Travels have taken me away from New York, and away from the New York music scene—therefore, no New York Chronicle. But compact discs travel, and I have taken a few with me—showcasing a pianist, a violinist, and a cellist. And the cellist has composer friends.

The pianist is Maurizio Pollini, a senior statesman of music (born Milan, 1942). His friend is Beethoven. For the Deutsche Grammophon label, he has recorded three of Beethoven’s sonatas, and they are the first three: Op. 2, No. 1 (F minor); Op. 2, No. 2 (A major); and Op. 2, No. 3 (C major). These are not beginning sonatas, except in the sense that they lead off Beethoven’s remarkable span of thirty-two. They are excellent creations, three of the best sonatas Beethoven ever wrote, in my opinion. A handful of composers in history have not needed much seasoning: One thinks of M ...