esta puede ser mi favorita, ademas de completa, de calidad de sonido perfecto. tengo las versiones de Barenboim: penosas. las de Kovacevich me gustan mucho pero son sosas y violentas. las de Gould son maravillosamente sensuales pero su sonido flojo. las de schnabel las mejores pero tan antiguas y con ese sonido. luego las de Perahia pero solo tiene 10 sonatas grabadas , una pena, pero es mi pianista favorito.

Estas son magnificas, pero el precio caro."