Beethoven Beethoven 7

Following their previous two volumes of Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas, Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon now release the third volume on our partner label CAvi. This was a long-held wish of renowned violinist Antje Weithaas, who says “Just once in my lifetime, I wanted to record Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas as a cycle!”. Together with the versatile Hungarian pianist Dénes Várjon, she recorded the cycle not in the chronologial order but thematically. Their third and final album spans an arc from the first to the last violin sonatas, as well as Sonata No. 5 and 6, and collects the composer’s more lyrical works.

The first comprehensive Edition of Beethoven's Complete Works! More than 700 works / 87 CDs for an incredible price! Qualitative excellent recordings (DDD) from 1987 - 2007. In a space saving and aesthetic casket. This Edition with a total of 748 works was arranged based on the well-known “Beethoven-Compendium” of Barry Cooper (Thames & Hudson Ltd., London 1991). The combination of this unique Beethoven Edition is definitely the extensive works of Beethoven which has ever exist.

The 32 Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven are often referred to as the ‘New Testament’ of the keyboard literature, following on the ‘Old Testament’ of J.S. Bach's 48 preludes and fugues in the Well-Tempered Clavier. Composed over a period of almost three decades, from 1795 to 1822, the sonatas constitute a fascinating panorama of an artistic career which underwent numerous changes – not to say upheavals – but nevertheless remained remarkably consistent.

ECM New Series is better known for its documentation of contemporary works, but the music of the past sometimes receives coverage when artists bring a new perspective to it. The Diabelli Variations, Op. 120; the Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111; and the Six Bagatelles, Op. 126, are among the most original and intellectually stimulating works Ludwig van Beethoven composed for the piano, and the sophisticated interpretations of András Schiff are especially worthwhile for their insights into authentic performance practice and reception. Here, Schiff gives the listener options between a relatively modern sounding version of the Diabelli Variations and a period interpretation, without favoring one or the other. On the first CD he plays the Sonata and the Diabelli Variations on a Bechstein piano from 1921, though with minimal pedaling and a restrained execution that allows every inner voice and subtle dynamic to be appreciated. While this piano is not as hard or bright sounding as a modern Steinway, it is familiar to modern ears and most listeners will readily accept it. On the second CD, Schiff plays the Diabelli Variations, along with the Six Bagatelles, on a smaller sounding Franz Brodmann fortepiano, an original instrument from around 1820, Beethoven's time period.

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.

This album contains 57 tracks/3 hours and 13 minutes of masterpieces by Georges Cziffra. Brahms: Hungarian Dances (arranged by Cziffra), Schumann: Carnival, Toccata, Symphonic Etudes, Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 "Pathetique", No. 21 "Waldstein", No. 23 "Appassionata", and more. Recorded 1956-1983.

This music was recorded by Ashkenazy and the London Wind Soloists in 1966, quite early in his career outside Russia. It is outstanding in every way, not the least of which is the balance among the instruments, all of which have rewarding music to play. I have heard much more recent recordings of chamber groups that don't achieve this kind of balance. The Mozart Quintet dates from 1784, when he was at the peak of his powers, and this particular mix of instruments had not been tried before. It is a good-natured work, lively in the outer movements, with each player getting a chance to take the lead, so to speak, and the blended textures are arresting and appealing.

Asked to provide a capsule characterization of the Beethoven trios as opposed to the many other fine ones that the Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio performed, Isaac Stern offered the summation that "Beethoven is constantly driving himself and his performers in a way unknown to any other composer. There is none of the romantic levity one finds in the works of others. He is always deadly in earnest, even when introducing a lighter touch for contrast….."

Irving Kolodin