Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol 1: Piano Sonata No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 6; Piano Sonata No. 7; Piano Sonata No. 8; Piano Sonata No. 9; Piano Sonata No. 10; Piano Sonata No. 12; Piano Sonata No. 13;

Not at all that widespread image of Gould as a chilly contrapuntalist! His Beethoven sonatas are staggeringly powerful and filled with originality. It’s not to everyone’s taste, but I found the Appassionata much enhanced by his very slow tempo – it has all the contained tension of a volcano preparing to erupt – and the clarity of his voicing is always magnificent. Jessica Duchen

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Jessica Duchen

Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm

COMPOSERS: Beethoven
LABELS: Sony
WORKS: Piano Sonatas Vol 1: Piano Sonata No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 6; Piano Sonata No. 7; Piano Sonata No. 8; Piano Sonata No. 9; Piano Sonata No. 10; Piano Sonata No. 12; Piano Sonata No. 13; Piano Sonat
PERFORMER: Glenn Gould (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: SM3K 52638/52642 ADD (1956-83)

Not at all that widespread image of Gould as a chilly contrapuntalist! His Beethoven sonatas are staggeringly powerful and filled with originality. It’s not to everyone’s taste, but I found the Appassionata much enhanced by his very slow tempo – it has all the contained tension of a volcano preparing to erupt – and the clarity of his voicing is always magnificent. Jessica Duchen

Jessica Duchen

Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine

Jessica Duchen studied music at Cambridge University and was the classical music correspondent for The Independent from 2004 to 2016. She has also written for The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine and the JC, among others. Jessica Duchen has written librettos include numerous choral works and operas for the composer Roxanna Panufnik, including Silver Birch, commissioned by Garsington Opera and shortlisted for an International Opera Award in 2018. Two more works based on stories by Oscar Wilde were commissioned for Garsington’s Youth Company, The Happy Princess with composer Paul Fincham (2019) and The Selfish Giant with John Barber, which fell victim to lockdown, this has been postponed to 2021.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol 1: Piano Sonata No. 1; Piano Sonata No. 2; Piano Sonata No. 3; Piano Sonata No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 6; Piano Sonata No. 7; Piano Sonata No. 8; Piano Sonata No. 9; Piano Sonata No. 10; Piano Sonata No. 12; Piano Sonata No. 13;

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