Utwory na płycie:

• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - Variation II
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - Variation III
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - Variation IV
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - Variation V
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - II. Scherzo. Allegro molto
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - III. Maestoso andante (Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un eroe)
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - IV. Allegro
• Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 Pastorale - I. Allegro
• Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 Pastorale - II. Andante
• Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 Pastorale - III. Scherzo. Allergo vivace
• Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 Pastorale - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non tanto
• Piano Sonata Sonata quasi una Fantasia No. 14 in C sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Moonlight - I. Adagio sostenuto
• Piano Sonata Sonata quasi una Fantasia No. 14 in C sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Moonlight - II. Allegretto
• Piano Sonata Sonata quasi una Fantasia No. 14 in C sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Moonlight - III. Presto agitato
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - I. Andante con variazioni
• Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat Major, Op. 26 - Variation I

Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28, "Pastorale"
Piano Sonata in C sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight"
Piano Sonata in A flat Major, Op. 26

When I first heard Beethoven’s Sonata No. 15 in D Major, op. 28, the “Pastoral”, it immediately conquered my heart. The swaying, deeply resounding, velvety bass notes and the tender theme in the right hand continue to produce a melodious sense of well-being in me to this day. A series of slow, melodious arches alternating with incisive, characteristic insertions create the general mood in the first movement.

Then the entire second movement is pervaded by a relentless staccato figure in the left hand: these tranquil sixteenth notes, with their metronomical precision, provide a guiding framework for the right hand’s dignified theme. In the middle section, we are surprised by the onset of a harlequinesque alternation between dotted chords and whimsical triplets in the right hand, which lasts until the initial main theme and its accurately pulsating left-hand accompaniment call everyone back to order. In the last section, Beethoven accelerates the theme to thirty-second note runs – leading to a culmination before the music suddenly becomes quiet and the movement fades out in tranquil transcendence.

In the scherzo we are confronted with an accurate, reactive joy of music-making combined with an outgoing sense of humor, and the same variety of pulsating playing pleasure is likewise prolonged throughout the last movement. This is not a furious finale, but a mischievous, swaying Rundgesang (stanza-and-refrain) with an affectionate rondo theme that returns again and again. A breakneck coda in Presto time allows the soloist to conclude this grand sonata with bravura. I still well remember my admission exam for the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar in 1996. My programme included Beethoven’s “Pastoral” sonata; the jury allowed me to play portions of all movements, and I was admitted!

(excerpts from the booklet)

---

Recording: II 2021, Schloss Ettersburg, Weimar/Germany. Piano: Bösendorfer VC 280.