Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9

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Until recently, Hungarian classical pianist Jeno Jando was not very well known outside his own country, although he's recorded for the Naxos label for several years. One of his most notable achievements for Naxos is the complete piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven. This CD (volume 9 of the complete Beethoven sonatas) contains one of Beethoven's last and most famous sonatas - the "Hammerklavier" (no. 29, Op. 106) - as well as an earlier, less well known sonata (no. 11, Op. 22.) The "Hammerklavier," which Beethoven composed to be so difficult as to challenge the best pianists of his day, is played with all the skill, fire, passion and dynamism originally intended by its composer. My favorite movements are the third, (adagio sostenuto,) with its slow, passionate, peaceful and songlike feel, and the fifth (allegro risoluto,) which contains Beethoven's innovative and massive fugue for solo pianist. It is a wonderfully exciting performance throughout, as is Jando's rendition of the piano sonata no. 11. Highly recommended.

I'm amazed that Jeno Jando hasn't been signed to one of the major labels. His luminescent recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas are superb, often better than the major label recordings with big names. And the Naxos recordings are much cheaper.

I find Jando to be an ideal Beethoven interpreter. No matter how demanding the material, there is no attempt at flamboyancy. Difficult to play shouldn't mean difficult to listen to and he handles the "Hammerklavier" expertly. The B flat major Sonata (No. 11) is also lovingly played. In Jando's hands, there are no minor Beethoven Sonatas. Gorgeous stuff.

Two very different sonatas by Beethoven are the programme for the ninth volume in Jenö Jandó’s Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas series for Naxos. Sonata No. 11, written around 1800, develops from a gorgeous little “twiddle” of a theme that somebody has supplied with the words, “Can I really do this?”, the answer being a resounding “Yes!”. The sonata is, as a whole, still in the classical mode, and each of its four movements has moments of particular beauty. Sonata No. 29, the so-called “Hammerklavier-Sonate”, was written about 18 years later when Beethoven, more or less stone deaf, was experimenting with completely new forms and ideas. The five movements of this sonata were deliberately designed to challenge the greatest virtuosos of the day, and the climax is the three-part fugue of the last movement, which is not only incredibly difficult to play, but has harmonic and rhythmic difficulties all its own. No wonder that Jenö Jandó needed all of 14 days to make this recording! – The result is a positive one. Jandó plays competently and convincingly, he is never idiosyncratic or flamboyant, always true to the ideals of the composer whose work he is currently playing. Although a survey in a German-language music magazine came to the conclusion that Alfredo Perl’s recording of the same repertoire for the label Arte Nova was to be preferred, I personally have never seen the need to buy any other recording after having listened to Jenö Jandó, who continues to be one of those Naxos artists whose releases bring pleasure over and over again.

"This sonata is in terrific shape." So Beethoven wrote about his sonata no. 11 in B-flat major, opus 22, a work that makes a fitting conclusion to Beethoven's first period of writing for the piano sonata. Beethoven composed only two piano sonatas in B-flat major. The second work is the monumental "Hammerklavier" sonata, no. 29 in B-flat major, composed in 1819, about 17 years after opus 22. Both the opus 22 sonata and the Hammerklavier are included on this 1994 CD by Jeno Jando as part of his complete cycle of the Beethoven sonatas. The two works are both written on a large scale, grand, lively, and ambitious. They make an excellent pairing to show both the continuity and the development in Beethoven's writing for the piano.

Jeno Jando has become one of the most prolific of recording artists for the piano. He plays a broad repertoire and plays it well. When I reviewed his recordings of the complete Haydn piano sonatas here on Amazon, F.J. Haydn: The Complete Piano Sonatas (Box Set), I described his readings as offered "in a self-effacing style which shows that he has thought through these pieces in terms of feeling, organizaion, dynamics, and phrasing." I had the same response to his performances of these two Beethoven sonatas. Jando's readings are neither flamboyant nor idiosyncratic. Rather than showing a strong individuality, Jando is a pianist who tries to serve what the composer wrote.

I was much more interested in the opus 22 sonata rather than in its greater companion. I am seriously working on learning this challenging piece and have been listening to some of the recorded versions to help make my own efforts more musical. Beethoven was unusually careful in his markings for this sonata, and Jando faithfully follows them. The opus 22 sonata is a large-scaled, highly symmetric work in four movements. With the exception of the second movement, it is not lyrical in character but instead works by developing small, highly rhythmical phrases. The opening allegro con brio develops from a short phrase which must be played with a rapid, smooth rising movement in the right hand. I learned a great deal from Jando's way with the phrase as with his tempo, steady rhythm and attention to detail.

The second movement, "adagio con molta espressione" is a florid, Italiante operatic theme which gives Jando the opportunity to sing and, as the movement progesses, to engage in light long passages of runs and filigree. I was inspired by his efforts. The third movement is a graceful minuet which Jando plays at a quick tempo. The trio of this movement includes lengthy difficult passages in the left hand which I have practiced incessantly. It is inspiring to hear this passage performed with apparent ease. The sonata concludes with a long graceful rondo interspersed with some lively episodes. This movement too is an adventure to play as it requires steady rhythm, smoothness, and great changes in dynamics. Jando offers an excellent reading of this sonata and made me want to continue my own efforts. Many years ago, Donald Francis Tovey had the following perceptive observations about opus 22:

"It would be a healthy early ambition of the young player to achieve a straighforward performance of this sonata that brought out its beauty by sheer accuracy, together with a due pleasure in the production of good pianoforte tone. The pride of fashion has dictated a persistent undervaluing of this work-- as if Beethoven had written himself down by achieving perfection without any show of force or humour. ... Only a very great composer could have written this sonata, and a good performance of it promises a capacity for presenting the greater things that followed it."

Most listeners will tend to be more interested in the grand Hammerklavier sonata of Beethoven's late maturity. There are many recordings of this difficult piece and, of course, it is a work I have no hope of playing myself. Jando offers a sharp, focused reading free of excess. The opening two movements are large and clangorous but not overbearing. The deeply tragic slow movement is taken with more lyricism and a sense of lightness than I have felt in some other readings. And Jando offers a clean but searching interpretation of the fugual movement with which the Hammerklavier concludes.

I enjoyed this recording primarily because of my interest in opus 22, a work which may be unfamiliar to listeners who know the more famous sonatas including the Hammerklavier. Listeners wanting to know this work together with a solid performance of its latter companion in key will enjoy this CD.

Robin Friedman