Beethoven: 32 Sonatas

Since a remarkable debut as a teenager and his first recording at age 16, Konstantin Lifschitz has been a pianist with a growing following. Now, recorded in concert over eight consecutive days, he has scaled piano music’s Everest, with all 32 piano sonatas. His experience as a Bach player imbues his musicianship with a fabulous attention to the detail and intricate inner voices of this amazing sequence of pieces. From the classical elegance of the early sonatas, via the emerging Romanticism of the middle ones, to the still amazingly original final works, Lifschitz’s vision is consistent, beautifully gauged, and powerfully delivered. This is an impressive achievement.