The late Beethoven recordings of pianist Mitsuko Uchida have been career makers, and it is cause for celebration that she has capped them with the 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120, a work that perhaps poses deeper interpretive challenges than any of the late sonatas. The Variations often show a kind of rough humor, and a performer may pick up on that, or the player may deemphasize the humor and seek out the epic qualities of the Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, and Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111. Uchida does neither. The outlines of her usual style, high-contrast and a bit dry, are apparent, but she does not let them dominate her reading. What Uchida realizes is that the abrupt transition from humor to the deepest existential ruminations is part and parcel of Beethoven's late style, and she works to hone the particular character of each Beethoven variation. Her left hand, as usual, is strikingly powerful, and this brings out many striking details (consider the stirring variation 16). The trio of slow minor variations toward the end are given great seriousness but are not in the least overwrought; Uchida achieves an elusive Olympian tone through the final variations. There is much more to experience here, for each variation is fully thought out, but suffice it to say that this is one of the great performances of the Diabelli Variations.© TiVo

The Smetana Quartet are a true legend. For over four decades (1945-1989), the ensemble gained critical acclaim and enthused audiences all over world, particularly in the UK, USA and Japan. They attained perfect chime and extraordinary flexibility in voice leading, resulting in part from their playing the entire repertoire by heart. The quartet performed Beethoven’s works throughout their existence – following Smetana, he was the composer on whose music they focused the most and whose complete quartets were in their repertoire from 1974 onwards. They explored some of Beethoven’s pieces for several years before including them in their concert programmes. In collaboration with a Supraphon team, in 1976 the ensemble embarked upon a colossal project, which in 1985 came to fruition with the release on Nippon Columbia of a recording of the complete Beethoven string quartets. Even though the past decade has seen significant changes pertaining to interpretation and technology, the Smetana Quartet’s account of Beethoven’s works is by no means a “museum exhibit”, with their vivacity and dynamism still enthralling today’s listeners. The recording, carefully digitally remastered from the original analogue tapes, is the very first release beyond Japan. Lovers of perfect sound are afforded the opportunity to listen to it Hi-Res 24 bit/192 kHz. © Supraphon

Together with the Berlin-based Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester (DSO) Mari Kodama and her husband Kent Nagano have now completed the recording of all of Beethoven's piano concertos by jumping, as it were, back in time twice: the last element of this recording series that has spanned more than 13 years was Beethoven's concerto "number nought" (WoO 4) – personally edited by Mari Kodama from the autograph score. The original manuscript of this piano concerto is kept at the State Library in Berlin. This is not a completed score, because there is no orchestration. That said, Beethoven annotated the short score, especially in the first two movements, with indications as to which instrument was to play which part. The orchestra score which is available today was written in the early twentieth century based on those annotations. The only problem is: "Today, armed with the knowledge we now have acquired about the young Beethoven, we would perform this concerto quite differently in places," explain Mari Kodama and Kent Nagano in unison. They therefore present a very personal adaptation that emerged during rehearsal with the orchestra and at the recording sessions, and which reflects Kodama's and Nagano's individual image of Beethoven. They aim to make audible the exuberant freshness and urgent sense of awakening in the young, almost childlike Beethoven's writing shortly before his artistic powers were to burst forth, the joie de vivre and vital energy in a style that owes something to the playfulness of both Haydn and Mozart. That is Mari Kodama's intention, and she plays it in precisely such a versatile manner. Combined with the classical canon of the piano concertos nos. 1–5, the resulting comprehensive edition is complemented by the Triple Concerto for piano, violin and cello op. 56, the Rondo WoO 6 and the Eroica Variations op. 35, offering insight into the artist's longstanding involvement with her musical companion Ludwig van Beethoven. And the recordings of his works seem to lead the listener through the composer's life. "If you play all of them, it is like accompanying Beethoven on a journey through his life," explains Mari Kodama, and Kent Nagano adds: "You acknowledge the musical genius and at the same time you recognise the development of European music, because Beethoven was undoubtedly its pioneer." He led the way in changing the structure, form and harmony of music, just as there was an equally radical shift in the world around him; after the French Revolution society and business and the incipient industrial revolution began to alter the way people lived. "He is and remains an optimist, someone who can do no other than believe in what he wishes to communicate to us through his music," explains Kodama. She says this helps her. The fact that she herself is an optimist can partly be attributed to Beethoven. Kodama, Nagano and the DSO – one might imagine them almost as a trio where all the musicians have blind faith in each other and are therefore able to produce a degree of musical intensity that brings the young Beethoven back to life. © Berlin Classics

Supraphon made these recordings for Nippon Columbia within a short timeframe, from June 1983 to April 1984, at the Rudolfinum in Prague. They capture the mature ensemble when it included the pianist Josef Hála, who in 1980 had replaced Jan Panenka. The trio’s sound was dominated by the strings, primarily the violin of Josef Suk, who also defined the interpretation principles. The singularity of the ensemble and their recordings alike rests in infallible technique, sonic refinement, admirable interplay and profound musicality devoid of any showboating. © Supraphon

By the mid-seventeenth century, musicalcomposition had reached a point whereinvention had converged with technicalmastery. Composers embraced a bass linelively with linearity, often entering intodialogue with the upper voices. Exploratoryharmonic schemes were encompassedwithin larger unified tonalities. Throughrhetorical structures, such as motive,imitation and sequence, composers instilledlogic into their musical arguments. Thesecharacteristics, though rooted in vocalpractice, were being cultivated for the firsttime in musical history for instrumentalists.In other words, the Baroque was born.The featured composers showcasesublime examples of the early ItalianBaroque. Some composers dominate therepertory; others have left behind only ahandful of works. Here, they come togetherto convey the diverse musical landscape atsuch an excitingly rich and creative era.

Recorded between 1964 and 1968, Paul Kletzki's respected cycle of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies on Supraphon rightly should be classified as a historical item for specialists, rather than as a recommended option for anyone seeking a great (and great sounding) modern set. Kletzki was an admired and popular conductor, noted for working with both European and American orchestras, and his interpretations of Beethoven are intelligent and insightful, regarded by some reviewers as among the finest of their time; the performances are still valuable for their musicality and significance among mid-20th century offerings. However, these recordings predate the movement for historically informed performance practice, so fans of late Classical and early Romantic period style will find this set of little interest, and only traditionalists will be enthusiastic about it. These analog versions don't compare well with the best contemporary digital recordings, and the sound of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra is a bit too homogenized and at times too muddy in this remastering to make the music fully enjoyable. Although the instruments can be made out clearly enough, some of their upper partials seem to have been eliminated in the reduction of tape hiss, and the ensemble's overall sound seems a little dulled in tone as a result. Artistically, there is much to appreciate here, but this box set faces serious competition from later and better sounding alternatives. © TiVo

Bernard Haitink's live recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra most assuredly aren't the last word on these masterpieces (whose recordings ever could be?), but any collector looking for solid performances that satisfy most needs would do well to check out these remarkable CDs. For example, this 2006 disc of the Symphony No. 4 in B flat major and the Symphony No. 8 in F major will likely not amaze anyone with its fairly mainstream interpretations, secure execution, or dependable sound quality, because it wasn't meant to be a sensation. The reputable playing of this world-class ensemble guarantees that the scores are accurately presented, and Haitink's straightforward, intelligent approach to the music commends this CD to the average listener and the serious connoisseur alike. While Haitink tends to maintain slightly faster than usual tempos and keeps the orchestra's tone on the lean side, these are not intended to be "authentic" versions; yet they are as carefully thought through and as polished as any period performance might be, though without any overt mannerisms or antiquarian novelties. The sound is exceptionally clean and clear on these concert recordings, even in the resonant space of London's Barbican, and there is virtually no distracting audience noise to interfere with your listening pleasure. © TiVo

A true ‘apotheosis of the dance’ in the words of Richard Wagner, Beethoven’s Seventh has enjoyed perennial popularity ever since its premiere - unlike his sole ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus, of which only the overture has remained (more or less) familiar to us. To offer a new version of a key work in Beethoven’s corpus while reviving the complete version of one of his most unjustly forgotten masterpieces: such is the challenge brilliantly taken up by the musicians of the Freiburger Barockorchester, under the direction of their Konzertmeister Gottfried von der Goltz. © harmonia mundi

From the mid-1810s until the end of his life, Beethoven constantly tested to the limit the forms he had inherited from Haydn and Mozart. His last two cello sonatas bear witness to this structural preoccupation, which was to open up so many new spaces . . . as do the final sets of Bagatelles, as disconcerting as they are innovative! Two genres shrewdly linked by Andreas Staier and Roel Dieltiens in these interpretations, in which eloquence merges with historically informed performance practice. © harmonia mundi

Less acclaimed than  Beethoven's "odd" symphonies, Symphony No. 4, Op. 60 and Symphony No. 8, Op. 93 are nonetheless uniquely fascinating, perhaps because their musical purpose is more difficult to decipher. The pianissimo introduction to Symphony No. 4 leads us through a winding labyrinth, and it takes a while to grasp its meaning. Symphony No. 8 is more brilliant and majestic and further reinforces this feeling of contrast, particularly in transitional passages between different sections of the orchestra.These two symphonies are performed here by the formidable Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under the direction of Bernhard Forck, who is always on top form. The ensemble, which has been loyal to the harmonia mundi label since 1994, delivers a clear and careful interpretation, meticulously respecting the driving forces behind the score. Arguably, it’s a shame that the momentum of the piece has been so prudently managed, though this is preferable to any sort of narcissistic outburst – its polar opposite.These two symphonies are presented in a double album that also includes Luigi Cherubini's Lodoïska Overture and Etienne Méhul's Symphony No. 1 in G minor. An informed choice, since Cherubini's work (composed in 1791) contains many characteristics that would be later used by Beethoven after his move to Vienna the following year. Méhul's Symphony seems to be more of a reaction to Beethoven's writing, with many critics having viewed it as a response to the Fifth Symphony. This album boasts a careful, highly readable performance, though it could perhaps do with just a little more body and boldness. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

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