Angela Hewitt is on characteristic top form in three of Beethoven’s iconic sonatas … Hewitt’s intelligent planning gives it [Pathétique] a hardcore makeover. The extremes of dynamic range are deftly realised, and she’s
fearless at articulating with a brittle touch where necessary

The Pastoral sonata leads off Angela Hewitt’s second Beethoven sonata cycle instalment, and she taps into the music’s overall geniality while also paying heed to its darker corners … I love Hewitt’s
conversational give and take between the droning left-hand ostinato and the main theme at the Rondo finale’s outset … in addition to Hyperion’s superb sound, Hewitt, as usual, provides her own penetrating, vividly articulate annotations

Quietly dazzling … In the Scherzo [Pastoral] the B minor trio is also marvellous – fleet, shadowy, all taken in a single breath … Next, the Pathétique, which suits Hewitt very well. In the first movement, I particularly like the way in which she projects the Sturm-und-drang quality of the main Allegro di molto e con brio without turning it into
the Appassionata … [Op 2 No 3] Hewitt sounds completely happy playing it, and she finds just the right balance between its extrovert bravura and its lyricism

Hewitt punches out the dramatic opening chords of Beethoven’s Pathétique sonata with stinging vehemence, but otherwise plays the three sonatas here with a light touch. She often lingers deliciously over the Pathétique’s rich dissonances, while the adagio cantabile sings under her
featherweight fingers and the rondo surges with spritely abandon at each return of the theme