Beethoven;Piano Sonatas 5 [Import]

During the course of his exemplary survey of Beethoven sonatas, Stephen Kovacevich appears to have acquired the voice of Beethoven himself. The recording almost ignites with the C Minor Sonata (No. 5), in which Kovacevich balances the inflammable outlying movements with the more graceful expanses of the "Adagio Molto". One of Beethoven's personal favourites, the humorous F Major Sonata (No. 6) offers evidence of the composer's connection with earlier Viennese masters such as Haydn and Mozart--the dance-like "Allegretto" and the vivacious "Presto" leap with particular immediacy. The Op. 28 Pastoral receives a graceful performance--consider the disciplined, tautly-sprung rhythm of the "Andante", or the immaculate detail in the development section of the "Allegro". Kovacevich saves his best performance, however, for Sonata No. 7 in D: pitting antecedent against consequent phrase in swift succession, the pianist investigates the score's multiple voices while maintaining a rhythmic pulse that asserts a foothold in our minds ("Presto"). Anticipating the introspection, serenity, and subtlety of Beethoven's third-period works, Kovacevich's reading of "Largo e mesto" is the highlight of the disc. The pianist saturates himself so thoroughly in the drama that the entire sonata becomes, in effect, a symphony, with all of the tension and compactness that the term implies. When the concluding "Rondo" is reached, Kovacevich has moved by the most authentic of paths to close the circle of Beethoven's thought. EMI's sound is forward and bright, with sufficient space for the pianist to display his ample genius. --Kevin Mulhall