After working his way through
Haydn and
Mozart's Piano Sonatas, fortepianist
Ronald Brautigam was apparently all set to take on
Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. Unfortunately,
Mozart and
Haydn aren't
Beethoven and while a light touch, a ready wit, and a keen sensitivity are wonderful things in
Haydn and
Mozart, they will get you only so far in
Beethoven. Because while works like the "Appassionata" or the "Waldstein" sonatas require a light touch, a ready wit, and a keen sensitivity, they also demand power, passion, and a concept of music as a sort of transcendental gospel that was entirely different from
Haydn and
Mozart. Fortunately, the works on this second disc of
Brautigam's series are
Beethoven's earliest and his easiest sonatas, and it could be argued that they rarely require much more than
Haydn or
Mozart in terms of power and passion. And if one accepts that argument,
Brautigam's performances here are more than acceptable. But while the nimbleness of his C major Sonata, Op. 10/3, and the gracefulness of his G major Sonata, Op. 49/2, are surely appropriate, the lightheartedness of his Sonata in F minor Op. 2/1, and especially the shallowness of the Largo appassionato from his A major Sonata, Op. No. 2, is less appropriate. For some listeners,
Brautigam's
Beethoven will be a viable alternative to
Backhaus or
Fischer. For others,
Brautigam's
Beethoven will be simply wrong.
BIS' super audio recording captures all the nuances of
Brautigam's fortepiano in an overly distant acoustic. But again, while for some listeners a fortepiano
Beethoven will be a viable alternative to the modern concert grand, for others a fortepiano
Beethoven will be simply wrong.