Beethoven's 32 Sonatas for piano are a monument in classical music. This edition contains only two of those sonatas. But that's enough to show how broad the spectrum of Beethoven's imagination is. The Mondschein Sonata is the most poetic, and therefore probably the most loved. However, the Hammerklavier-Sonata is the most experimental. Even now this music manages to overwhelm with its daring and
… brutality. Until well into the 20th century, this sonata was regarded as a benchmark of modernity, a compelling example for Messiaens Vingt Regards and Boulez's Second Piano Sonata. Beautiful by that he manages to take this pianistic marathon with so much youthful energy, although he was already close to seventy during the recording. His intellectual baggage is also fine. He will have seen just about every sketch and edition of these sonatas as editor of Henle's Beethoven Urtext edition. (HJ)more
