Ivan Moravec Plays Beethoven, Vol. 2

The performances are sublime, and the recording is killer... One of the most natural sounding recordings of a piano I've ever heard.... But more than the pleasure of good sound, Moravec's insights into ...Moonlight and Pathetique come through. If I ever respond to Sonata 26 with dry eyes, just plant me. I'm gone. The nobility, resignation, and despair resonate resoundingly in this performance... The sheer power and terrible beauty of Moravec's readings ... make this disc irresistible...

Single-disc compilations of favorite Beethoven Sonatas abound, but this is one of the best. The ravishing coloristic nuances and rhythmic acuity that make Moravec’s Chopin and Debussy so special are here allied to a command of large-scale structure and a big, burnished tone. His articulation in the fast movements is awesome: slow movements are spare - just this side of understated - but as deeply moving as more sentimental readings. This is big Beethoven, with sweep and power: no “authentick” mincing here. It’s hard to pick a highlight, but Moravec’s “Appassionata” has become my favorite version. Audiophiles take note: these transfers of 1960s state-of-the-art analogue recordings offer the most realistic piano sound I’ve heard on a CD. Highly recommended.

Beautifully recorded, these performances continue to dazzle in the digital era.

One of the three best-sounding CDs of all time.

Moravec brings the dual nature of Beethoven's relentless energy and melancholy lyricism to life in wonderfully poetic, exciting performances... the breathless coda of Moravec's explosive Appassionata puts the listener on the edge of his seat.

Moravec, as a Beethoven interpreter, has few rivals...one of the most probing and poetic recordings the Moonlight has ever received.

These memorable performances come from Ivan Moravec's Connoisseur Society recordings of 1962-70. That series, even more than his concerts, helped make the pianist's reputation among (appropriately enough) connoisseurs, as one of our greatest pianists. The disc is truly a collection of wonders: unaffected yet intense performances of familiar music, with never a cliché of interpretation or an indifferent moment. Moravec isn't known as a player of virtuoso showpieces, but the finales of the Moonlight and Appassionata show that he has technique and power in abundance. The recordings, outstanding for their time, still sound realistic and rich-toned.

This issue of “named” Beethoven sonatas provides an eloquent demonstration of Ivan Moravec’s fluent, passionate pianism. As Alena Nemcova points out in her brief Grove article on this sensitive Czech pianist, “his sense of style and of a work’s structure is supported by unusual musicality and power of expression”.

Witness Moravec’s appropriately impassioned performance of the Appassionata. In the first movement, a relatively relaxed pace gives the repeated notes a heightened sense of agitation, while Moravec’s exploitation of the instrument’s rich resonance enhances the second movement’s intrinsic serenity, to which his vibrant playing in the finale provides a thrilling conclusion. Dramatic impact is likewise increased in the Pathetique. Most impressive here are Moravec’s striking, theatrical characterization of slow and fast music in the first movement, and the exquisite control with which he deftly shades major/minor colours in the second. However, the breadth of Moravec’s interpretative perception is probably most tellingly apparent in the Moonlight Sonata, where his evocative pianissimo in the opening movement is contrasted with startling violence in the finale.

...in Les adieux, Moravec’s extrovert approach creates [a] vivid impression of heartfelt sadness in the first movement, yearning in the slow movement, and infectious exuberance in the finale.