Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29, Op.106 "Hammerklavier"; Piano Sonata No.31, Op.110

This is the third CD of Rudolf Serkin's celebrated London concerts featuring the Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. Here we have the 'Hammerklavier' and Op.110, two giants of the piano literature and given Olympian performances by Serkin conveying his lifelong understanding of these late works. This 'live' broadcast release has been officially endorsed by Peter Serkin, Rudolf's son. Rudolf Serkin was famous for his Beethoven interpretations which in 1968 and 1971 represented high points in the pianist's long career. Serkin went onto record these same sonatas around this time but he was, by his own admission, always at his best away from the confines of the studio. Superb recording by the BBC in London's Royal Festival Hall Gramophone Magazine November 2008 “…in two incomparable performances taken from 1968 and 1971 Royal Festival Hall recitals, his candour and intensity are of a searing force and conviction.”