James Brawn Archive

“A Beethoven Odyssey”, Vol. 5 = Piano Sonatas, Nos. 5, 6, 7 & 10 – James Brawn, p. – MSR Classics 

“A Beethoven Odyssey”, Vol. 5 = Piano Sonatas, Nos. 5, 6, 7 & 10 – James Brawn, p. – MSR Classics 

The journey continues, and a superb one it is. “A Beethoven Odyssey”, Vol. 5 = Piano Sonatas: No. 5 in c, Op. 10/1; No. 6 in F, Op. 10/2; No. 7 in D, Op. 10/3; No. 10 in G, Op. 14/2 – James Brawn, p. – MSR Classics MS 1469, 71:12 *****: It’s been two years since the last  volume of James Brawn’s sensational Beethoven series, and I was starting to get worried! The first four appeared with predictable regularity, and then this drought occurs. Happily, volume five is now here, and we are all the better for it. I hope MSR decides to move ahead before I get any older! The virtues present in the previous releases are all here—stringent channeling of the composer’s innermost ideas, wonderful articulation, fine sense of rubato, and an absolutely uncluttered technical arsenal that presents Beethoven not as a heroic giant but as an immensely personal communicator. This composer, such a fabulously creative and innovative artist, is always found—to me, at least—at his most perfect in the piano sonatas and string quartets. The symphonies are great, but their statements are larger than life, while the chamber music reflects life itself. Brawn seems to get […]