BEETHOVEN'S PIANO SONATAS

You will never hear a person more excited about piano music than Professor Greenberg. Every word communicates that he idolizes Beethoven's genius. His rate of speech increases when he is enthusiastic, which is often. Then he checks himself and switches to his teacher mode, describing a theme slowly and plainly. Greenberg illuminates Beethoven's minimalism by highlighting a short selection, as short as six notes. He follows such examples with analysis and then plays the theme in its entirety, sprinkling the history of Beethoven's music with biographical points about his romantic pursuits, deafness, rage, and other poignant matters. This production is delightful and colorful. A.G.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 06]