Otto Klemperer's Beethoven is one of the towering achievements in the history of recordings. By today's standards, these performances are hopelessly old-fashioned: dark, heavy, and frequently very slow. But they are also the grandest, most unsentimental, most purposeful versions in the catalog.
Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the towering heroes of music. As a composer, he became a transformational, sometimes revolutionary force. As a man of spirit and inspiration, he triumphed over deafness to produce a wealth of masterpieces. Over the course of more than two centuries, his works have delighted, surprised, amazed and moved listeners. The greatest moments of his multi-faceted genius – from the heroic to the intimate – can be experienced here in performances by instrumentalists, singers and conductors of the utmost distinction.
The collection gathers the best relaxing tunes from the piano repertoire performed by most eminent musicians: Piotr Anderszewski, Leif Ove Andsnes, Daniel Barenboim, Bertrand Chamayou, Aldo Ciccolini, Samson François, Hélène Grimaud, Stephen Kovacevich, Nicolai Lugansky, Maria-João Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Anne Queffélec, Alexandre Tharaud and Alexis Weissenberg.