Ludwig van Beethoven - Beethoven: Diabelli Variations on CD

Description

With this scintillating version of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, Piotr Anderszewski has at a stroke made his mark as a front-rank recording artist. Daniel Barenboim, Alfred Brendel and Maurizio Pollini have until now led the field with this work, but this Polish-Hungarian pianist is in every respect their equal. And the challenge is huge. Beethoven wrote these 33 linked pieces in response to what he regarded as a puny challenge from a publisher--to compose just one variation on a trivial little theme--and they fairly crackle with his sense of outrage: their technical difficulties are as nothing compared to the aesthetic problem of welding them into a satisfactory whole. Anderszewski's opening is itself a surprise--he actually invests the theme with dignity--but what follows is consistently riveting. His interpretation is intensely individual and he brings out Beethoven's sheer quirkiness in full measure--the jagged structures and the seemingly perverse harmonic byways down which he doggedly goes. But as this pianist shows, that perverseness is only on the surface, because there's a serene order underlying it. The dynamics are perfectly controlled, the inner voices sing out, the touch is light and springy, the sound has radiant warmth and there's never the slightest hint of effort. Anderszewski brings out all the comedy, tragedy and pathos in this masterpiece and resolves them all with visionary clarity. --Michael Church Product Description Virgin Classics proudly presents the debut of this exclusive recording artist. In a brilliant performance of Beethoven's masterpiece.