Sons 78 81A 90 & 101

Penelope Crawford presents a program of four of Beethoven's most important transitional sonatas, bridging the gap between his "middle" and "late" periods. Composed against the backdrop of Napoleonic Europe and Metternich's Congress of Vienna, these four works chart Beethoven's growth as a composer in a rapidly changing world. As with her first Beethoven sonata recording (opp. 109-11), Musica Omnia MO 0308), a splendid fortepiano by the great Viennese builder, Conrad Graf, is used here, similar to one of the last pianos owned by Beethoven, also by Conrad Graf.