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Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas

Paul Wee (piano)

Awards:

judging from this new recording of the five last Beethoven sonatas his keyboard technique is dazzling, and the notoriously demanding 'Hammerklavier', Op. 106 holds no terrors for him.

Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas

Paul Wee (piano)

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Awards:

judging from this new recording of the five last Beethoven sonatas his keyboard technique is dazzling, and the notoriously demanding 'Hammerklavier', Op. 106 holds no terrors for him.

About

Pianist and barrister Paul Wee has made recordings devoted to the virtuoso repertoire of the 19th century, earning him the highest praise from the specialist press. He also tackled Beethoven with Franz Liszt's transcription of the Heroica Symphony, a recording named "Editor's Choice" by Gramophone, which wrote: 'Paul Wee proves himself a master of these treacherously demanding transcriptions, sweeping aside the technical challenges to present these great works with consummate musicianship.' It was therefore only a matter of time before he turned his attention to the pinnacle of piano literature: Beethoven's late sonatas. While Sonata Op. 101 is the least known of this select group, it nonetheless opens Beethoven's third and most prophetic creative period. It is followed by Sonata Op. 106, the "Hammerklavier", an immense work in every sense of the word which, as the author of the liner notes put it, "makes such demands ..., that it is as if a new set of auditory equipment was required." As for the last three sonatas, worked on at the same time and conceived as a triptych, Beethoven knew that they would constitute his three final utterances in the genre of the sonata. To quote the author of the introductory text once again, "the closing pages of Op. 111 escape earth's orbit forever, leaving the listener behind".

Contents and tracklist

I. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Allegretto, ma non troppo)
Track length4:12
II. Lebhaft. Marschmäßig (Vivace alla Marcia)
Track length6:05
III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto)
Track length2:50
IV. Geschwinde, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit (Allegro)
Track length7:52
I. Allegro
Track length10:07
II. Scherzo. Assai vivace
Track length2:44
III. Adagio sostenuto
Track length18:01
IV. Largo — Allegro risoluto — Fuga a tre voci, con alcune licenze
Track length11:48
I. Vivace, ma non troppo — Adagio espressivo
Track length3:39
II. Prestissimo
Track length2:03
III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo)
Track length12:46
I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
Track length6:46
II. Allegro molto
Track length1:57
III. Adagio ma non troppo — Fuga. Allegro ma non troppo
Track length10:33
I. Maestoso — Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Track length8:12
II. Arietta (Adagio molto semplice e cantabile)
Track length17:53

Awards and reviews

  • Gramophone Magazine
    December 2025
    Editor's Choice

Christmas 2025

judging from this new recording of the five last Beethoven sonatas his keyboard technique is dazzling, and the notoriously demanding 'Hammerklavier', Op. 106 holds no terrors for him.

December 2025

The result is eventful Beethoven with a kaleidoscopic sense of changing scenery. Brendel sounds plain-spoken by comparison.
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