Idil Biret, the pianist on this album, began playing piano at age three and graduated from the Paris Conservatoire at fifteen with three first prizes.
Beethoven's Adagio cantabile from the 'Pathétique' Sonata became a focal point in the World War II British film 'The Seventh Veil'.
Beethoven's Sonata No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 7, was dedicated to Countess Babett Keglevich, a pupil of Beethoven.
Idil Biret has recorded over eighty albums, including the first recordings of Liszt's transcriptions of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies.
Idil Biret was a pupil of Alfred Cortot and a lifelong disciple of Wilhelm Kempff, both renowned pianists.
Carl Czerny, a future piano virtuoso and teacher, became Beethoven's pupil around 1800 after playing Mozart and Beethoven's 'Pathétique' Sonata.
Beethoven chose the title 'Pathétique' himself for his Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, unlike the later 'Moonlight' or 'Appassionata' titles.
