Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
2. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 2. Adagio molto
3. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 3. Finale. Prestissimo
4. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 1. Allegro
5. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 2. Allegretto
6. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 3. Finale. Presto
7. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 1. Presto
8. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 2. Largo e mesto
9. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 3. Menuetto. Allegro
10. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 4. Rondo. Allegro

Disc 2:

1. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 1. Allegro
2. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 2. Andante
3. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
4. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 4. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo
5. Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49/1: 1. Andante
6. Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49/1: 2. Rondo. Allegro
7. Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49/2: 1. Allegro ma non troppo
8. Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49/2: 2. Tempo di menuetto
9. Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 1. Adagio - Allegro ("Les Adieux")
10. Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 2. Andante espressivo ("L'Absence")
11. Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 3. Vivacissimamente ("Le Retour")

Disc 3:

1. Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 1. Vivace ma non troppo / Adagio espressivo
2. Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 2. Prestissimo
3. Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 3. Andante. Gesangvoll mit innigster Empfindung, mezza voce
4. Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
5. Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 2. Allegro molto
6. Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 3. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro ma non troppo (Fuga)
7. Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
8. Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: 2. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16821 in Music
• Released on: 2008-05-13
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .39 pounds

Customer Reviews

Paul Lewis ends his cycle with triumphant playing and recording
It took many years for Paul Lewis to move out of the shadow of his teacher and mentor, Alfred Brendel. All the benchmarks of Brendel's wonderful mature style -- the subtle humor, moderation, musicianship and lack of excessive self-aggrandizing tactics calling attention to oneself and away from the music -- are on display in this collection. With this recording, which showed up on just about every "Best of 2008" list of classical recordings, Lewis seems finally to have made his mark in the classical world.

I bought this set because I like both Brendel and Lewis and because this offering included many of my favorite Beethoven sonatas -- Nos. 7, 15, 26 and 32 -- a group of selections that challenge any player to master Beethoven's youthful fury, midlife wonder and wandering, and his most mature and unrelentingly transcendent music in the final pages of that apocalyptic, other-wordly final sonata.

I was never disappointed in Lewis's playing even though I cannot admit he completely convinced me all the time. I find Sviatoslav Richter the most universally appealing player in this repertory although his recordings can sometimes be very disappointing from either an artistic or sound perspective. Lewis is nothing like that -- assured and temperate all the time, completely obedient to the composer's wishes, and more than satisfactory interpreting the wide-ranging messages inherent in each score.

I can't say I was completely swayed by the sound of the recordings either. While modern and adequate in detail, there was sometimes a boomy effect you might experience listening in a small hall where the reverb is great enough to obstruct what's going on right now. But this is a minor issue in an otherwise splendid recording of some of Beethoven's most personal music.

Anyone interested in Beethoven's piano sonatas that's looking for another perspective should take the leap into Paul Lewis's world. Unless you seek something completely different, I doubt you'll be disappointed for his musicmaking is sober, lyrical, eloquent, expressively iridescent and penetrating without the least bit of inappropriate personalization.

Excellent conclusion to Lewis' Beethoven cycle
Paul Lewis finishes his superb Beethoven sonata series. Consistently fine playing throughout, with Opus 111 a particular highlight. Lewis has given us kind of a modern day Wilhelm Kempff approach to Beethoven. Wonderful lyrical approach, with broad tempos and a powerful technique when called for. Coupled with fine sound, this is a top choice for me for a modern cycle of the greatest piano music ever writen. I am also following Ronald Brautigam's fascinating sonata cycle on forepiano on BIS, which is about mid-point, with the Waldstein and Appassionata due up next.

(+) Record of the Year? Well, Hardly!
A few weeks ago, this three-disc and final installment in Paul Lewis's complete Beethoven Sonatas survey was awarded the prestigious Gramophone Record of the Year accolade. Having been a Gramophone subscriber some five years ago, I do (actually more did) on average value its reviews. However, I seldom take them at face value, especially when it comes to British artists or labels. Having said that, similar tendencies can easily be identified when it comes to the Grammy Awards and American artists or labels.

Back to Gramophone: In the last 30 years, only 11* out of the Records of the Year winners can be considered non-British. One of these makes up the only solo piano Record of the Year--Zimerman's dazzling Debussy Preludes in 1994. Hence, you would expect something really out of the ordinary in pianistic terms from the second-ever solo piano Record of the Year. Furthermore, considering the short-listed competition, a merely 'out of the ordinary' disc wouldn't be enough to beat one of the most spectacular piano records of all times--Hamelin's Alkan Solo Concerto remake. So, let's pose the big question: is Mr Lewis, very much British by the way, able to deliver a worthy Record of the Year?

The answer is rather simple: No, he isn't. Does he make an embarrassment out of himself and, even more importantly, the collective Gramophone reviewers? Well, almost, in some instances, had it not been for the third disc of the Opp 109-111 Sonatas. Let's take a quick look at my preconditions for this disc and review: (1) Lewis is a disciple of the 'great' Alfred Brendel; (2) I consider Mr Brendel to be one of the most overrated and lackluster pianists of our time; (3) I made my worst-ever cost/benefit record investment into Brendel's third (and hopefully last!) 1990s complete cycle of the Beethoven Sonatas (Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas); (4) my reference Beethoven Sonatas cycle is Richard Goode's, due to his matchless combination of articulation, pacing, tone production and imagination (Beethoven: The Complete Sonatas); (5) I'm currently in the process of collecting Ohlsson's (one of my three favourite pianists by the way) cycle, which looks set to give Goode a really good(e) run for his money!

The first disc of the Lewis set covers the three Op 10 Sonatas--the first in C minor being the 'Little Pathétique', the second in F major being one of Beethoven's lightest, and the third in D major being one of his most ambitious in the Classical style, though not successful. Already in the C minor Sonata we encounter the main problem with Lewis's playing (probably to a large extent thanks to his mentor), namely that he is too heavily serious and unsmiling. Indeed, this Sonata is comparatively serious, which doesn't mean it needs to sound this heavy and unsparkling--just compare with the airily articulate and witty Goode account. Lewis is far more successful in the lighter F major Sonata, where he far more idiomatically captures the spirit of the music. In my youth, I actually spent some time learning the Presto first movement of the D major Sonata. Lewis is vastly more successful than I ever was at turning this somewhat puzzling movement into something worthwhile; his first movement is in fact rather excellent. Nevertheless, in the serious Largo e mesto second movement he again gets caught up in exaggerating and dragging matters, as if trying to convince us of some deep gravity--which I personally question Beethoven had in mind. Little bit along the same lines, the Menuetto and Rondo get deprived of the positive buoyancy of Goode's renditions. ***(+)

The second disc juxtaposes the great Op 28 'Pastorale' and Op 81a 'Les Adieux' Sonatas with the two petty Op 49 Sonat(in)es in between. The Pastorale is one of my favourite Beethoven Sonatas; having said that, it is very difficult to bring off--much like his Pastorale Symphony, constantly risking being turned into an over-Romanticised cliché. Although it was more than 10 years ago, I can't stop admire the marvelous combination of rural simplicity and refined pianism Boris Berezovsky brought to this Sonata in a live Beethoven Sonatas recital (Örebro Concert Hall, Sweden). Goode's studio version certainly isn't bad either--miles ahead of Lewis's ponderous version of the Allegro and Scherzo first and third movements, respectively. Things do get better in the Rondo, whereas the Andante second movement is pretty beautiful (Lewis seems to share Beethoven's own affinity for this favourite movement). Lewis's Op 49 is very average, largely unmemorable. The Les Adieux is the real dud of this 3-disc set--possibly even less vital than Brendel's heavy 1990s version, and above all even less squarely characterised. **(+)

The third and final disc gathers Beethoven's three ultimate (in double aspect) Op 109-111 Sonatas. These are evidently three masterpieces, never really having been entirely surpassed but rather equaled (or perhaps further developed) by the two great Romantic B minor Sonatas (by Chopin and Liszt, respectively). Thanks to this third disc, no one can claim Lewis to be a mere second-rate Beethoven player. Here he amply surpasses his ultra-stiff mentor, whose 1990s account of these Sonatas is a real dull to put it mildly. To me, these Sonatas confirm that Beethoven not only is the greatest Classicist but also the greatest early Romantic pioneer. Lewis credibly puts this in his playing, delivering accounts that more than hold their own against virtually any other version--especially a magical E major Sonata. ****(+)

Finally, Harmonia Mundi's Teldex Studio recording is quite good, if slightly yielding in naturalness and brilliance to Nonesuch's ditto for Goode. So, will I acquire the three preceding Lewis volumes? Well, it probably goes without saying that I will continue collecting the Ohlsson treasures, leaving little shelf space for another seemingly merely average cycle--that is: ***(+)

Almost forgot it...--the Reocord of the Year? Well, by a landslide Hamelin's Alkan Concerto (Alkan: Concerto for solo piano; Troisième recueil de chants)!

* 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2003, 2004, 2006