Vladimir Ashkenazy - Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 21 'Waldstein', Piano Sonata No. 29 'Hammerklavier' (2010)

The two sonatas featured on this release charted unprecedented paths of sonority and virtuosity, although the musical and pianistic aims radically differ. Vladimir Ashkenazy re-recorded them both, the 'Hammerklavier' for his complete Beethoven sonata cycle, and the 'Waldstein' as a digital remake for a separate CD. The rare and much sought-after 1967 recording of the 'Hammerklavier' - Vladimir Ashkenazy's first of any Beethoven sonata for Decca - is sharply delineated and full of tensile energy, the fugal finale's gnarlier sequences more incisively articulated than his later remake.