Hannes Minnaar: Beethoven Piano Concertos CD review – buoyant, joyful and brimming with energy

Young Dutch pianist Hannes Minnaar now has a complete set of Beethoven concerto discs to his name, and it’s a set that should make that name better known. He doesn’t seem to try overly hard to be distinctive, but he … Continue reading →

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations CD review – Filippo Gorini’s fearless, breathtaking debut disc

Filippo Gorini(Alpha)

Proms get political as Ode to Joy features on first night

Festival tries to avoid controversial statements, but Russian-German pianist Igor Levit sneaked European Union theme through in first hour of season

Mozart and Beethoven: Violin Sonatas CD review – Ji Young Lim makes an assured and sparky debut

With violin playing so crisp you could dip it in sour cream and onion and hand it round at a party, this is an assured debut from Ji Young Lim. And yet even as the notes spring from her bow, … Continue reading →

Igor Levit review – bold Beethoven piano cycle comes to an outstanding end

Levit brought drama but never at the expense of thoughtfulness to Beethoven’s final three sonatas

Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas review – Schiff sweeps all before him

Taken from recitals he gave at the Tonhalle in Zürich between 2004 and 2007, András Schiff’s cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas appeared chronologically disc by disc. Boxed together now, the ordering and even packaging of the original discs has been … Continue reading →

Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas and Variations CD review – here’s how to make Beethoven’s huge structures work

Here are two musicians a generation apart, feeding off each other’s energy. Ralph Kirshbaum and Shai Wosner’s long tour of Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano culminated earlier this year at London’s Wigmore Hall, where this album was recorded. … Continue reading →

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas CD review – Angela Hewitt is thoughtful and nuanced

Angela Hewitt is not a pianist to overuse the sustaining pedal, and the well-defined playing she tends towards in this, the sixth disc of her Beethoven sonata series, works for and against her. Closing the first movement of Op 14 … Continue reading →

Beethoven: Sonata No 29, ‘Hammerklavier’ CD review – vintage Sokolov from 1975

Grigory Sokolov (piano)(Sony)

Goerne/Bezuidenhout review – lyrical warmth and nuance

Beethoven’s often overlooked songs were the focus of Matthias Goerne and Kristian Bezuidenhout’s thoughtful and thought-provoking recital

Beethoven, Schumann, Françaix: Equal CD review – colour and nuance

Sebastian Bohren (violin), Chaarts Chamber Artists (RCA Red Seal)

Beethoven Symphonies (Rattle/Berlin Phil) – technically immaculate but curiously incoherent

For all the fine playing of Rattle and his Berlin Philharmonic, the performances don’t convey the musical journey charted by these symphonies

Llŷr Williams review – simply heavenly playing

Williams enhanced his stature as a Beethoven interpreter with this exploration of the keyboard repertoire, which combined crystal clarity with restrained finesse

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol 5 review – grace and danger

Pianist Jonathan Biss’s combination of a light touch and lyricism with risk-taking is a great match for the Beethoven’s later work

David Matthews: Complete String Quartets Vol 4 CD review – a tremendous achievement

David Matthews pays homage to Beethoven, with thrilling results