Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol 1 / Gerhard Oppitz

The workmanlike quality I've inferred from many of Gerhard Oppitz's recordings hardly prepared me for the sheer inspiration and commitment the pianist displays throughout his first installment of a projected Beethoven sonata cycle. Indeed, if Oppitz has made a finer disc, I have not heard it. The Op. 10 No. 1 sonata comes alive with brutal resilience and quivering nuance, capped by a finale whose true Prestissimo pulse never lets up in intensity. Some listeners may prefer a lighter touch in the Op. 10 No. 2 sonata's outer movements, yet you can't take issue with Oppitz's rhythmic equilibrium and sure sense of where the lines are going. Interestingly, Oppitz takes a less iconoclastic, more conventional route through Op. 10 No. 3's four movements (more comfortable basic tempos and symmetrical phrasing). Strokes of individuality--such as his surging scales and roulades in the outer movements--lift Oppitz's solidly played "Pathétique" out of the sonata's "regulation model" box. Perhaps the slow movement is a bit foursquare and downbeat oriented, but not ploddingly so. Keep tabs on this Beethoven cycle, and savor its impressive first fruits, despite a recording that's thinner and more constricted than Hänssler's best efforts.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com