Album ***** (Superb)        Sound 4/5

“Bavouzet’s strengths displayed in the earlier volumes are again heard in abundance; the concentration and intensity of the playing, his keen sense of drama, made all the more vivid by his powerful left hand, which so often drives the music on, as well as a sense of fun in the more exuberant movements... Chandos’s sound is warm and full ... Strongly recommended.” *****

“...So much to enjoy here, so much that makes me want to listen again. Perhaps perversely I began my deep dive into this set with the final sonata, Opus 111, which contains qualities that recommend the set as a whole: a sense of urgent dispatch, the intensity of Bavouzet’s rhythmic flow, the sheer unadorned beauty as those final double-trills seem to transcend the sonata ideal, and perhaps music, into the fabric of sound itself. The muscle Bavouzet brings to the Hammerklavier is athletically honed rather than stodgy. Beethoven’s Fugue becomes a high-wire act again; Bavouzet plays the notes expertly, yes, but with an improvisational freedom that lets them take over the asylum. I also admire the almost disinterested air with which he tackles Opus 90, letting Beethoven’s material tell its own story – which is enough."  *****

Performance ****            Recording ****

Recording of the Month

“Bavouzet’s chronological journey through the Beethoven sonatas has not been surpassed in the last 30 years. Yes, it’s that good.”

"... The qualities that were so impressive in his polished performances of the early sonatas - warm tone, clean keyboard textures, smartly sprung rhythms and, above all, the pervading sense of freshness and enthusiasm - also emerge regularly in these works..."  ****