Time was when pianists felt intimidated by the most profound areas of the repertoire; by late Beethoven and late Schuber in particular. Julius Katchen felt a need to immerse himself in philosophy before recording Beethoven's 'Diabelli Variations' and in more recent time even so celebrated pianist as Krystian Zimerman has felt unequal to the task, reluctantly relenting in Schubert but not in Beethoven. Even in the later Romantic repertoire there was hesitancy(Rubinstein had to think carefully regarding a request to record all the Chopin Mazurkas).
Today, the situation could hardly be more different. Recordings of late Beethoven and late Schubert by young pianists flood the market and the powerful if not entirely happy influence of Artur Schnabel is keenly felt. In the last few weeks I have received no less than three recordings of Beethoven' final three Sonatas, and while I would not wish to succumb to the hoary old cliche that you should not perform such music until you are old, I would say that all three recent sets of the Sonatas act like a warning; even if a yellow rather than a red light.
This brings me to Christian Sandrin, a young Rumanian pianist who makes you long for him to break free and immerse himself at a deeper level. Worthiness and respectability are slim virtues in music of this stature. An element of caution, of being studio-bound, pervades his way with all three Sonatas and there is too little uplift, of a soaring above the core. I admired his strength rather than bluster in the Prestissimo of opus 109 and in the welcome burst of energy and release in the exultant close to opus 110.But in the second movement of opus 111, while it would be an exaggeration to say that the extraordinary becomes ordinary, the playing is more honourable than illuminating.
Where Sandrin excels is in his surprise offering of Tausig's rrangemnt of the Cavatina form Beethoven's opus 130 String Quartet. Here his calm and lucidity create a special experience, even if such enterprise would have been better placed at the end of the programme, after rather than before opus 111.
Bryce Morrison