András Schiff's Beethoven Sonata cycle… continues to be stimulating and provocative, always forcing one to hear such familiar music in a new light. As he approaches the final sonatas of the composer's early period, Schiff makes us fully aware of the enormous stylistic and emotional journey that Beethoven had traversed from his first essays in the medium. A magnificent release.

…whether the performances illuminate or irritate, Schiff consistently conveys a sense of timbral differentiation between registers akin to the instruments of Beethoven's time, together with their unique pedal effects. For example, listen to the pungent resonance of the bass notes in the Op 26 first-movement minore variation, or how the vaporous haze of the Moonlight's celebrated Adagio sostenuto never turns muddy.