Beethoven Unbound (Llyr Williams, Piano)

These two CDs, derived from a 12-CD boxed set, celebrate pianist Llyr Williams’ Beethoven cycle given in 9 recitals over 3 years. Williams writes: “Rather than adopt the chronological approach, I have arranged the works roughly in the order that I played them in the concerts, and each CD has been devised as a mini-recital program.” During B’s lifetime, the piano had been undergoing continual development, both in its sustaining power and the compass of the keyboard. Up to the time of the ‘Waldstein’ Sonata Op. 53, (1803-4), B had to content himself with the five-octave range in use since the days of Haydn and Mozart. While the restricted keyboard compass didn’t seem to have been a compositional hindrance to Mozart, who never failed to find elegant solutions to its constraints, B’s earlier sonatas constantly strain against the limitations at both ends of the keyboard, implying the necessity for unavailable notes. By the time B came to compose the ‘Hammerklavier’ sonata, the piano had acquired a range of just over six octaves, which seems finally to have satisfied him. Williams extends his survey to include the “Eroica” Variations, the improvisatory G Minor Fantasia, and selected bagatelles (miniatures) that also include B’s most famous short piece, “Fur Elise.”