Beethoven The 32 Piano Sonatas

Review here: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beethoven-complete-piano-sonatas-2 Cascavelle has reissued Aldo Ciccolini’s 1995‑99 Beethoven cycle for the Italian Bongiovanni label (it also appeared on Nuova Era) as a space-saving box-set. While most cyclical presentations follow a chronological or opus-number order, each disc here mixes and matches early, middle and late period works. Sometimes it’s hard to fathom the programming logic. For instance, why follow the mighty Hammerklavier with the much slighter F major, Op 54? Why start disc eight with the volatile Appassionata and conclude it with the much gentler G major, Op 31 No 1? On the other hand, disc two’s more plausible running order makes better sense all around (Op 49 No 2, the two Op 14 sonatas, topped off by the valedictory Op 111). Imagine Friedrich Gulda’s hard-hitting sonority and dry-point articulation welded to Wilhelm Kempff’s clipped phrasing and intimate dimensions, and you’ll get a general sense of Ciccolini’s detail rather than big-picture-oriented aesthetic. Trills, turns and other ornaments are scrupulously considered, such as in the Op 31 No 1 Adagio’s dry, pointed wit, the sharp clarity of Op 101’s march and fugue, the Op 2 No 3 finale’s bravura outbursts, and a measured yet impressively taut Appassionata first movement. In addition, Ciccolini has a wonderful knack for effecting seamless transitions and unified tempo relationships, as Op 26’s opening, Op 110’s fugue and Op 111’s Arietta bear out. The downside concerns the pianist’s iron-poor blood in music that begs for lightness and rollicking brio: for example, Op 2 No 1 and Op 7’s first movements plus the finales of Op 10 No 2, Op 78 and the Moonlight. He similarly holds back in the Waldstein’s coda, where, like Kempff and Horowitz, he follows the frowned-upon practice of playing the glissando octaves from the wrist. However, Op 10 No 1’s controversially brisk finale reveals how Ciccolini can deliver lean, propulsive goods, as well as drop a fortissimo bomb when he chooses. The sound throughout most of the cycle is close-up and dry, yet not without warmth and ample presence. Those who collect multiple versions of Beethoven cycles will find much food for thought in the best of what Ciccolini has to offer.