Search - Beethoven, Ohlsson :: Piano Sonatas 3

Stephen T. from ASHLAND, OR
Reviewed on 3/3/2010...

The most wonderful and astounding recording of the Hammerklavier Sonata I've ever heard! The dynamic range and level of nuance, scope of interpretation, etc., are immaculate and powerful, completely in character with the dynamic of the piece itself.

Most compelling account of Hammerklavier

Deborah Chesky | MA. USA | 05/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you want a Hammerklavier that literally hammers you, this is it! I've not heard a more cmpelling account of the Hammerklavier. With Gilels, it is Olympian but you feel he holds back a little. Richard Goode's Hammerklavier is a refined performance. Pollini hits all the notes but I find him lifeless. Brendel is about the next best. But for the best Hammklavier, I think this is incomparable.Superb recording. I hope that Ohlsson completes his cycle soon. His Chopin cycle is already superb. This issue looks extremely promising in an extremely compettive field. I have no doubt that it will go down as one of the greatest cycles.Try out his Appassionata, Waldstein if you haven't."

Life-long learning of music with Mr. Garrick Ohlsson as a Te

Vera Kolb | Kenosha, WI | 09/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As an educator who preaches life-long learning, I sure was wrong about not applying it to myself, in respect to my music learning. I have wrongly believed that I have done the best I could with the limited talent for music that I possess, and was complacent with my musical limits. This was all before Mr. Garrick Ohlsson turned my musical world upside-down, and made it into a blossoming musical garden. So, what is so special about him, and why numerous other famous performers could not lift me from my musical plateau?

In a search for an answer, I have listened very carefully for the past two months to the recordings of various prominent pianists and have compared them to Mr. Ohlsson. So this is what I came up with. Mr. Ohlsson will not make you ride on his own wave of emotions, like some other performers do. Instead, he will draw your own emotions out of you. Some performers' interpretations of music are very detailed, embarrassingly emotional, and highly personalized. Sometimes, I am turned off, as it appears to me that they are playing just for themselves and there is neither need nor the space for the listener. In contrast, I perceive Mr. Ohlsson as a messenger of the absolute, pure, and universal music. His performances help me construct a new knowledge of music. I like the purity of his music, his energy, his extreme dynamic ranges, and, best of all, the musical vortexes he will draw you in. His playing can be very passionate, but the passion seems to be the result of the music itself, not of Mr. Ohlsson's emotional state. I do not feel that Mr. Ohlsson is playing just for me, the way I feel when I listen to Sviatoslav Richter, for example. Instead, I feel that Mr. Ohlsson is going for a musical adventure of a cosmic importance and is taking me for a ride.

This recording of Beethoven's sonatas is a real gem. The first sonata on this CD is a well-known sonata of great difficulty, both technically and conceptually, the "Hammerklavier". The second sonata, No.16 in G Major, Op. 31, No.1, is pretty and fun. Especially catching is its "Allegro vivace". Ohlsson, the master teacher, deconstructs Beethoven without sacrificing complexity of music. His performance is just as I summarized it above. The booklet which comes with the CD is informative about the sonatas, Ohlsson's biography, and the piano he is playing. It took me some time to get used to this piano's sound. I liked very much the music notes, which are written by Frank Cooper. He places Beethoven's work in the context of his time, and he masterly points to the difficulties of the Hammerklavier sonata, which, he states, can overwhelm the casual listener.

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