In his Piano Sonatas, Op. 2 Beethoven shows himself to be both fluent in the galant style, inherited from Haydn, and capable of imaginative and unconventional procedures. Frustrated expectation, syncopation, idiosyncratic harmonic effects and variety of phrase lengths are all very much in evidence in these, Beethoven's first published sonatas.
Ian Hobson's aim, according to the accompanying notes, is to highlight those aspects of the compositional process that are evident at this stage of Beethoven's development. Nevertheless, Hobson's policy of playing all repeats, including the development/recapitulation repeat, in the first movements of the first two sonatas seems quixotic; in the second the first movement runs to more than 11 minutes as a result.
However, in general, Hobson's playing is fresh and demonstrates a sympathetic response to changes of style and mood. The slow movements of the first two sonatas come off well, with close attention to detail. Moreover, Hobson is as successful at capturing Beethoven's abrupt wit in the first movement of the A major Sonata as he is at achieving the elegance of the finale from the same piece. My reservations are concerned with his performance of the C major. The faster passagework of the first movement sounds rushed at times, while the dryness of the acoustic, together with a rather slow tempo, gives the second movement a static quality. By contrast, Jando's super-bargain Naxos recording of the same pieces maintains a more even standard. His musical judgement is usually sound and, despite the closeness of the piano, the recording has a more spacious ambience.'