Three piano sonatas - nos. 4, 14 & 23

This+is+one+of+the+series+of+new+recordings+performed+by+Sergei++Edelmann%2C+a+re-known+pianist+who+comes+back%2C+after+a+certain+silence%2C+to++the+recording+industry+like+a+shooting+star.+Featuring+Beethoven%26%2339%3Bs++important+sonatas+including+the+most+popular+%26quot%3BMoonlight%26quot%3B+and++%26quot%3BApassionata%26quot%3B%2C+Mr.Edelmann+interprets+all+the+movements+as+if+he+spoke++to+someone+about+stories%2C+profoundly%2C+with+each+single+tone%2C+none+of++which+is+left+insignificant%2C+gathering+all+together+to+constitute+a++whole+drama+elaborated+by+the+composer.%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+first+three+of+Beethoven%26rsquo%3Bs+32+mature+piano+sonatas+were+published+as+a+set%2C+Op.+2%2C+in+1796.+But+the+next+in+the+series%2C+Op.+7%2C+stands+alone%2C+and+bears+the+designation+%26ldquo%3BGrande+Sonate%26rdquo%3B%2C+in+recognition+of+its+ambitious+scale+and+its+element+of+virtuosity.+The+work+was+written+in+1796+and+%26rsquo%3B97%2C+while+the+first+two+piano+concertos+were+also+in+progress%2C+and+published+in+1797+with+a+dedication+to+the+composer%26rsquo%3Bs+pupil+Countess+Babette+von+Keglevics.+%5B......%5D.+%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+two+Sonatas+which+make+up+Beethoven%26rsquo%3Bs+Op.+27+were+composed+in+1801%2C+between+the+First+and+Second+Symphonies%2C+and+published+in+1802.+They+must+at+one+stage+have+been+intended+for+separate+publication%2C+since+they+have+different+aristocratic+dedicatees%3A+the+second+is+inscribed+to+Countess+Giulietta+%28or+Julie%29+Guicciardi%2C+a+young+piano+pupil+of+Beethoven+whom+for+a+short+while+he+seems+to+have+hoped+to+marry.+But+the+two+have+the+same+sub-title%2C+%26ldquo%3BSonata+in+the+manner+of+a+fantasia%26rdquo%3B.+In+the+case+of+No.+1%2C+this+indicates+a+novel+combination+of+the+multi-movement+sonata+and+the+much+freer%2C+continuous+fantasia.+No.+2%2C+however%2C+is+in+three+complete+and+self-sufficient+movements%2C+albeit+without+a+break+between+the+first+two.+Its+chief+element+of+fantasy+comes+in+the+placing+of+a+slow+movement+at+the+start%2C+and+in+the+unconventional+nature+of+this+Adagio%2C+which+prompted+the+work%26rsquo%3Bs+poetic+nickname+of+%26ldquo%3BMoonlight%26rdquo%3B+Sonata.+%5B......%5D%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EBeethoven%26rsquo%3Bs+Op.+57+Sonata+was+written+in+1804+and+%26rsquo%3B05%2C+as+part+of+an+extraordinary+sequence+of+masterpieces+which+also+included+the+Eroica+Symphony%2C+the+Triple+Concerto%2C+the+Fourth+Piano+Concerto%2C+the+three+%26ldquo%3BRasumovsky%26rdquo%3B+string+quartets%2C+the+Fourth+Symphony+and+the+Violin+Concerto.+The+work+was+published+in+1807+with+a+dedication+to+the+composer%26rsquo%3Bs+friend+Count+Brunsvik.+It+seems+to+have+been+the+publisher+who+gave+it+its+title+of+Sonata+Appassionata%3B+but+Beethoven+is+not+known+to+have+demurred%2C+and+neither+has+anyone+since%2C+for+there+can+be+few+more+%26ldquo%3Bpassionate%26rdquo%3B+sonatas+in+the+repertoire.+%5B......%5D%3Cbr+%2F%3E%28from+the+CD+linernote+by+Anthony+Burton+%26copy%3B+2011%29