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Beethoven: Hammerklavier Sonatas

Anton Kuerti

Analekta FL 2 3187

Lessard: Hammerklavier is the German

term for pianoforte — it was originally

called the “hammer keyboard.” The

expression dates from a time of growing

German resistance to the increasing

Italian hegemony in music. “Pianoforte”

is of course an Italian term. Beethoven,

with his usual impetuosity, was hardly

the last to leap into the movement. And

I have to say that the term “hammer

keyboard” seems to suit perfectly the

vigorous style of this work.

This precious album includes the

Sonata No. 28 in A Major, op.101, followed

by the powerful Sonata No. 29 in B Flat,

op.106, each with four movements. I use

the word “precious” advisedly, for that’s

what it is. Not only is the composer

sublime (and what remains to be said

about that?), but the pianist is entirely

worthy of him.

During the nearly hour an a quarter

these two works last, Kuerti, something

of a Beethoven specialist, gives us a

demonstration of his ﬂawless technique,

buttressed in this case by equally ﬂawless

sound. You have to hear him navigate

with remarkable ease through sforzando

passages and other segments that are

lyrical and fraught with poetry and emo-

tion. The performance serves to justify,

if justiﬁcation is needed, his reputation

of unsurpassed playing which for many

years has won over music lovers, and

particularly Beethoven lovers. This is

Kuerti the way I like him. I heartily

recommend this CD.

The booklet, happily complete,

makes it possibly unnecessary for me to

add anything more on these sonatas by

this greatest of composers of the early

Romantic period.

Millennium Crossings

Lisa Weiss/ CurtCacioppo

Capstone CPS-8734

Lessard: The piano works on this

recording are all by contemporary

American composers, and indeed all

but the ﬁrst were composed since 1985.

There are a number of fascinating ele-

ments here, both by the composers and

by their virtuosity on the piano. And

speaking of the piano itself, it is a Bösen-

dorfer Imperial Concert Grand.

The Bösendorfer name is linked to

Vienna, that musical centre of the 19

Century, and to Franz Liszt, whose

energetic technique and dazzling playing

always ended up wrecking the pianos he

played. The massacre ended the day he

got his hands on a Bösendorfer. Not only

could it resist his excesses of enthusiasm,

but he was won over by its incomparable

tonal beauty, and he made it his own.

From that day, the house of Bösendorfer,

already famous, gained even more in

celebrity.

The Imperial Concert Grand’s key-

board includes one more octave than

other pianos, situated at the bottom

end, going down to CCCC, capable of

producing a tone of 16 Hz! Even when

those extra notes aren’t played, they

vibrate in sympathy with the other notes,

giving the piano its unique sound.

Klavierstück, the ﬁrst piece on the

disc, from 1976, and the Sonata trasﬁgu-

rata of 1986, are from Curt Cacioppo.

This musician has had considerable

contact with American Indians and

is an activist for Native rights, and it

happens that here and there he uses

elements inspired by Native culture.

Initially intrigued by the originality of

his inspiration, I was charmed within a

few measures by the music’s architec-

ture, by the juxtaposition of sounds, by

the ﬁrm and energetic touch, and by the

clarity of the playing. The pianist in this

case is Lisa Weiss, herself a composer,

who also plays Marino Baratello’s 1991

Klavierstück.

Ingrid Arauco’s Triptych is a collec-

tion of three short pieces, played this

time by Curt Cacioppo: the Freely, quasi

improvisando, followed by an Intermezzo

of less than 50 seconds, and a ﬁnal Allegro

with wit and verve, which manages to be

both tender and agitated.

Cacioppo also plays two magniﬁcent

pieces by Joseph Hudson, the Fantasy-

Refrain II and a Piece for the Swans.

What I take away from this music

and the musicians who play it is the

conciseness, the clarity of the sound that

often comes in clusters or in arpeggios,

sometimes in trills, and the polished

dynamic and timbral effects.

As for the sound, it is up to the

standards of the most demanding

audiophiles.

Felix Hell

Reference Recordings RR-101CD

Rejskind: It’s so great to have Reference

Recordings back! Keith Johnson won’t

be setting up his microphones again

until summer, but I had heard none

of his last productions before Dorian

“bought” the company (without actually

Software Reviews

by Reine Lessard

and Gerard Rejskind

70 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine

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