A BEETHOVEN ODYSSEY VOL.7 by JAMES BRAWN / Review

A BEETHOVEN ODYSSEY VOL.7

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas Op.109, 110 & 111

JAMES BRAWN, Piano

MSR Classics MS 1471 / TT: 71’01”

 

British pianist James Brawn has reached the seventh and penultimate disc of his Beethoven Odyssey, a recorded survey of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, which began almost ten years ago. Although the cycle was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, this album was recorded in July 2022 when international travel resumed, allowing Brawn to leave his base in Shanghai, China to accomplish his mission in Potton Hall, Suffolk.

 

Beethoven’s late piano sonatas are his Magnum Opus for the instrument, a revered study and nostalgic gaze at age-old traditional forms while hurling the lance into the future. These are a fond farewell to Classicism and bracing hello to Romanticism, while pondering on the mysteries of the eternal. The final trilogy (Nos.30-32) has it all. Both Op.109 and 111 close with theme and variations sets while Op.110 glories in the fugal form. These beloved devices are also delved in Beethoven’s other late sonatas (Op.101 & 106 for piano, Op.102 for cello), Diabelli Variations (Op.120), Ninth Symphony (Op.125) and of course, the Grosse Fuge (Op.133).   

 

The old and wizened Beethoven

As with earlier volumes of Brawn’s odyssey, the recorded sound is uniformly excellent. The performances are highly idiomatic, with none of the quirks and idiosyncracies which some pianists parade as originality. The opening of Sonata No.30 in E major (Op.109) comes right out of the “modern” Romantic era, its apparent dissonances, sentimentality and conflict are well elucidated by Brawn, who goes on to fearlessly let rip in the short and violent Prestissimo that follows. The finale’s hymn-like theme is poetically shaped, and the ensuing variations build up nobly to a thrilling climax before the work’s serene close.

 

The beginning of Sonata No.31 in A flat major (Op.110) continues on the same path of lyricism, later coloured by folk-like garrulousness (inspired by some German country song about a cat having kittens) of a similarly short second movement. Stark contrasts are well brought out by Brawn, and even if the schema of both sonatas seem somewhat similar, the reality sounds very different. The finale links two sections, the first dark and brooding, its gloom dispelled by the illuminating light of Bachian counterpoint, concluding the sonata on a high.

 

The ultimate Sonata No.32 in C minor (Op.111) receives a gripping account. The first movement’s anger and vehemence is projected in-your-face and Brawn does not let up for a single second. The finale’s Arietta echoes the noble theme from Op.109 but this final set of variations takes one on an even more fantastical journey. The “boogie-woogie” variation does not suffer from parody and the long trills (and thrills) never spills over to repetitiveness before its sublime close. In short, this final trilogy from Brawn ranks well with the best in the catalogue, and one includes the likes of Arrau, Brendel, Pollini and more recently Igor Levit.

  

There is only the A major (Op.101) and Hammerklavier (Op.106) sonatas left to be released, and judging by the high production values of this album, and the cycle as a whole, one can only await James Brawn’s completion of his Beethoven odyssey with open arms. 

You can purchase this album (physical and digital formats) here:

A Beethoven Odyssey, Vol. 7 - MSR Classics: MS1471 - CD or download | Presto Music