Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No.8 'Pathétique', No.17 'Tempest' & No.23 'Appassionata'

These are serious, considered performances of three well known classics, pieces we've all heard many times and perhaps tried to play ourselves. Here they are, played beautifully, without gratuitous flashiness or eccentricity, they way they should be, with excellent sound. I suspect they will stand as benchmarks for years to come. The music comes first, as it should, but so often does not. Do not hesitate to pick up up this gem if you are looking for musical piano playing.

The EMI promo that Amazon reprints here says that Ingrid Fliter plays Chopin and Beethoven with a master's touch, which is saying a mouthful. Not only is thirty-seven a bit young for the Argentine pianist to rank as a master, but also a gift for Chopin doesn't often come with an equal gift for Beethoven. We don't turn to Serkin and Schnabel for the Chopin Nocturnes, and we don't turn to Cortot or Argerich for Beethoven sonatas. You can make an argument for prominent exceptions (Richter, Horowitz, Gieseking Rubinstein), but even there either Chopin or Beethoven comes off considerably better than his opposite. Fliter is an acclaimed and talented musician, but she's such a natural at phrasing Chopin that I wondered how this CD of three popular Beethoven sonatas would go.

In the "Pathetique" she's not out to make a strong contrast in how she approaches Chopin and Beethoven; there's a good deal of almost dreamy phrasing in lyrical passages, and she's naturally small-voiced, more a salon pianist than a Big Hall one. These tendencies bring the dramatic extremes of Beethoven closer to the middle. I would call Fliter a touch pianist (as opposed to a power pianist), and this becomes a strength here. The Pathetique is romantic, most of all, in its moodiness and changes of feeling. Fliter takes the famous tune in the slow movement with natural ease and playing a singing line. The only defect is a certain aloofness or caution that keeps me from becoming engrossed. But Paul Lewis, who is around Fliter's age and much feted for his complete Beethoven sonata cycle, has proven that being bland in Beethoven can earn accolades.

Superb Chopin players have a clean touch and a precise grasp of rhythm, which keeps them from sounding wayward even when they employ free, improvisatory phrasing. Fliter brings clarity to the "Tempest" sonata, although as with Lewis, the music isn't very tempestuous. It is beautifully poised, however. For some reason the younger generation of pianists have decided to smooth out the dramatic contrasts that Serkin and Richter heightened. Perhaps it's part of the general trend to see Beethoven as a latter-day Haydn (which seems absurd to me). The slow movement here is quiet and polite, without strong interjections or disturbing rumbles in the left hand. Fliter's pearly touch makes the gently rollicking finale delightful, however. She is aided throughout by a good-sounding piano and clear recording that brings out no hardness in the instrument.

There's no Haydn that can be stamped upon the Appassionata, however, and here I had high hopes, because in concert Fliter showed that she can capture the contained abadnon of Schumann's Symphonic Etudes without miniaturing them. The first movement would never be mistaken for Serkin on a stormy day, but Fliter captures the music's mood of clouds gathering before lightning strikes, and she relates one tempo to another with a natural instinct. Still, I wasn't engrossed here, either. Of all the Beethoven sonatas, this movement is the one that most clearly tells a story, and as one event gave way to the next, that's all they did; Fliter doesn't build a compelling story. There's a reason that it takes a master to bring off a great Appassionata. However, if you like Richard Goode's poise and proportion -- which I find misplaced in this turbulent music -- Fliter may seem faultless.

She plays with authority throughout this CD, and I wouldn't place her below Goode or Lewis. Fliter sounds more spontaneous than either of them and held my attention better. I imagine many critics will rave.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars