Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight'

Sony Masterworks expands the catalogue of its Carnegie Hall Presents series with a set of previously unreleased recordings by legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, one of the most important performers of classical music in the twentieth century. The Sony Masterworks release of the three albums in The Private Collection makes these dazzling performances, previously held in the archives of Yale University as part of Horowitz’s papers, available to the public for the first time.

In 1988, a year before his death, Horowitz donated to Yale University a treasure trove of original recordings composed of Carnegie Hall concerts and performances he gave during the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. Horowitz had employed an engineer to make 78-rpm recordings of his Carnegie Hall concerts in this period, and he used them to review and judge his performances. Most of these mono recordings were originally contained on 12- and 16-inch acetate discs. They have been impeccably mastered, with the sound restored, from new transfers made in the Yale archives. Significant press accompanied the original announcement of the donation of these recordings to Yale, where Horowitz performed often through the years and was an assistant fellow of Silliman College.

Recordings made in 1962–64 for Vox.

This CD contains the three most popular Beethoven Sonatas.

‘The playing is very deeply committed, very intense, but never ponderously philosophical’Gramophone

Alfred Brendel’s first recorded cycle of the complete works for piano of Beethoven appeared in the 1960s on the Vox label. They established his reputation as a leading interpreter of the composer, and although he returned to the studio subsequently to re-record the sonatas and concertos for Philips, these early recordings have retained their freshness and originality. For many record collectors, the budget price Turnabout label provided a happy hunting ground for those who sought out unusual repertoire. The parent company Vox also had the vision to ask the relatively unknown Brendel to undertake the huge project of recording all the Beethoven Sonatas, Variations and Piano Concertos. These recordings document the artist as a young man at the outset of his extraordinary journey, and in repertoire that will always be closely associated with him. They also stand comparison with his later interpretations of Beethoven.

The latest instalment in the Idil Biret Archive Beethoven Piano Sonatas series, this volume includes the famous Moonlight sonata.