CD, стоящие на полке рядом : Classics (Guru)      

Recorded May 2006

Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 8

Earlier volumes in Andras Schiff's cycle of Beethoven's complete piano sonatas had their virtues: impeccable articulation, lucid textures, and balanced interpretations chief among them. But those virtues began to seem more and more like vices as the series went along. In this penultimate volume containing the first three of the six late sonatas, Schiff sounds technically flawless but detached, texturally lucid but uninvolved, and interpretatively balanced but uncommitted. In the two-movement E minor Sonata, Op. 90, one wants dark melancholy in the opening movement and blessed consolation in the closing movement, but Schiff's E minor sounds merely listless in the opening movement and restless in the closing movement. In the A major Sonata, Op. 101, one wants a combination of heartwarming lyricism and whimsy, but Schiff delivers merely wan charm and dry wit. And in the enormous "Hammerklavier" Sonata, Op. 106, one wants a sense of the technically and interpretively impossible overcome through the full dedication of the pianist's heart, mind, and muscle, but while Schiff's technique is beyond reproach, his playing is so objectively balanced that his interpretation seems to miss the piece's point. Schiff's attempts to grow beyond his initial reputation as a Mozart and Schubert player are admirable, but Beethoven, or at least late Beethoven, does not appear to be a natural fit for his talents. ECM's digital sound is clear, yet evocative.

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The simultaneous yet separate release of the last two volumes of Schiff's complete Beethoven sonatas in autumn 2008 finally offers the opportunity to oversee the pianist's approach to this unique repertoire segment in total. Part VII, recorded once again live at Tonhalle Zurich, includes the first three of the so-called "late" sonatas which were written between 1814 and 1822. A highlight in any Beethoven cycle is the 45-minute long "Hammerklavier" sonata which Schiff - especially with regard to the fast tempo markings by Beethoven - calls "probably the hardest work in the whole repertoire of the piano - technically, structurally, atmospherically, metaphysically." Reviewers in England, Germany and Switzerland expressed their unanimous admiration after Schiff's recitals with this programme in May 2006, praising the pianist's structural awareness, his individual approach to musical characters, and outstanding sonic control.

All Music Guide