Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale'

“Jaefliger's innate affinity for Beethoven's largely lyrical Op 28 Sonata manifests itself via the pianist's relaxed tempi and ample tone. ” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008

“The idea of recording for CD piano-recital programmes designed for the concert hall is a good one, provided that the programmes make musical sense and that the spontaneity of live performance can be preserved. On both counts, Haefliger succeeds” Sunday Times

“…whether the performances illuminate or irritate, Schiff consistently conveys a sense of timbral differentiation between registers akin to the instruments of Beethoven's time, together with their unique pedal effects. For example, listen to the pungent resonance of the bass notes in the Op 26 first-movement minore variation, or how the vaporous haze of the Moonlight's celebrated Adagio sostenuto never turns muddy.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2007

“András Schiff's Beethoven Sonata cycle… continues to be stimulating and provocative, always forcing one to hear such familiar music in a new light. As he approaches the final sonatas of the composer's early period, Schiff makes us fully aware of the enormous stylistic and emotional journey that Beethoven had traversed from his first essays in the medium. A magnificent release.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2007 *****

“Angela Hewitt is on characteristic top form in three of Beethoven’s iconic sonatas … Hewitt’s intelligent planning gives it [Pathétique] a hardcore makeover. The extremes of dynamic range are deftly realised, and she’s fearless at articulating with a brittle touch where necessary” Classic FM Magazine *****

“The Pastoral sonata leads off Angela Hewitt’s second Beethoven sonata cycle instalment, and she taps into the music’s overall geniality while also paying heed to its darker corners … I love Hewitt’s conversational give and take between the droning left-hand ostinato and the main theme at the Rondo finale’s outset … in addition to Hyperion’s superb sound, Hewitt, as usual, provides her own penetrating, vividly articulate annotations” Gramophone Magazine

“Hewitt punches out the dramatic opening chords of Beethoven’s Pathétique sonata with stinging vehemence, but otherwise plays the three sonatas here with a light touch. She often lingers deliciously over the Pathétique’s rich dissonances, while the adagio cantabile sings under her featherweight fingers and the rondo surges with spritely abandon at each return of the theme” The Times

“Quietly dazzling … In the Scherzo [Pastoral] the B minor trio is also marvellous – fleet, shadowy, all taken in a single breath … Next, the Pathétique, which suits Hewitt very well. In the first movement, I particularly like the way in which she projects the Sturm-und-drang quality of the main Allegro di molto e con brio without turning it into the Appassionata … [Op 2 No 3] Hewitt sounds completely happy playing it, and she finds just the right balance between its extrovert bravura and its lyricism” International Record Review

“…another fine instalment in Brautigam's continuing Beethoven cycle, with all the music's drama and urgency vividly captured, and a warmly expressive approach to the slow movements without a hint of sentimentality.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2007 ****

“Vol 4 of his cycle matched its predecessors' excellences stimulating interpretations that take historic performance practices into account, yet leave plenty of room for personal expression. In the Moonlight Sonata the straightforward Allegretto seems a shade literal and characterless, yet more than one edgy crescendo gives Brautigam's poker face away. It hardly prepares you for a Presto agitato from hell; such controlled fury and unrelenting intensity, yet musical to the core, and never banged out.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2007

"… In her performing art I love the clarity of thought which is specifically hers, real penetration into music semantics, flawless taste… then I love the harmony of musical images created by her, a good sense of form, beautiful, charming sound, the sound which is realized not as an end in itself but as a main medium of expression, perfect technique, however, without a flaw of ‘supervirtuosity’ " (Heinrich Neuhaus)