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MusicMarch 2008 On recordings On Maurizio Pollini's Beethoven Sonatas Op. 2, Janine Jansen's Bach: Inventions & Partita, and Matt Heimovitz's After Reading Shakespeare. 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 ... You need to login to view the full text of this article. This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 26 March 2008, on page 47 Copyright © 2008 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/on-recordings-3785
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