Track Listings (10) - Disc #1| All Artists: Ludwig van Beethoven, Maria João Pires Title: Maria Joao Pires ~ Beethoven - Sonatas "Quasi una fantasia" ~ Moonlight Members Wishing: 1 Total Copies: 0 Label: Deutsche Grammophon Original Release Date: 1/1/2001 Re-Release Date: 11/13/2001 Genre: Classical Styles: Chamber Music, Forms & Genres, Sonatas, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Romantic (c.1820-1910) Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 028945345727 |
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Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Maria João Pires :: Maria Joao Pires ~ Beethoven - Sonatas "Quasi una fantasia" ~ Moonlight
 | Ludwig van Beethoven, Maria João Pires Maria Joao Pires ~ Beethoven - Sonatas "Quasi una fantasia" ~ Moonlight Genre: Classical
Maria-João Pires's poetic pianism has won admirers for her lyric Chopin and sensitive Mozart performances. She brings similar romantic sensibility to these Beethoven sonatas, using a wide dynamic range, strong tempo c... more » |
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Amazon.com Maria-João Pires's poetic pianism has won admirers for her lyric Chopin and sensitive Mozart performances. She brings similar romantic sensibility to these Beethoven sonatas, using a wide dynamic range, strong tempo contrasts, and her usual sober interpretive stance. Beethoven's music is so strong, it can take an enormous variety of approaches, and many will find Pires's versions of these sonatas enthralling, given the beauty of her tone and her obvious involvement in the music. But her approach often verges on mannerism. The slow movements tend to be too slow, as in the dreamy opening movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata, which subordinates the argument of the piece to mere prettiness. Compared with such master Beethoven pianists as Arrau, Kempff, Schnabel, and Yves Nat, the great Op. 109 sonata seems superficial, its dragging opening a microcosm of what's objectionable in her approach to Beethoven. Pires's fans will not be disappointed, but Beethoven buffs will have reservations. Excellent sonics, but the packaging is puzzling, and the booklet could be mistaken for a real estate ad for Pires's Portuguese estate. --Dan Davis Similarly Requested CDs
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CD ReviewsTranscendent, austere beauty. Ralph H. Peters | Washington, D.C. area | 12/03/2001 (5 out of 5 stars) "Reviewers write in such hyperbole that words are cheapened. When a genuinely transcendent work of art comes along, our praise uses the same vocabulary as that applied to the latest bit of over-hyped junk. I found this recording hypnotic and unique--an incomparable fusion of mature, wise austerity, impeccable technique, controlled passion, bright intelligence and an almost otherworldly sensitivity enabled by, rather than inhibited by, the artist's self-control. If this sounds contradictory, it's because language won't go the step beyond required to communicate the level of achievement Maria Joao Pires has reached at this point. Like the utterly-different Martha Argerich, she is a transcendent artist, someone who exists in such a perfect union with the music that, upon hearing her recordings, you feel that "this is exactly how the piece was meant to be played and heard and felt." For anyone who believes the "Moonlight" sonata is worn-out, this recording will be a revelation. My only reservation is that I'm not certain young ears will "get it." This is music so incisive that the listener may need a certain experience of life--and of music--to begin to appreciate the quality on offer. Quiet, rigorous, yet rich with passion of the highest order, this is, for me, one of the greatest piano recordings I have ever heard. Stunning." Very well played scarlatti11 | Killeen, TX United States | 10/07/2002 (5 out of 5 stars) "Pires did a wonderful work
with this sonatas, my favorite is Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata. Pires puts the passion and the feelings that the performance of these works need." |
