Kuerti's New Take on Two Late Beethoven Sonatas
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 09/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Austro-Canadian Anton Kuerti, who is surely one of the great pianists playing today even though his renown is mostly confined to the North American continent, recorded all of Beethoven's sonatas back in 1974-1975 and they quickly became favorites of mine. I liked his almost microscopic attention to the detail of Beethoven's scores. He played with utmost technical control coupled with transparent emotionality. He has recently recorded several of the late sonatas; I didn't manage to catch the release earlier this year of the Opp. 109, 110, and 111, although on the basis of this release I'll have to see about getting it. This CD contains the immediately preceding sonatas, No. 28, Op. 101 in A, and No. 29, Op. 106 in B-flat, the 'Hammerklavier.'
Both performances are even more nuanced than his previous traversals. There are here a greater serenity and repose, where necessary, than before. Further, his piano tone is generally more rounded, less brutal (as in the two fugal movements, the finales of each sonata) than in 1975. This is not to say there is no drama--just listen to the opening measures of the Hammerklavier, one of the most technically fearsome passages in all the literature. Kuerti wrenches drama aplenty out of those dense chords intertwined with tendrils of tender melody. He also manages to show a playful side, as in the tiny Scherzo of the Op. 106, a necessary breather between the more serious first and third movements. In the first movement of the Op. 101 he manages to convey thoughtfulness in combination with a seeming nonchalance. As he puts it in his insightful booklet notes (adapted from those in his earlier complete set), this movement 'is exquisitely informal, as though roaming the hills with no appointments to keep.' His playing of the repeated unaccented off-beat chords that avoid the tonic lends a kind of timeless tranquility to the whole affair until that surprising A major chord resolution toward the end.
As exciting as the two finales are, I have to say that the soul of these sonatas lies in their lengthy slow movements. And here Kuerti displays not only considerable control of line and dynamics, but emotional tension between angst and repose in equal measures, building each movement to its inevitable climaxes and then releasing the tension in just the right degree. One is so caught up in Kuerti's playing of the 'Hammerklavier' Adagio that it simply doesn't seem possible that it has lasted 21 minutes!
These are only a few of the indications that Kuerti has that most wonderful combination in a pianist--scholarly attention to the score allied with an ability to translate that into a psychological landscape. There are those who take issue with Kuerti's seeming emotionality, but I'm not one of them because it is so obvious that his playing is underscored by deep study of the score's message and deeper thought about how to convey it.
There are a few moments of minor shrillness in the upper reaches of Kuerti's instrument in a couple of loud passages of the 'Hammerklavier.' Otherwise, the sound is quite good. Analekta chooses to label this CD 'Hammerklavier Sonatas,' which is confusing: there is only one 'Hammerklavier.' And then there's Op. 101.
An enthusiastic recommendation. These performances are individual and effective, and they are certainly not dry as in, say, Richard Goode's recording. They are not powerhouses, like Kovacevich's or Arrau's, perhaps, but they show us that Kuerti is a musician to be taken very seriously. Let's be honest, there aren't that many really great Beethoven players these days, but Kuerti is one of them.
TT=71:47
Scott Morrison"
Kuerti "At the summit" indeed
Kevin M. Moore | Syracuse, NY, USA | 04/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In a Gramophone magazine review of this recording last year by Bryce Morrison, the section in which the review appeared said at the top "Kuerti at the summit". That is a perfect summary of the magnificent playing on this disc. A lifetime of work, thought, and of uncounted performances inform a view of the music which is neither predictable nor usual. There is nothing "run-of-the-mill" about these performances. But neither is there eccentricity. Rather, it is some of the most deeply satisfying Beethoven playing on disc. I return time and time again for the deep satisfaction of Kuerti's Beethoven, especially his most recent recordings of the last sonatas. They will not disappoint.
I have played these pieces many times myself and find that Kuerti takes Beethoven's indications as the unalterable foundation, yet truly finds the depth of the music "behind the notes" as the saying goes. The is inspiring and deeply satisfying. That's says it all.
"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1