Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Garrick Ohlsson :: Beethoven: Sonatas, Vol. 3

You, too, can became a pianophile

Vera Kolb | Kenosha, WI | 03/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is the third one in the Beethoven sonatas series played by Garrick Ohlsson. He has chosen for each of these recordings a selection of the sonatas from the different periods of Beethoven. The choice was made for the best listening appreciation and enjoyment.



The sonatas on this CD are: No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2, No.3, No. 9 in E Major, Op. 14, No. 1, No. 10 in G. Major, Op. 14, No. 2, and No. 25 in G. Major, Op. 79. Mr. Ohlsson plays the first three sonatas on Bösendorfer Imperial Grand, and the last sonata, No. 25, on the Hamburg Steinway. You will hear the difference. I liked the Steinway much better.



Mr. Ohlsson plays superbly. His tone sparkles, his dynamics goes from the strongest to the softest in a millisecond, he moves forward with a clear sense of direction, he plays with the utmost precision and such clarity that you can hear every note, with a precise but very much alive rhythm. He plays with great ease and joy. His playing style is clean and emotionally controlled, but you will be profoundly moved. In these particular sonatas, which are conceptually difficult, any hesitation and half-baked ideas are detrimental. There is no trace of those in Mr. Ohlsson's playing. He knows his music, he interprets Beethoven convincingly, he never looses his musical focus. You know where Mr. Ohlsson is going, and he knows how to get you there. You will be intimately involved in this music story of Beethoven's growth spurts and experimentation.



My very favorite sonata on this CD is No. 10. Mr. Ohlsson brings out the beautiful melody, shows a superb dynamics, changes the color of the tone and the expression in a masterly way, he adds little mystery, little playfulness, off he goes... Bravo! I like all the other sonatas, particularly No. 25, but the great preference for No. 10 is that I have actually heard Mr. Ohlsson play it, on the very day when I became a pianophile!



I was sitting in the Martin Theatre in Ravinia, reading the concert program of Beethoven Sonatas waiting for Mr. Ohlsson to come on stage. Sonata this, sonata that. Opus this, opus that. Dedicated to so and so. My eyes were glazing over. I have mixed up all the information, and have retained very little. Finally, Mr. Ohlsson appeared on the stage. He sat at the piano, concentrated for about five seconds, and started playing.



As soon as I heard his playing, I became completely stunned. I have never heard music of such great beauty before. I did not know such performance was possible. I was moved most profoundly. I was sitting there trying to adjust, staring at either Mr. Ohlsson's hands, or at the golden wheels of the Fazioli piano he was playing.



Then I heard Mr. Ohlsson play the thunderous parts. I never knew that piano could produce such huge, monumental, big-bang sound, which could beat any orchestra. I loved it! At one point I thought that Mr. Ohlsson was going to destruct the Fazioli. At another time, when Mr. Ohlsson descended upon Fazioli particularly fiercely, I became concerned that the golden wheels of the Fazioli will dislodge and that the piano would roll into the audience. (To think about the Fazioli piano as a weapon of mass destruction is a sad comment on the times we live in). While the Fazioli drama was unfolding, I was soaking up the music. I never lost concentration, I followed every note. I knew right there and then that I have undergone a major musical growth spurt. The music I knew before was left behind me, pale, insignificant, and uninteresting. I was in for some music adventures in a brand new music world!



You have to get this CD, so that you, too, can become a pianophile!



P.S. on March 10, 2008

I just learned that this CD got the Grammy award! Well deserved!!!





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Stunning musicality, passion & technique!

Piano lover Bob | Houston, TX USA | 02/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I received this CD yesterday, and once again I was stunned over how complete Ohlsson's playing is, of the Beethoven Sonatas. Each theme has its own sound and character, as does each movement of any given sonata. What I find amazing is how he clarifies the differences in each style that Beethoven was creatively growing into! And each sontata sounds like it is been played exactly the way Beethoven intended. As a pianist who studied for years to be a 'concert pianist", I worked on Opus 2, No.3 for sometime - it is known by some as "The Little Waldstein", the Waldstein being one of Beethoven's more technically fiendish sonatas. Ohlsson tosses off the technique with no problem,with gorgeous shading and voicing, then goes into another private,intimate world in the slow movement! His playing of the Beethoven Sonatas so far, is simply the best - Most Alive - that I've heard. All four albums recorded by Bridge Records, and Arabeque are highly recommended!"