Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 9, 10, 19, 20, 24 & 25

The great Canadian pianist Glenn Gould said he had come to realize that Beethoven was just always too busy being Beethoven. One would agree with this only too readily, were it not, for instance, for Beethoven’s six piano sonatas recorded on this CD (and, of course, a few others works), which in no way fit in with the image of the “titan”, as indicated by Gould’s remark. Within the music literature, the sonatas are considered “easy”, especially with regard to the demands made of the pianist – and therefore they are considered ideal introduc- tory works for the advanced piano pupil. As regards the standard of composition, they each provide a perfect example of the great art of simplicity. Thus the subtle differen- tiations and extreme skill with which the composer wrote the works are not clearly apparent upon first hearing. Within the cos- mos of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas, they represent lyrical islands, being less reli- giously fervent and affirmative as his other works in this genre (which also enjoy greater popularity and public success). The lyrical attraction of these sonatas is certainly also due to the specifically educational purposes for which they were written: accordingly, Beethoven also had to consider the pianistic skills of his pupils when composing the works.