Crisp, Clean, Delicious
Stephen G Bowden | NC School of the Arts | 06/17/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Hammerklavier is widely considered the most difficult work Beethoven wrote, period. And it is. Mr. Feltsman, an obvious intellectual pianist, breaks this piece apart and puts it together splendidly. Every chord, every vicious, scathing run and hand-cramping passage is crisp and confident.The A Major sonata (Op. 101) is fantastic as usual. It is nevertheless terrifying hard to make clean, but Feltsman accomplishes the task with seeming ease. The best performance I've heard of No. 28, easily topping Schnabel, who is supposedly one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of all time."