Benno Moiseiwitsch - BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 14 and 21

Born in Odessa, 'the cradle of Russian pianism' in 1890, Benno Moiseiwitsch was one of the great pianists of the twentieth century. Volume 9 of the Naxos Moiseiwitsch Edition features a superlative reading of Beethoven's 'Moonlight' Sonata, of which the critic of 'The Gramophone' wrote \Moiseiwitsch has surely never made such a good recording as this. The 1941 recording of the 'Path?�tique' Sonata is also exceptionally fine, with Moiseiwitsch's full tone at the beginning faithfully captured by the engineers. The tempo of the Allegro di molto e con brio is urgent and fast, while the pianist's sublime tonal qualities can be heard to full advantage in the Adagio. He [Moiseiwitsch] stands grander, traditional virtues on their head, replacing thunder and solidity with aristocratic rhetoric. Few pianists have responded to terms such as leggierement with a more winning charm.... nothing can dim the lustre of either performance. We can only beg Naxos for more Moiseiwitsch, especially in Beethoven and Chopin. 'The Gramophone' on 8.110776