Something to challenge, something to please
Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 11/22/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"No doubt one can disagree with Jenö Jandó over details of his interpretation, but the fact remains that his presentation of these rather lesser-known Beethoven sonatas is an interpretation, and a decidedly good one at that. Whether it be the brute force with which he attacks the opening arpeggio of Sonata No. 5, the pensive delicacy with which he concludes the slow movement of Sonata No. 7, the consummate skill with which he demonstrates the fugal construction of the Presto of Sonata No. 6, or the sheer jauntiness of his Sonata No. 25 -- here there is always something to challenge, something to please and something to think about. The sound is not quite as pure as it has been on some of his other Beethoven discs, and with the right equipment it is possible to hear Jandó humming along in the background à la Glenn Gould, an accessory that I personally could have done without, but this is still a budget-priced disc for which the word 'adequate' is far too tame; this is value-for-money indeed."