Ludwig Van Beethoven

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN:

• Piano Sonatas Nos. 5, 6, 7, 15, 19, 20, 26, 30, 31 and 32; Paul Lewis, piano (Harmonia Mundi).

• Piano Sonatas Nos. 9, 23, 32; Vassily Primakov, piano (Bridge).

• Sonatas Nos. 16 and 29 ("Hammerklavier"); Garrick Ohlsson, piano (Bridge).

• Sonatas Nos. 22-26; Andras Schiff, piano (ECM).

• Sonatas Nos. 28-31, plus Schubert's Sonata in B-flat; David Allen Wehr, piano (Connoisseur Society).

Because no pianist takes on Beethoven sonatas heedlessly, all these performances are distinctively considered. Some of the pianists deliver exactly what you'd expect of them -- not a bad thing when they're predictably exalted.

Similar in outlook but completely different in manner and sound world, Paul Lewis proves again and again that Beethoven's dense scores need not sound congested, suggesting that what Beethoven put down on the page was exactly right for what he was trying to say. However revealing, though, his performances can be tame.

Garrick Ohlsson can be counted on for technical brawn and cultivated intelligence, although this latest volume, which includes the formidable "Hammerklavier" sonata, is wanting for color and imagination.

All such desirable qualities come together in David Allen Wehr, whose inspired, satisfying Beethoven performances are collected from live concerts at different times and places, from Tarrytown to Utica, N.Y. His "Hammerklavier" has coloristic detail suggesting that, like Peter Serkin, he's tinkering with esoteric piano tunings. As a bonus, he includes a laudably vital performance of Schubert's last piano sonata, written around the time of Beethoven's death but with a more expansive way of saying farewell to the piano sonata medium.

The least-known of these pianists, Vassily Primakov, most seizes the ear. Magnetic and almost reckless in projecting his close rapport with this music, Primakov isn't exactly thoughtful, but few listeners are going to argue with his charisma.