Maurizio Zaccaria - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Opp. 81a, 101 & 106 Hammerklavier (2022) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his 32+4 Piano Sonatas - including 4 Sonatinas (doubtfull) - between 1782 and 1822. Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they comprise one of the most important collections of works in the history of music. Hans von Bulow called them "The New Testament" of the piano literature (Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier being "The Old Testament").

Beethoven's early sonatas were highly influenced by those of Haydn and Mozart. The first three sonatas, written in 1782-3 are usually not acknowledged as part of the complete set of piano sonatas, due to the fact that he was 13 when they were published. His Piano Sonatas No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 15 are four movements long, which was rather uncommon in his time.

After he wrote his first 15 sonatas, he wrote to Wenzel Krumpholz, "From now on, I'm going to take a new path." Beethoven's sonatas from this period are very different from his earlier ones. His experimentation in modifications to the common sonata form of Haydn and Mozart became more daring, as did the depth of expression. Most Romantic period sonatas were highly influenced by those of Beethoven. After his 20th sonata, published in 1805, Beethoven ceased to publish sonatas in sets and published all his subsequent sonatas each as a single whole opus. It is unclear why he did so.

Beethoven's late sonatas were some of his most difficult works and some of today's most difficult repertoire. Yet again, his music found a new path, often incorporating fugal technique and displaying radical departure from conventional sonata form. The "Hammerklavier" was deemed to be Beethoven's most difficult sonata yet. In fact, it was considered unplayable until almost 15 years later, when Liszt played it in a concert.

Beethoven's piano sonatas came to be seen as the first cycle of major piano pieces suited to concert hall performance. Being suitable for both private and public performance, Beethoven's sonatas form "a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall". The first person to play them all in a single concert cycle was Hans von Bulow, the first complete recording is Artur Schnabel's for the label His Master's Voice.

Maurizio Zaccaria approached the performances of these milestones - the 32+4 (Complete) Piano Sonatas by Ludwig Van Beethoven - with a vision aimed at highlighting the gestures of the compositional aspect, not disdaining a more massive use of the resonance pedal which, according to Czerny's words, was used abundantly by Beethoven himself.

The recordings were made from 2019 to 2021, in exclusive for our label, OnClassical; they involved two Steinway's grand pianos: the first series (including Sonatas Opp. 13, 26, 27, 28, 49, 53, 54, 57, 90) was entirely recorded on a 1968 Steinway D-274 chosen by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, property of the label. The second and third series were executed on a brand new instrument, always a Steinway D.

Tracklist:
01. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux": I. Das Lebewohl
02. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux": II. Abwesenheit
03. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les adieux": III. Das Wiedersehen
04. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: I. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung
05. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: II. Lebhaft. Marschmäßig
06. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll
07. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101: IV. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit
08. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": I. Allegro
09. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": II. Scherzo. Assai vivace
10. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": III. Adagio sostenuto
11. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-Flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier": IV. Introduzione. Largo - Fuga. Allegro risoluto


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