Beethoven used his piano sonatas as an open forum for experimentation, focusing elements of his creative process on them like a burning glass.
Recording & Production
Polyhymnia International designs and builds most of its recording equipment in-house, including microphone preamplifiers and internal microphone electronics, to ensure high-quality analog signal paths.
Performer Biography
Mari Kodama has performed with major orchestras worldwide, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, under conductors like Charles Dutoit and Kent Nagano.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded by Polyhymnia International, a company specializing in high-end acoustic music recordings, founded in 1998 by former Philips Classics Recording Center personnel.
Compositional Technique
Alfred Brendel, a renowned pianist, noted that Beethoven never repeated himself in his sonatas, with each composition and movement being a new organism.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, written between 1793 and 1822, are considered a "work in progress" due to their extremely individual and personal expression of the sonata form.
Performer Biography
Mari Kodama, the pianist on this recording, began playing piano at age three and entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris at 14, graduating with honors at 19.
