Beethoven’s Hammerklavier sonata is considered one of the major challenges of the piano repertoire: not only is it arguably one of his most technically challenging works, but its sheer length means that the physical demands placed upon the performer are considerable. Although Murray Perahia first explored the piece when he was in his mid-twenties, it took four decades before he felt ready to perform and record it, and the benefits of such a prolonged gestation period are immediately audible in this new recording.
At just over forty minutes, it must be one of the swifter performances, and yet it never feels hurried or too fast.
Aligned with his flexibility of phrasing, Perahia catches all the changing moods and colors, mainly through intelligent use of a great range of dynamics (particularly in the second movement, where he plays up the off-beat accents to great effect).
And so let’s move on to the Moonlight Sonata. The first movement of this sonata is surely one of the best-known in the repertoire, and so it would be easy to be somewhat cynical about what a new recording could possibly bring to the table. It’s fascinating, therefore, to hear how Perahia manages to find moments of interpretative light and shade; it’s certainly not simply a case of just ploughing through the notes. There are several moments of subtlety involving sudden changes of dynamics that Perahia makes sure to highlight, and it makes all the difference.
Here is Mr. Perahia playing and speaking to us about this music:
