Murray Perahia has often been described as an aristocrat of the piano, and...(More)

Murray Perahia has often been described as an aristocrat of the piano, and with good reason. There is, however, nothing exclusive or “intellectual”, let alone academic, about his playing. His commanding vision, like his supremely polished virtuosity, is complemented by a luminous intelligence and a poetic sensitivity which has been his trademark from the start, embracing equally the lyric and the epic – just as Beethoven did who combined the Classic and Romantic like no other. Perahia’s Beethoven, with its formal balance, crystalline textures, eloquent phrasing, unfailingly beautiful tone and spacious grasp of large-scale structure, allows us to eavesdrop on the development of a towering genius as he ushers in the birth of an era.(Less)