Beethoven: Ein neuer Weg - Piano Sonatas Op. 31 & Variations Opp. 34 & 35
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Ein neuer Weg - Piano Sonatas Op. 31 & Variations Opp. 34 & 35
Andreas Staier (fortepiano)
[ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Friday 13 March 2020
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
The year 1802 was a decisive one for Beethoven: in the autumn, he wrote the 'Heiligenstadt Testament', in which he clearly expressed his awareness of the outcome of his inexorably increasing deafness. At almost the same time, he told his friend Krumpholz that, 'not satisfied' with his 'work so far', he was planning to embark on 'a new path'. It so happens that the works here, skilfully grouped together by Andreas Staier, correspond precisely to that new direction.
"It is very rare that a fortepiano recording is executed so perfectly. In concert, the instrument is capable of exquisite subtlety, but that doesn't often translate to the recording studio, where microphone placement can sully the player's best intentions. Here, there is a synergy of recording, performance, and interpretive vision that never fails to intrigue and very often impresses." Fanfare
"This stimulating disc, recorded on an instrument of 1810, illustrates Beethoven's "new path". The Op 31 sonatas show an unprecedented, almost improvisatory audacity of harmony." Sunday Times
"The playing here is a model of restraint and good musical sense; even in the so called Tempest Sonata, Op 31 No 2 in D minor, nothing is pushed too hard, as if clarity matters above everything. There are times, in fact, when it's all a bit too well-mannered...But overall these performances are models of thoughtfulness and insight." The Guardian
Tracks:
Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31 No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'Tempest'
Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major, Op. 31 No. 3 'The Hunt'
Variations (6) for Piano on an Original Theme in F major, Op. 34
Eroica Variations, Op. 35
