Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, François-Frederic Guy :: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Hammerklavier; Pathétique; Op. 49, No. 1

Think of a Mixture of Richter and Perahia ...

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"... and you'll have an idea of my reaction to the playing of thirty-something French pianist François-Frédéric Guy on this disc containing three Beethoven sonatas. There is the bravura of Richter (and occasionally a bit of the wild man) and at the same time the velvet suavity of Perahia. It is really quite amazing, if you think about it, that the predominant characteristics of those two iconic pianists could be combined but, believe me, they are.



The CD begins with an absolutely lovely, yet exciting, performance of the Pathétique sonata (Op. 13). The slow introduction to the first movement is taken more slowly than usual and the tonal allure so deep in the keys that one suspects that Guy's playing will continue in this musing inward style. But when he gets to the main allegro the pace quickens (as does one's pulse rate); this is exciting, visceral Beethoven that is made all the more beautiful by Guy's burnished tone. There is never a harsh moment, and yet the strong emotions of this sonata, and even more so in the 'Hammerklavier', are never slighted. The lovely second movement is both lyrical and forward-moving. No mooning here, and yet there is such tonal beauty that one doesn't miss that element so common to the performances of other pianists. Rubato is applied with sensitivity and style. The final rondo is played with a lightness and good humor that rounds out this so-popular sonata. Guy's performance manages to be both highly personal and yet not wayward in any regard. My thought after hearing this performance is that this is a Beethoven player worth seeking out.



In his fine booklet notes Guy tells us that this is his second recording of the Hammerklavier sonata. He makes the point that this is a work that is seminal and unique and that it can call for continuing evolution throughout a performer's career. He even suggests that this may not be his last recording of the work. I've not heard the earlier recording but he is such a thoughtful artist that I wouldn't mind running across a new Guy Hammerklavier in, say, ten or fifteen years. The work's technical hurdles cause no problems for Guy; neither the treacherous bravura opening passage nor the gargantuan fugue with which the sonata concludes hold any terrors for him. Further, he plays them with complete control of not only the notes but also the rhetoric. And he plays with such rich, secure tone that one can concentrate on the work's beauties and its message without a sense of hearing someone at the limits of their abilities. It is particularly in this sense that his playing reminds me of Richter whose confidence in this sort of music was so secure that one stopped listening for virtuosity and focused on the music qua music. The Adagio movement never threatens to fall apart because of its time-scale and slow harmonic movement. It unfolds with increasing rapture. One has the sense that one is hearing Beethoven think, muse, consider, include or reject musical material and in the process enter a realm we are privileged to overhear. This is a towering Hammerklavier, one that I will certainly return to repeatedly.



The CD closes somewhat anticlimactically in the sense that the Op. 49, No. 1 sonata -- one of that opus number's two so-called 'easy sonatas' -- is not generally considered one of the great ones. In spite of its middle-period opus number, it was actually written in 1795, a couple of years before the Pathétique. It sounds more Mozartean than almost anything else Beethoven wrote. It is a beautiful, if reined-in, study in late classic style and its two movements lasting eight and a half minutes are a study in balance, symmetry and tonal beauty. Guy plays it with restraint and gentle tonal finish.



If this CD is any indication, young François-Frédéric Guy is headed for big things. I'm told that he has signed an exclusive contract with the Naïve label and I very much look forward to hearing more of his playing. This release compares more than favorably with that of the recently lauded Beethoven sonata CD played by Fazil Say and is miles above another newish Beethoven CD by Mari Kodama, to mention two other relatively recent newcomers.



Enthusiastically recommended.



Scott Morrison"