ベートーヴェン: ピアノ・ソナタ 第28番&第29番

今年80歳を迎えた世界的ピアニスト、マウリツィオ・ポリーニ。
ピアノ・ソナタ第28番と第29番の約45年ぶりの録音。

今年80歳の誕生日を迎え、深みと円熟を増した世界的ピアニスト、マウリツィオ・ポリーニ。ポリーニは近年ベートーヴェンの再録音に取り組み始めており、今回ピアノ・ソナタ第28番と第29番を約45年ぶりに再録音。今作と2020年にリリースした『ベートーヴェン: ピアノ・ソナタ第30番～第32番』を合わせて、ベートーヴェン後期ソナタ再び完成させました。
ベートーヴェンの後期ソナタのすべてがそうであるように、これらはこのジャンルに共通する形式的な慣習を無視したものであり、それゆえ時代を先取りしたものです。ベートーヴェンはもはや社会や音楽の制約を気にせず、自分の主観を自由に発揮していました。ベートーヴェンの後期ソナタ、特にピアノ・ソナタ第28番イ長調 op.101は、まさにこの真の感情の流れが特徴であったかもしれません。101番は、破裂と激変を特徴とし、最後は人生を謳歌し、機知と生きる喜びに満ち、人間的で超越的な作品です。
ユニバーサル・ミュージック/IMS

With this 2022 release, the 80-year-old Maurizio Pollini returns to Beethovens sonatas after completing his grand cycle of them in 2014. He picks the most difficult one of all, the Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 ("Hammerklavier"), along with the Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, and he does not do anything to make things easier on his aging fingers; he takes both sonatas faster than on his earlier recordings, and there are places in the "Hammerklavier" first movement and finale that are less than perfectly clear. Two things, however, should be noted. First, some of the lack of clarity is due to an oddly over-resonant acoustic Deutsche Grammophon engineers create in the Herkulessaal in Munich. Second, and more important, is that these are classic Pollini performances with a level of intensity hardly diminished from that in his earlier work. The "Hammerklavier," in particular, combines a headlong quality with deep local detail in a way that may remind the listener of Artur Schnabel (who, of course, missed all kinds of notes). Pollinis readings, while remaining dispassionate in his trademark way (for emotional Beethoven, go elsewhere), show insights that come only after a lifetime of playing this music. Sample the first movement of the Op. 101 sonata, where the degree of rhythmic freedom is high but is precisely controlled so that the larger thread is not lost. It is an extraordinary performance of this movement that may give the listener the feeling of hearing the work anew. This is an essential release for Pollini fans, and it is really quite a remarkable entry in the Beethoven catalog from one of the great masters of the keyboard. ~ James Manheim