Cristian Sandrin’s notes for Beethoven’s last three sonatas stress their formal innovation (‘courageous cultural leaps’ as Beethoven moves into the Romantic aesthetic). He praises as well the vast expressive sweep of what he calls their ‘psychological journey’, encompassing the ‘tormenting’ and the ‘life-affirming’ and culminating in ‘the sublime’. Worthy as they are, however, his performances do little to support this perspective.

There’s no denying his clarity: fingerwork is immaculate (passagework, trills and tremolos are unfailingly neat), textures are lucid (check out the weave of the fourth variation of Op 109’s finale). But especially when combined with his tendency to smooth the music’s profile by dulling accents and reining in dynamic jolts, the result is a classical poise that cushions Beethoven’s radicality.

Similarly, Sandrin’s emotional control tempers the music’s affective breadth. Tempos can be flexible (listen to the ritardandos in the first movement of Op 111), but they rarely serve to heighten tension. And while the lurches in the second movement of Op 110 are well articulated, they don’t really disorientate you.

In the end, we do arrive at sublimity in the final measures of Op 111. But the torment and pain along the way have been massaged away. If you’re looking for performances that share Richard Goode’s logic and Mitsuko Uchida’s spirituality, you should find Sandrin’s immensely rewarding; just don’t expect the volatility that Sandrin promises – and that Sviatoslav Richter delivers so memorably.

As a bonus, we get Carl Tausig’s rarely encountered piano reduction of the Cavatina from Beethoven’s Op 130 Quartet. Unfortunately, for those who prefer physical CDs, its placement is counterproductive. Like others, Sandrin sees the sonatas as a single span of music, specifically drawing our attention to the way ‘the triumphal ending of Op 110 converg[es] into the dissonances of Op 111.’ But he destroys the effect by separating the sonatas with the quartet movement. Nevertheless, it’s good to have a chance to hear this elegant, more texturally imaginative alternative to Balakirev’s transcription; and while the premiere recording by Petronel Malan is even more radiant, no one will be disappointed by Sandrin’s.

This review originally appeared in the SUMMER 2025 issue of International Piano – Subscribe Today