This issue of ‘named’ Beethoven sonatas provides an eloquent demonstration of Ivan Moravec’s fluent, passionate pianism. As Alena Nemcova points out in her brief Grove article on this sensitive Czech pianist, “his sense of style and of a work’s structure is supported by unusual musicality and power of expression”. Witness Moravec’s appropriately impassioned performance of the Appassionata. In the first movement, a relatively relaxed pace gives the repeated notes a heightened sense of agitation, while Moravec’s exploitation of the instrument’s rich resonance enhances the second movement’s intrinsic serenity, to which his vibrant playing in the finale provides a thrilling conclusion. Dramatic impact is likewise increased in the Pathetique. Most impressive here are Moravec’s striking, theatrical characterization of slow and fast music in the first movement, and the exquisite control with which he deftly shades major/minor colours in the second. However, the breadth of Moravec’s interpretative perception is probably most tellingly apparent in the Moonlight Sonata, where his evocative pianissimo in the opening movement is contrasted with startling violence in the finale.
Goode’s greater temperamental reserve gives his versions of these pieces (on a ten-disc set) an appealing refinement that highlights the persuasive logic of his outstanding, intellectually satisfying interpretations. Nevertheless, while Goode touchingly conveys Beethoven’s poignant description of the Archduke Rudolph’s departure and his subsequent elation at the Archduke’s return in Les adieux, Moravec’s extrovert approach creates an even more vivid impression of heartfelt sadness in the first movement, yearning in the slow movement, and infectious exuberance in the finale.
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