Beethoven Symphonies Nos 2 & 6 - Reviews

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE, Misha Donat, 3 October 2012

Listening to these stunning accounts by the Russian pianist Yury Martynov, it’s difficult to believe at times that only two hands are playing…Martynov never fails to play with admirable warmth and imagination. His 1837 Erard piano is an object of great beauty. Altogether, very impressive.

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MUSICWEB

Martynov`s own performance here is little short of sensational, particularly in the Sixth where he tackles the phenomenal difficulty of the "Storm" movement with a stunning virtuosity that would have had Liszt the performer nodding in approval, and the sublime serenity of the "Scene beside the Stream" with a spiritual expressiveness that would have moved Liszt the abbé.

Martynov is totally convincing too in the Second Symphony, which in Liszt`s unerring transcription sounds as if it could have been an original piano sonata.

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