Special offer. Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Volume 2
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, February 2014, Editor's Choice
he plays a rich-sounding modern instrument, and Chandos supplies its usual feather-bed acoustic. Yet whenever there's a chance to be abrasive, Bavouzet seizes it, and he relishes the opportunities...
Special offer. Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Volume 2
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, February 2014, Editor's Choice
he plays a rich-sounding modern instrument, and Chandos supplies its usual feather-bed acoustic. Yet whenever there's a chance to be abrasive, Bavouzet seizes it, and he relishes the opportunities...
About
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet returns for the second volume of his survey of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas. The project, set to conclude with Vol. 3 in 2014, runs alongside his complete recording of Haydn’s Piano Sonatas. Vol. 1 of the Beethoven series was critically acclaimed, BBC Music calling the performances ‘distinguished and virtuosic’ and Fanfare remarking that ‘his readings will withstand the test of time’. In this release Bavouzet performs the sonatas published between 1800 and 1804.
This period marked a transitional stage in Beethoven’s work and the arrival of his middle period. Included are the two Op. 27 sonatas, both modified ‘quasi una fantasia’ that break away from traditional forms. One of these, the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, features one of his best-known movements, the opening Adagio sostenuto, which unfolds like a baroque prelude with its famous rolling triplets and lamenting melody. The ‘Waldstein’ Sonata, Op. 53 is one of the glories of Beethoven’s middle period and surpasses all his previous sonatas in scope and scale. Also recorded here is the Andante in F, a piece originally intended as the slow movement to the ‘Waldstein’. Although later replaced by a shorter Adagio molto this is a charming piece in its own right and quickly became one of Beethoven’s most popular works after being published alone as the Andante favori.
Contents and tracklist
- Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
- Recorded: 20-22 September 2013
- Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk
- Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
- Recorded: 20-22 September 2013
- Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk
- Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
- Recorded: 20-22 September 2013
- Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk
Awards and reviews
-
Gramophone MagazineFebruary 2014Editor's Choice
February 2014
he plays a rich-sounding modern instrument, and Chandos supplies its usual feather-bed acoustic. Yet whenever there's a chance to be abrasive, Bavouzet seizes it, and he relishes the opportunities Beethoven gives him to sound wispy and 'French'.
11th January 2014
Bavouzet proves he has the elegance for the early sonatas and the pianistic command for Beethoven’s larger forms...The “Moonlight” radiates mystery and momentum, the “Tempest” has fabulous intensity (and a graceful touch), while the “Waldstein” is treated to a performance of unmitigated rapture.
March 2014
This second volume is lucid yet intense in the poised Opus 31 sonatas and vital in the 'Waldstein.'
February 2014
Those following his Beethoven cycle will not be disappointed by what is on offer here and the final volume can be only keenly awaited.
16th January 2014
At its best, his playing is engaging and fresh; there's never a hint of staleness about even the most familiar music...While some might feel increasingly short-changed by these performances, others who admire the polish and assurance of Bavouzet's playing as well as the surface slickness that goes with it, may well enjoy every one of these performances.
10th January 2014
The nervous, abrupt chords in the first movement of Op 31, No 1 jump out and bite us. He’s equally impressive capturing the music’s playful mischief and sudden poetic revelations. So much here is brilliantly achieved and so sharply polished that the few moments of dullness take us by surprise.
