Ludwig Van Beethoven Complete Works

Theme and variations’ is one form that Beethoven employed throughout his career. He wrote his first surviving set while still a boy in Bonn and finished the last one some forty years later – a statistical fact that becomes interesting when one considers the inherent tension between the composer’s dramatic style and the static and decorative nature of the form itself. Towards the end of the 18th century variation form was generally used for entertaining elaborations on popular tunes but Beethoven, being Beethoven, changed the ground rules radically. For a while he followed the convention – or shrewd marketing strategy – of using existing melodies from operas or ballets, but often these would almost immediately undergo such profound transformations that he might as well have used an unknown theme. As a consequence it is understandable that Beethoven’s variations were often considered much too learned, far too eccentric and, by some, even offensive.

Within the space of a mere couple of CDs, it is possible to encapsulate works which are not only among the most beautiful ever written for the cello and piano duo, but also represent the very birth of the genre we call the sonata for cello and piano in the classic meaning of the term. Beethoven’s output for the two instruments comprises some absolute masterpieces and other works which maybe cannot claim the same status, but still are among the favourites of performers and audiences alike.

This is the latest and, they tell us, the last of EMI’s Simon Rattle Edition, gathering together the conductor’s complete forays into certain composers and repertoire. As with any such project the sets hitherto released have contained both treasures and duds. Even though not everything here is perfect, this set sends the series out on a high with his complete Vienna recording of the Beethoven symphonies.

Beethoven was the last great composer to write string trios, and his are the finest works of their type. Mozart hardly touched this particular combination, and Haydn wrote quite few very early works which are now completely unknown. In any case, Haydn used two violins and a cello, whereas with Beethoven the standard combination became violin, viola, and cello. These are all early works, expert examples of all that Beethoven learned from Haydn and Mozart in preparation for the writing of his first great string quartets. But far from being mere composition exercises, these are highly rewarding works on their own, and these outstanding performances make the best possible case for their claim to be ranked among Beethoven's chamber music masterpieces.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Kurfürsten Sonatas WoO 47, 50 & 51
Complete Works For Solo Piano Vol. 9 - Ronald Brautigam, fortepiano
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 250 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: BIS # BIS-SACD-1672 | Country/Year: Sweden 2010
Genre: Classical | Style: Classical

…Brautigam's interpretations have a directness and urgency to them that far surpasses such considerations - as summed in a review in Classic FM Magazine of a recent instalment: 'Brautigam has more to say about the music than any recent cycle recorded on modern instruments. An outstanding disc of an outstanding series.'

Boris Giltburg’s personal exploration of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas reaches its penultimate volume. The Sonata No. 27, Op. 90 dates from 1814 and foreshadows Beethoven’s late period in its nuanced, expressive musical language. Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 is the first of Beethoven’s late period piano works, combining haunting poetic beauty with complex contrapuntal passages. Sonata No. 29, Op. 106, nicknamed ‘Hammerklavier’, is a monumental, symphonic work, pushing all boundaries of what had been achieved in the sonata form so far.

This seems to be a golden age for piano trios: such groups are springing up everywhere, like daffodils in the springtime. The Trio Parnassus are an experienced world-class ensemble who have garnered an extensive discography, and deservedly so.The present disc is hailed as the opening salvo in a complete recorded cycle of the Beethoven piano trios and I am much impressed.

The performance of Leonore Overture No. 3 tells you what to expect: the wonderfully flowing introduction, organically related to the tempo of the ensuing allegro, establishes a chamber-music-like balance between strings and winds. Brass and timpani cut through clearly, but never forcefully. The main body of the movement is fleet and graceful, yet also lacking in rhetorical emphasis and the kind of grandeur that many listeners prefer. David Zinman clearly takes his cues from the period-instrument crowd, but he also takes advantage of modern timbral smoothness to achieve singularly beautiful results. While you may not like the comparative dearth of weight, there’s no question that the orchestra fully realizes his approach, and it is excellently recorded to boot.

60 CD box set. Selection of Ludwig Van Beethoven works recorded by David Zinman & Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (Symphonies), Yefim Bronfman, David Zinman & tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (Piano concertos), Pinchas Zuckerman & Marc Neikrug (Violin Sonatas), Anner Bylsma & Jon Van Immerseel (Cello Sonatas), Seraphin Trio (Piano Trios), Alexander String Quartet (String Quartets), Yukio Yokoyama, Robert Casadesus, Justus Frantz, Vladimir Horowitz, Gerhard Oppitz & Charles Rosen (Piano Sonatas), Eugene Ormandy & Philadelphia Orchestra (Christ On The Mount Of Olives), Wolfdieter Maurer & Tokyo Oratorio Society (Mass in C Major), David Zinman & Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (Missa Solemnis) and many other great artists.