Beethoven: Late Piano Sonatas, Opp. 101,109 & 111

Resenha do Álbum

Combinations of late Beethoven piano sonatas are common on recordings, never more so than in the Beethoven 250th Anniversary year of 2020. Pianist Nikolai Lugansky here fills a need in the catalog: his is a full-blooded Russian-school reading of late Beethoven. There's much to recommend with Lugansky's readings. He tilts the emphasis toward the finales. Lugansky is especially strong in that of the Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, where he places the fugue properly among the ecstatic finales of the other late works, whether fugues or not. His big variation sets in the Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, and Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111, are percussive and brilliant, with drive and power that brings the right excitement to the music. Lugansky's playing is backed by the ringing sound of his Steinway, especially in the upper registers. It may have too much of an edge for some, but when his playing catches fire, many will be convinced. Harmonia Mundi's sound also works well. Lugansky was recorded in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory; the sessions were moved from a venue in Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak, but that may have worked to Lugansky's advantage. Another strong point is the inclusion of the A major sonata among the late works; the last four sonatas are more commonly the ones included in groupings of late sonatas, but Lugansky captures the ways in which this sonata represented a creative breakthrough. There are readings of these works with more detail, a more poetic quality in the opening and middle movements; Lugansky's approach is straightforward and forward-moving, but when he hits his stride, one has the feeling that Liszt might have played the sonatas this way, and the ride is an exciting one.

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