Album

An ambition to record the piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven is common among great pianists, but Peter Takács' imposing box set is complete beyond ordinary expectations. Not only did he record all 32 piano sonatas with opus numbers, but he also included the less familiar Sonatina in F major, WoO 50, the Sonata in C major, WoO 51, the Three "Elector" Sonatas, the Sonata in D major for piano four hands (with Janice Weber on the secondo part), and the charming Andante in F major, known as the Andante favori. In addition to the 11 hybrid multichannel SACDs that come in a sturdy album of illustrated cardboard sleeves, there is also a hardcover book of "Notes" that contains thorough information about the sonatas along with many fascinating illustrations, and a comprehensive "Beethoven Timeline" included in a pocket inside the back cover. This might seem like over-packaging, and a bit more than anyone might really need, but when one considers the excellence of Takács performances, which are among the finest ever released, then all of the extras housed in this heavy box seem more like a tribute to the pianist's monumental achievement. There is little to quibble about, except perhaps the minor points of interpretation or technique, which aficianados can always find between performances, but Takács is such an esteemed artist and his readings are so elevated and polished, the discussion should focus instead on degrees of excellence. Takács' playing is clean, his expression subtle, his rhythms supple, his power unrivaled; furthermore, his understanding of Beethoven's methods and expressions is so profound that this set warrants the highest honors. Add to this Cambria's extraordinarily realistic DSD reproduction that captures every nuance of Takács' touch and the full range of the piano's timbres, and this lavish set can be understood to suit its musical subject matter most handsomely. Recommended as one of the finest Beethoven sonata cycles of any year.

© Blair Sanderson, Rovi

CD 1 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.1 in F-, Op.2, No.1 Work Recorded 2001 18:19 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Allegro	5:44			$0.99
2	2.Adagio	4:33			$0.99
3	3.Menuetto: Allegro	3:06			$0.99
4	4.Prestissimo	4:56			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.2 in A, Op.2, No.2 Work Recorded 2001 26:04 Peter Takács Piano
5	1.Allegro vivace	10:34			$1.99
6	2.Largo appassionato	5:38			$0.99
7	3.Scherzo: Allegretto	3:13			$0.99
8	4.Rondo: Grazioso	6:39			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.3 in C, Op.2, No.3 Work Recorded 2001 26:03 Peter Takács Piano
9	1.Allegro con brio	10:07			$1.99
10	2.Adagio	6:54			$0.99
11	3.Scherzo: Allegro	3:23			$0.99
12	4.Finale: Allegro assai	5:39			$0.99
CD 2 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.4 in Eb ('Grand Sonata'), Op.7 Work Recorded 2003 27:21 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Allegro molto e con brio	8:00			$1.49
2	2.Largo con gran espressione	7:23			$1.49
3	3.Allegro	4:50			$0.99
4	4.Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso	7:08			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.19 in G-, Op.49, No.1 Work Recorded 2003 7:01 Peter Takács Piano
5	1.Andante	3:32			$0.99
6	2.Rondo: Allegro	3:29			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.20 in G, Op.49, No.2 Work Recorded 2002 8:05 Peter Takács Piano
7	1.Allegro ma non troppo	4:41			$0.99
8	2.Tempo di menuetto	3:24			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.11 in Bb, Op.22 Work Recorded 2003 24:35 Peter Takács Piano
9	1.Allegro con brio	7:35			$1.49
10	2.Adagio con molto espressione	7:24			$1.49
11	3.Menuetto: Minore	3:09			$0.99
12	4.Rondo: Allegretto	6:27			$0.99
CD 3 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.5 in C-, Op.10, No.1 Work Recorded 2002 18:08 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Allegro molto e con brio	5:43			$0.99
2	2.Adagio molto	7:53			$1.49
3	3.Finale: Prestissimo	4:32			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.6 in F, Op.10, No.2 Work Recorded 2002 17:53 Peter Takács Piano
4	1.Allegro	9:35			$1.49
5	2.Allegretto	4:01			$0.99
6	3.Presto	4:17			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.7 in D, Op.10, No.3 Work Recorded 2002 23:11 Peter Takács Piano
7	1.Presto	7:24			$1.49
8	2.Largo e mesto	8:58			$1.49
9	3.Menuetto: Allegro	2:40			$0.99
10	4.Rondo: Allegro	4:09			$0.99
CD 4 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.8 in C-, Op.13 ('Pathétique') Work Recorded 2002 18:14 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Grave. Allegro di molto e con brio	8:44			$1.49
2	2.Adagio cantabile	4:50			$0.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro	4:40			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.9 in E, Op.14, No.1 Work Recorded 2003 12:40 Peter Takács Piano
4	1.Allegro	6:07			$0.99
5	2.Allegretto	3:08			$0.99
6	3.Rondo: Allegro comodo	3:25			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.10 in G, Op.14, No.2 Work Recorded 2003 15:15 Peter Takács Piano
7	1.Allegro	6:54			$0.99
8	2.Andante	4:36			$0.99
9	3.Scherzo: Allegro assai	3:45			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.12 in Ab, Op.26 ('Funeral March') Work Recorded 2003 19:39 Peter Takács Piano
10	1.Andante con variazioni	7:12			$1.49
11	2.Scherzo and Trio: Allegro molto	2:57			$0.99
12	3.Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe	6:33			$0.99
13	4.Rondo: Allegro	2:57			$0.99
CD 5 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.13 in Eb, Op.27, No.1 ('Quasi una fantasia') Work Recorded 2002 15:28 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Andante. Allegro	4:55			$0.99
2	2.Allegro molto e vivace	2:12			$0.99
3	3.Adagio con espressione	2:42			$0.99
4	4.Allegro vivace	5:39			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.14 in C#-, Op.27, No.2 ('Moonlight') Work Recorded 2002 15:18 Peter Takács Piano
5	1.Adagio sostenuto	5:15			$0.99
6	2.Allegretto	2:07			$0.99
7	3.Presto agitato	7:56			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.15 in D, Op.28 ('Pastoral') Work Recorded 2002 24:47 Peter Takács Piano
8	1.Allegro	9:35			$1.49
9	2.Andante	7:18			$1.49
10	3.Scherzo: Allegro vivace	2:30			$0.99
11	4.Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo	5:24			$0.99
CD 6 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.16 in G, Op.31, No.1 Work Recorded 2004 22:49 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Allegro vivace	6:46			$0.99
2	2.Adagio grazioso	9:27			$1.49
3	3.Rondo: Allegretto	6:36			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.17 in D-, Op.31, No.2 ('Tempest') Work Recorded 2003 22:40 Peter Takács Piano
4	1.Largo. Allegro	8:16			$1.49
5	2.Adagio	7:56			$1.49
6	3.Allegretto	6:28			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.18 in Eb, Op.31, No.3 ('The Hunt') Work Recorded 2003 22:59 Peter Takács Piano
7	1.Allegro	8:32			$1.49
8	2.Scherzo: Allegro vivace	5:23			$0.99
9	3.Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso	4:17			$0.99
10	4.Presto con fuoco	4:47			$0.99
CD 7 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53 ('Waldstein') Work Recorded 2001 24:57 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Allegro con brio	10:45			$1.99
2	2.Introduzione: Molto adagio	4:10			$0.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegro moderato	10:02			$1.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.22 in F, Op.54 Work Recorded 2001 11:43 Peter Takács Piano
4	1.In tempo d'un menuetto	5:45			$0.99
5	2.Allegretto	5:58			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.23 in F-, Op.57 ('Appassionata') Work Recorded 2001 23:42 Peter Takács Piano
6	1.Allegro assai	9:32			$1.49
7	2.Andante con moto (attaca)	5:41			$0.99
8	3.Allegro ma non troppo	8:29			$1.49
CD 8 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.24 in F#, Op.78 ('For Therese') Work Recorded 2004 9:37 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Adagio cantabile. Allegro ma non troppo	6:43			$0.99
2	2.Allegro vivace	2:54			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.25 in G, Op.79 ('Cuckoo') Work Recorded 2004 8:59 Peter Takács Piano
3	1.Presto alla tedesca	4:48			$0.99
4	2.Andante	2:05			$0.99
5	3.Vivace	2:06			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.26 in Eb, Op.81a ('Les Adieux') Work Recorded 2004 16:54 Peter Takács Piano
6	1.Adagio. Allegro ('Les Adieux')	6:55			$0.99
7	2.Andante espressivo ('L'Absence')	3:45			$0.99
8	3.Vivacissimamente ('Le Retour')	6:14			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.27 in E-, Op.90 Work Recorded 2004 12:40 Peter Takács Piano
9	1.Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchhaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck	5:31			$0.99
10	2.Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen	7:09			$1.49
CD 9 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.28 in A, Op.101 Work Recorded 2002 22:07 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Allegretto ma non troppo)	4:06			$0.99
2	2.Lebhaft, marschmäßig (Vivace alla marcia)	6:23			$0.99
3	3.Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto)	11:38			$1.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.29 in Bb, Op.106 ('Hammerklavier') Work Recorded 2004 43:32 Peter Takács Piano
4	1.Allegro	11:33			$1.99
5	2.Scherzo: Assai vivace	2:54			$0.99
6	3.Adagio sostenuto	16:44			$2.99
7	4.Largo. Allegro risoluto	12:21			$1.99
CD 10 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.30 in E, Op.109 Work Recorded 2002 19:00 Peter Takács Piano
1	1.Vivace, ma non troppo	3:45			$0.99
2	2.Prestissimo	2:33			$0.99
3	3.Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo (Variations 1-6)	12:42			$1.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.31 in Ab, Op.110 Work Recorded 2002 18:39 Peter Takács Piano
4	1.Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo	6:23			$0.99
5	2.Allegro molto	2:10			$0.99
6	3.Adagio ma non troppo: Arioso dolente	10:06			$1.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.32 in C-, Op.111 Work Recorded 2002 27:08 Peter Takács Piano
7	1.Maestoso: Allegro con brio ed appassionato	9:20			$1.49
8	2.Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile (Theme and Variations)	17:48			$2.99
CD 11 of 11
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Andante favori in F, WoO57 Work Recorded 2007 Peter Takács Piano
1	Andante favori in F, WoO57	8:13			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata in C ('Eleonorem Sonate'), WoO51 (incomplete) Work Recorded 2007 6:50 Peter Takács Piano
2	1.Allegro	4:39			$0.99
3	2.Adagio	2:11			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata in F, WoO50 Work Recorded 2007 1:43 Peter Takács Piano
4	1.Allegro	1:07			$0.99
5	2.Allegretto	0:36			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer 3 Piano Sonatas, WoO47 ('Electoral')...Sonata in Eb, WoO47, No.1 Work Recorded 2007 10:01 Peter Takács Piano
6	1.Allegro cantabile	4:43			$0.99
7	2.Andante	2:27			$0.99
8	3.Rondo vivace	2:51			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer 3 Piano Sonatas, WoO47 ('Electoral')...Piano Sonata in F-, WoO 47, No.2 Work Recorded 2007 13:34 Peter Takács Piano
9	1.Larghetto maestoso. Allegro assai	4:17			$0.99
10	2.Andante	5:47			$0.99
11	3.Presto	3:30			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer 3 Piano Sonatas, WoO47 ('Electoral')...Piano Sonata in D, WoO 47, No.3 Work Recorded 2007 16:19 Peter Takács Piano
12	1.Allegro	5:07			$0.99
13	2.Rondo: Moderato	7:57			$1.49
14	3.Scherzando: Allegretto, ma non troppo	3:15			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata in D for Piano 4-hands, Op.6 Work Recorded 2007 5:49 Janice Weber Piano, Peter Takács Piano
15	1.Allegro	2:53			$0.99
16	2.Rondo: Moderato	2:56			$0.99