Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: Allegro
2. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: Adagio
3. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: Meneutto, Allegretto
4. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: Prestissimo
5. Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: Presto alla tedesca
6. Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: Andante
7. Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: Vivace
8. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: Allegro molto e con brio
9. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: Adagio molto
10. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: Finale, Prestissimo
11. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: Allegro
12. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: Allegretto
13. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: Presto
14. Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: Allegro
15. Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: Allegretto
16. Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: Rondo, Allegro comodo

Disc 2:

1. Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: Allegro
2. Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: Andante
3. Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: Scherzo, Allegro assai
4. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: Andante
5. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: Allegro molto e vivace
6. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: ADagio con espresione
7. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: Allegro vivace
8. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: Adagio sostenuto
9. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: Allegretto
10. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: Presto agitato
11. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: Movement 1: Allegro
12. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: Movement 2: Andante
13. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: Movement 3: Scherzo: Allegro vivace-Trio - Movement 4: Rondo: Allegro non troppo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31882 in Music
• Released on: 1992-11-04
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

early Beethoven played sweetly
Brendel always seems to have a penchant for never over-doing things. He's never too loud, never too soft, never too harsh (even with this composer). In all the lyrical sections of these early sonatas, I find this disciplined sense of moderation to be soothing yet intense. For example in the first movement of the "Moonlight" Sonata, the soft and double soft marking are observed with assiduousness. It's subtle and not overly dramatic.

Brendel's technique is more than adequate. I wonder why he is not more of a perfectionist when he plays (as he has said about his playing- "I am not a perfectionist.")

All the dynamic and phrasing markings are observed diligently. He's very true to the intentions of the composer even in the little pieces such as these. And as always, he puts the composer before himself when playing.

Brendel plays Bethoven in his own way
He may not have a lyricism of Gilels or force and precision of Sokolov, but along these greatest I love the way he plays No.10 G Major and NO. 15 D Major "Pastoral" and others from this album

Excellent performances, recording-remastering mediocre...
These recordings date from 1962 through 1964. The state-of-the art for analog was fully developed by then (see the fine RCA Living Stereo releases from the 1950's!), so my best guess as to the "metallic" sound of the piano is that it stems from a bad remaster/transfer job in 1991-2 and/or the use of 2nd or later generation tapes, or a bad recording to begin with... Truth be told, I have the original LPs that came as a boxed set containing all of LvB's piano music (incl. the concertos,etc.) and I am leaning toward the last possibility being the case here... the performances trump the sonics, and I'd not hesitate to recommend these versions.