Having celebrated Marius Papadopoulos's recording of Beethven's three opus 31 Sonatas , I now return to the earliest three, opus 2 Sonatas and am once again lost in wonder at this pianist's rare musical grace and strength.
Here, he tells you of Beethoven's memory of Haydn but also of the spirit of adventure, of a reaching beyond the familiar and conventional, exemplifying Walter Pater's later definition of Romanticism as 'the addition of strangeness to beauty.'
In the first, the playing captures all of its minor key restlessness and propulsive nature, while the central Adagio is truly 'dolce,' an exemplary model of how it is possible to be acute and expressive without exaggeration. The 'Menuetto's uneasy mood with its assuaging trio is beautifully realised, with a subtle command of dynamics, notably a capacity to shade 'piano' to 'pianissimo' and back again. The concluding 'Prestissimo is wild and whirling but never at the expense of coherence or lucidity.
A relative reserve in the opening 'Allegro vivace' of opus 2 No 2 brings its own rewards and Papadopoulos's poise in the 'Largo Appasionato' reminded me of a time when as chairman of New York's Naumburg Competition I made a request for this movement. One of my colleagues, Gaby Casadesus(wife of Robert, the greatly celebrated pianist)objected; 'we do not want the slow movement. You can tell nothing from a slow movement; it must be 'vite,' for the fingers.' But my point was proved when the competitor faltered uncomfortably in the opening slow tread You may not tell everything from a slow movement, but you can tell a great deal. Following this, Papadopoulos has all of the 'Scherzo's gentle sparkle and could hardly be more fluent, with pearling scale and passage work and with a true sense of 'grazioso,' in the finale.
This takes me to opus 2 No 3 in C, sometimes known as 'the little Waldstein,' Yet it already makes sizeable virtuoso demands, The double note opening can be a trap for those without an immaculate dexterity and again, in the first movement, there is what amounts to a cadenza. Papadopoulos finds all of the virtually operatic drama in the 'Adagio; and is as playful and fierce as required in the Scherzo as you could wish. His end is a triumphant dismissal of the finale's difficulties, thrown off with an almost nonchalant brilliance.
Few pianists, whether celebrated or otherwise, have equalled this most civilized but richly inclusive pianist in these Sonatas. This is proving a more than outstanding series.
Bryce Morrison