Beethoven's last three piano sonatas present challenges that are more interpretive than technical, and their transcendental spirituality overrides mere virtuosity. Anton Kuerti's performances for Analekta are deeply felt and fully realized, and he approaches Beethoven's most sublime sonatas with expressiveness and meticulous musicianship. Beethoven's spare textures, sudden changes of mood, eccentric voicings, and frequent excursions into fugal counterpoint are difficult to pull together, yet Kuerti makes the music cohere on ...
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Beethoven's last three piano sonatas present challenges that are more interpretive than technical, and their transcendental spirituality overrides mere virtuosity. Anton Kuerti's performances for Analekta are deeply felt and fully realized, and he approaches Beethoven's most sublime sonatas with expressiveness and meticulous musicianship. Beethoven's spare textures, sudden changes of mood, eccentric voicings, and frequent excursions into fugal counterpoint are difficult to pull together, yet Kuerti makes the music cohere on an emotional level that is most compelling. At the same time, he controls the music subtly, without drawing attention to his execution, and scrupulously follows Beethoven's rhythms and dynamics. The Piano Sonata No. 30, Op. 109, receives a gentle and lucid performance, and Kuerti conveys the lyricism of the outer movements with wonderful suppleness and tenderness. Similarly, the Piano Sonata No. 31, Op. 110, calls for great delicacy and restraint, particularly in the heartbreaking...
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