Ludwig van Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Volume III

András Schiff

Featured Artists Recorded

February 2005, Tonhalle Zürich

Original Release Date

20.10.2006

  • Sonata No. 19 g minor op. 49/1
    (Ludwig van Beethoven)
  • 1Andante04:30
  • 2Rondo. Allegro03:50
  • Sonata No. 20 G major op. 49/2
    (Ludwig van Beethoven)
  • 3Allegro, ma non troppo05:05
  • 4Tempo di Menuetto03:34
  • Sonata No. 9 E major op. 14/1
    (Ludwig van Beethoven)
  • 5Allegro07:30
  • 6Allegretto03:50
  • 7Rondo. Allegro comodo03:20
  • Sonata No. 10 G major op. 14/2
    (Ludwig van Beethoven)
  • 8Allegro07:42
  • 9Andante05:11
  • 10Scherzo. Allegro assai03:54
  • Sonata No. 11 B flat major op. 22
    (Ludwig van Beethoven)
  • 11Allegro con brio08:11
  • 12Adagio con molta espressione07:36
  • 13Minuetto03:09
  • 14Ronde. Allegretto06:35
As always, Schiff is a master of detail, often rephrasing bars you thought you knew well, coming up with fine nuances while never losing sight of the work’s overall architecture. Recorded live in Zurich’s Tonhalle, thanks to Schiff’s belief that it’s vital to play in front of an audience, this is a distinguished instalment in an outstanding cycle.
Anthony Holden, The Observer
 
Although all these works manifest very different moods and characters, Schiff makes efforts to penetrate beneath the surface aspects of the music, focusing on moments of intimacy and introspection. The approach to Op. 14, No. 1 is especially daring. … Taking an unusually expansive approach to the first movement, Schiff invests the musical argument with an astonishing variety of texture and dynamic range… The modest Op. 49 Sonatas are treated with affection and poetic sensibility, whilst Schiff relishes the unbuttoned humour of the middle movement of Op. 14/2. Highlights of the Op. 22 Sonata include an almost vocal right-hand in the Adagio con molto espressione, Schiff exploiting the cantabile tone of his Fabbrini piano to wonderful effect. …
There’s little doubt that this release contains some very special insights.
Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine
 
Mit filigranem, hammerklavierartigem Anschlag und beispielhaftem “cantabile” brilliert er in den “einfachen” Sonaten op. 49. Selbst feinste satztechnische Nuancen werden in den Sonaten op. 14 hörbar, während er in der konzertant angelegten Sonate op. 22 enorme Spannungsbögen und fein artikulierte Passagen herausarbeitet. Volume III, ein wahrer Genuss für jeden Beethoven-Kenner.
Oliver Ford, Stereo
 
Wieder einmal beweist der ungarische Pianist, dass er es auf einzigartige Weise versteht, interpretatorische Brillanz und enzyklopädischen Forschergeist zu verbinden. ... Tatsächlich ist der Entwicklungsgedanke in Schiffs sensiblen Interpretationen unüberhörbar. Wendig und filigran glänzen auch Miniatur-Sonaten wie op. 49. Mit seinem hochdifferenzierten Anschlag ist es eine wahre Freude, den Nuancenreichtum der G-Dur-Sonate op. 14/2 zu entdecken. Die Schlichtheit des Kopfsatzes in op.14/1 fasziniert durch die Farbgebung der einzelnen Stimmen im Quartettsatz. Und so zeigt Schiff trotz übergreifenden Entwicklungsgedanken seine Liebe zum Detail, die Fähigkeit, den Reichtum des Augenblicks zu genießen.
Anja Renczikowski, Piano News
 
András Schiff, pianista ungherese cinquantenne gentile e delicato, che non prende mai per la collottola l’ascoltatore, che poche sere fa ha concluso alle Serate Musicali di Milano il ciclo delle Sonate di Beethoven acclamato da tutto il pubblico in piedi. Con lui si entra nella logica di ogni composizione, perché il fraseggio è sempre razionale e chiaro ma anche libero e toccante quel tanto che ci entri nella memoria, perché la graduazione delle sonorità, anche in queste splendida registrazione, è precisa e variatissima, perché il legato è affettuoso, lo staccato è il massimo della brillantezza, perché le stesse pause sono d'una eloquenza e d’un respiro inimitabili.
Lorenzo Arroga, Il Giornale
 
 
 
International critics writing on the first two volumes of András Schiff’s Beethoven cycle have praised a particularly “sharp attention to detail” (Jed Distler in Gramophone on volume II) and expressed their high expectations for the edition as a whole, with Le monde de la musique saluting Schiff as one of the “great Beethoven interpreters of our time.” Michael Church’s remark on Volume II of Schiff’s cycle in The Independent applies no less to this third instalment: “These are early works, but he shows them to be fully fledged masterpieces: their contours are sharpened, and their emotional depths plumbed, with each becoming a musical drama.”

Schiff’s concept to approach the sonatas in strict chronological order proves especially successful in this volume which combines the four smaller sonatas opp. 49 and 14 with the brilliant op. 22, all composed between 1796 and 1800. “It’s fascinating for me to reconstruct this creative arc as though I were taking an overview of it for the first time, and assembling it into a large-scale narrative”, says the pianist in the introductory interview with Martin Meyer printed in the CD-booklet.

In an interview for the Swiss magazine Musik und Theater Schiff recently once again laid out his reasons to record the sonatas live in the Zürich Tonhalle: “I’m fully convinced that vivid performances are possible only in front of an audience. I obviously don’t share Glenn Gould’s opinion that concerts are superfluous and that work in the recording studio is so much more important. Being an artist you live for those very moments when music really happens.” Schiff plays every programme in 15 different cities before recording it: “I really feel that my performances get more mature from concert to concert. The repetitions are a very valuable lesson.”

Schiff’s Beethoven cycle on ECM New Series will be continued in spring 2007 with Volume IV including the sonatas opp. 26, 27 and 28.

YEAR DATE VENUE LOCATION
2025 February 10 Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, Netherlands
2025 February 12 Flagey Brussels, Belgium
2025 February 15 Lisinski Hall Zagreb, Croatia
2025 February 17 Dvorák Hall - Rudolfinum Prague, Czechia
2025 February 23 Musikverein Vienna, Austria
2025 February 25 Musikverein Vienna, Austria
2025 February 26 historischer Reitstadel Neumarkt, Germany
2025 February 27 Casals Forum Kronberg, Germany
2025 February 28 Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, Germany
2025 March 05 Sheldonian Theatre Oxford, United Kingdom
2025 March 11 Kartause Ittingen, Switzerland
2025 March 18 HongKong Cultural Centre Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR China
2025 March 19 HongKong Cultural Centre Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR China
2025 March 21 Symphony Hall Kawasaki, Japan
2025 March 22 Fenice Sacay Sakai, Japan
2025 March 23 Kyoto Concert Hall Kyoto, Japan
2025 March 25 Tokyo Opera City Tokyo, Japan
2025 March 26 Tokyo Opera City Tokyo, Japan
2025 March 28 Concert House Daegu, South Korea
2025 March 30 Concert Hall Seoul, South Korea
2025 April 07 Hellerup Kirke Hellerup, Denmark
2025 April 09 Musiikkitaloon Helsinki, Finland
2025 April 10 Musiikkitaloon Helsinki, Finland
2025 April 22 Philharmonie Paris, France
2025 May 01 Teatro Olimpico Vicenza, Italy
2025 May 03 Teatro Olimpico Vicenza, Italy
2025 May 06 Schloß Freudenstein Eppan, Italy
2025 May 11 Musikverein Vienna, Austria
2025 May 12 Musikverein Graz, Austria
2025 May 13 Musikverein Graz, Austria
2025 May 15 deSingel Antwerp, Belgium
2025 May 17 Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Netherlands
2025 May 18 Herkulessaal Munich, Germany
2025 May 19 Tonhalle Zurich, Switzerland
2025 May 20 Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Germany
2025 May 22 Royal Festival Hall London, United Kingdom
2025 June 07 Wigmore Hall London, United Kingdom
2025 June 09 Wigmore Hall London, United Kingdom
2025 June 15 Filharmonia Warsaw, Poland
2025 June 17 Konzerthaus Vienna, Austria
2025 June 19 Konzerthaus Blaibach, Germany
2025 June 21 Gewandhaus Leipzig, Germany
2025 June 28 Casals Forum Kronberg, Germany
2025 June 29 Casals Forum Kronberg, Germany
2025 July 03 Schloß Elmau Krün, Germany
2025 July 05 Schloß Elmau Krün, Germany