DAVID KOREVAAR, Beethoven Piano Sonatas Heroic to Hammerklavier

In David Korevaar’s passionate and insightful, intricately detailed liner notes to Beethoven Piano Sonatas Heroic to Hammerklavier, the double CD first of what will ultimately be six volumes of the composer’s sonatas released throughout 2025, the internationally renowned pianist, chamber musician and master class clinician makes a humble assertion about his truly epic, (so far) masterfully performed compendium.

He writes, “Recording Beethoven’s monumental cycle of piano sonatas is perhaps an act of hubris – the world is full of this music. I am nonetheless thrilled to offer my take on it; in all humility, I hope that my versions shed fresh light and clarity on at least some of these masterpieces.”

He need not have been concerned about bringing his own trademark artistry and dynamic coloring of these works to the world. From his sparkling, sensitive and soulful rendering of the alternately lyrical and whimsy-filled Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major through the dramatic, wildly adventurous exuberance of the expansive fourth and final movement of Piano Sonata No. 29 in B=flat Major (aka Hammerklavier), Korevaar rises to every occasion with perfect precision, great reverence and fresh interpretive energy and ingenuity.

Many have said that Hammerklavier, composed in 1817, is Beethoven’s most technically challenging compositions and one of the most demanding solo works in the classical piano repertoire, representing the shift away from the evident “heroics” of his middle period towards the more contemplative feeling of his later works. Yet Korevaar, aware that his intense, majestic performance skills of the piece not only caps the album but is the essential concluding part of its theme, makes it seem natural and effortless, resulting in a potentially definitive interpretation for this generation. 

After a multi-decade recording career that includes works by Brahms, Bach, Schubert and Chopin as well as spotlights on lesser known composers like Luigi Perrachio and Reza Vali, Korevaar conceived the complete Beethoven Sonata project during the pandemic, whose first year happened to coincide with the composer’s 250th birthday. With his live performances cancelled, he turned the celebration into a personal quest for excellence, the creative mountain he must climb, and performed and recorded all 32 Sonatas in 60 days.

Meeting his goal earlier than expected, he posted YouTube recordings of all of them, gaining thousands of views and spurring this new series of recordings that allowed him to, as he says, “share my interpretations more broadly and with better sonics and clarity than I could achieve in a live performance.” The pianist couched his initial sweeping 2 hour, 18 minute piece program under the subtitle Heroic to Hammerklavier as a reference to Beethoven’s shift from emphatic works like “Waldstein” (aka the aforementioned Sonata No. 21) and “Appasionata” (aka the emotionally charged Piano Sonata No, 21 in F minor, which closes Disc 1) to his later, more complex and introspective expressions.

For Beethoven aficionados who think they know every nuance of the master’s sonatas, this first collection in Korevaar’s grand series will allow them to experience them through a dynamic new perspective. For those who only know Beethoven through Peanuts cartoons, Walter Murphy’s discofied “A Fifth of Beethoven” or commercials using “Ode To Joy,” prepare to be amazed by an immersion like no other.