This is something rather special. Given that Murray Perahia holds the office of Poet Laureate amongst the great pianists of our time, I was surprised when the news leaked of him performing the Hammerklavier Sonata in preparation for recording.

This most monumental of the sonatas is the ultimate challenge of technique and stamina while its emotional depth and abstraction require a probing intellect; my favourite recordings have been giant bear-hug performance by the likes of Arrau or Gilels. A sniffy review of Perahia’s London recital cast doubts over his affinity for the elusive masterpiece; those doubts were obliterated on hearing the finished product.

Rather than a gigantic granite monument this is a heroic struggle carved from the finest Carrara marble. Every detail is polished to the finest and clearly lit in sharp relief while integrated into a whole coherent shape with each tempo ideally related to one another. The first movement is surprisingly fleet but never sounds rushed – track timings reveal it to be one of the fastest and that’s true of the whole performance.

The Scherzo is almost Schubertian with less bluster than usual and better for it. The great Adagio sostenuto is glorious, all sung on one great exhaled breath in a terse 16 minutes (Arrau took 20, Eschenbach 25!). Rather than revel in “the apotheosis of pain” Perahia achieves the equilibrium of sorrowful yearning and calm resignation, a state of nirvana – that beautiful treble figuration on the return of the main theme (bars 88-104) reaches out to beyond the nearest stars.

After an ideally judged introduction gingerly finding its path to the launch key, the fugue takes off like a rocket on a perfectly set trajectory. Perahia performs astonishing feats with crystalline articulation and miracles of pedalling helped by an immaculately prepared instrument and state-of-the-art recording. That startling breakdown at bar 244 often barely registers but not so here – the structure implodes on the volley of trills. The final struggle builds inexorably toward a triumphant finish.

Dare one surmise “maybe this is the performance Beethoven heard in his imagination?” This great artist has thought long and hard about this extraordinary piece, and the recording is an important testament and as mandatory an acquisition as his Goldberg Variations. As for the Moonlight, if you might think you’ve heard it once too often, have another listen – thanks to Perahia’s touch, the joy of first discovery is rekindled.


Composer: Beethoven
Composition: Hammerklavier and Moonlight Sonata
Performer: Murray Perahia p
Catalogue Number: DG 4798353

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