Beethoven: The Last Three Sonatas, Opp. 109-111

Don't bother with the review of Neovercingetorix who, I am sure, doesn't know how to read a score or play the piano. I have been a professional pianist for the last four decades and I can tell you that these recordings of Beethoven's last three sonata are just as beautiful as those from the 1970s.

these performances are aggressive and assertive, it feels sometimes like it’s somehow inevitable, a feeling I generally only get from Bach, except this is very muscular with gorgeous but inconspicuous pedaling. Very competent and confident playing.

Huntley Dent, Fanfare magazineTo me, Maurizio Pollini belongs among the greatest Beethoven pianists in the postwar era, and I nominated his complete set of the 32 piano sonatas for the Classical Hall of Fame (Fanfare 38:6). Everyone who reviewed it remarked on the very long time Pollini took to complete the project, from May 1975 until April 2014. In the very first recording session he played op. 109 and 110, the venue being the Herkulessaal in Munich. Now in commemoration of the Beethoven year, he returns to the same hall for the last three sonatas, which were recorded this time in concert (DG advertises that a video will be forthcoming, a rare thing in Pollini’s career).Pollini’s health has had its ups and downs in the past decade, with some cancellations and disappointed audiences; I detected in his latter-day Chopin and perhaps the last disc of Beethoven sonatas (op. 31 and op. 49) that his powers were declining, a sad thing for a pianist gifted with such command. On this occasion, though, he is in powerhouse mode. That’s reassuring, but it brings some drawbacks. In particular, there is too much emphasis on momentum. It is exciting to hear the Allegro molto second movement of op. 110 given with so much exuberance, but then Pollini begins the brief Adagio ma non troppo not with the desired contrast of tranquility but more as a spillover of enthusiasm. There’s a loss of detail and refinement, too, as exhibited in the first movement of op. 109. It is played with a kind of propulsive assurance that is familiar to anyone who knows Pollini the recitalist—however cool and detached he is thought to be (mistakenly), in concert he can be almost untamed. But he loses the variety of touch that made his earlier performance more interesting.Thanks to his precision and clarity, he was always able to bring out each voice in a movement like the Fuga finale of op. 110, which is now a little blurry, but there is drama and eloquence on a masterly scale in this reading. By the time we arrive at the opening of op. 111, it’s clear that the overall effect Pollini is aiming for is drama. That’s a presiding quality in his complete cycle, and the major reason I prefer him to the otherwise very fine Igor Levit on Sony. Here, perhaps to compensate for any doubts about his age—Pollini had turned 77 the previous January—there’s a good deal of over-the-top playing, yet always within the bounds of the pianist’s immense knowledge and experience of these towering works.The piano sounds magnificent in its depth and richness, which exacts a small revenge against the famous set of the late Beethoven sonatas that began Pollini’s cycle four decades ago. They had thin, shrill sound made worse in the early digital era and not much improved today.Essentially Pollini is in retirement, but he can still summon a commanding presence, which is the main thing I took away from these performances. I will keep them close to another DG release of the same late sonatas by Rudolf Serkin from October 1987 in Vienna. Without looking upon them as valedictories, these two recordings mean the most to me.

Pollini's 2019 recording of Beethoven's last three sonatas sounds too rushed, too linear, and are quite lacking in late Beethoven transcendence. He plays well, and there are some good moments, but this is not in the same category as his 70s recordings, or dozens of other renditions of the late sonatas. Alas, a disappointment.

Questa incisione delle ultime 3 sonate di Beethoven da parte di Pollini è qualcosa di magmnifico! L'eleganza, la leggiadria, le prefezione della sua intreprtazione lasciano senza fiato. Se si pensa poi alla sua età.. Pollini aveva già inciso queste sonate, in gioventù: si dice che ora abbia voluto reinciderle per lasciare un testamento dell'evoluzione della sua arte. E che testamento!! Finora la mia incisione preferita di questi brani apparteneva ad Alfred Brendel, ma a questo punto devo fare spazio a Pollini per farlo passare al primo posto. Giù il cappello, qiuesto è genio!

Hier liegt ein Konzertmitschnitt aus dem Jahre 2019 aus dem Münchner Herkulessaal vor (einer von Maurizio Pollinis Lieblingssälen für Auszeichnungen).In jeden Fall sind die letzten drei Sonaten ein „Konzertklassiker“, der es aber in sich hat. Pianisten können hier brillieren oder sich daran verbrennen (was leider häufiger vorkommt).Im Fall von Maurizio Pollini liegt der Vergleich zu seinen Aufnahmen der letzten Beethovensonaten aus den 70er Jahren sehr nahe, zumal sie von vielen Kritikern als Referenzaufnahmen gelten.Ich finde diese neue Aufnahme sehr schön. Man kann jetzt seitenlang die alte Aufnahme mit der neuen vergleichen. Der Künstler präsentiert uns eine neue Sichtweise dieser komplexen Stücke und das was er in den letzten Jahrzehnten anders sieht.Pollini brilliert eindeutig und lässt die Stücke selbst sprechen in gewohnter Klarheit, aber mit (meiner Meinung nach) mehr Emotionen als noch in den 70er Jahren. Wo andere, selbstverliebte Pianisten krampfhaft versuchen ihre Signatur einzuarbeiten, spielt Pollini als großer Interpret den Künstler Beethoven selbst. Interpret wie Komponist sind / waren im letzten Abschnitt ihres Schaffens. Und das beste kam eindeutig zum Schluss...

Après ses dernières prestations pas vraiment enthousiasmantes, l'appréhension guette, le mastro italien s'attaque aux dernières sonates de Beethoven. Un récent concert sur Arte l'a montré physiquement diminué, sa virtuosité à perdu de son tranchant, les grandes années semblent derrière.Quel bonheur de retrouver le pianiste italien a ce niveau, au sommet. A la première écoute, on peux ressortir finalement déçu, pas d'extravagance, des tempos mesurés, rien de bien original. A l'usage , une évidence, tout semble juste, parfaitement à sa place. Les tempos ni trop lent ni trop rapide, la dynamique parfaitement contrôlé. Les mouvements rapides avancent dans une rythmique, une intensite maitrisée. Le lyrisme des mouvements lents impressionnent, un chant continu, tout avance inexorablement. Les notes résonnent, jusqu'à la suivante, un rubato quasi imperceptible laisse le chant s'épanouir avec une rare intensité. L'arietta de l'opus 111 est à ce titre le sommet de ce disque.Un vrai bonheur, une sorte de perfection. A ne pas rater malgre une presentation indigne, une jaquette d'une rare laideur. Une performance qui rappelle le récital de Rudolf Serkin à Vienne en 1989 toujours chez DG, un autre must.

A live recording. Amazing sound and atmosphere. Playing has great passion and pathos and edginess that is exciting. Great imagination and wisdom in this playing.

完璧といわれた若い頃の録音よりも個人的にはずっと良いと思いました。