Ludwig van Beethoven: Klavierquartette Woo 36 Nr.1-3 version on CD in Standard edition. This particular edition was published in Europe in publishing company Brilliant Classics on 11. December 2020.

New recordings of major works by the young Beethoven on period instruments. The Piano Quartet is a modest genre for a musical milestone, but it was in this trio of works that Beethoven, at the age of fifteen, first found a voice that would be universally recognized over the next half-century as a symbolic, universal voice of music, freedom, and personal autonomy. That's a lot for three modest piano quartets, and overall this is still the music of a young man who easily carries the influence of Haydn and contemporary French music. This was the kind of music the young Beethoven heard and played as a violinist, organist and courtier in his native Bonn. Perhaps the quartets were to be dedicated to the new Elector in 1784, but remained unpublished until the composer's death. By this time Beethoven's unique talent had been recognised by his teacher Johann Gottlob Neefe, but his star had fallen in the eyes of patrons who hoped to nurture another Mozartian prodigy; in 1784 he was described to the new elector only as a young keyboard player of "good ability". That Beethoven had more up his sleeve is evidenced by the melodic sweep and rhythmic dynamics of the second piece in this series in particular, which is in E flat major. The lyrical, slow introduction, followed by the storming Allegro in E flat minor, opens the door to Romanticism. The last movement, with its diabolical variations, is technically the core of the three-movement work, which then concludes with an almost symphonic quartet in D major; D major is the key of the great orchestral works with trumpets and timpani. The quartets are performed here in the order in which they appeared in Beethoven's original manuscript, not in the confusing order in which they were first published. In other respects, too, the performances by the Dutch period-instrument group named after Baron van Swieten, patron of Haydn and Mozart, stick exactly to what we know of good late 18th-century performance practice, with period strings and a light, sparkling touch on the piano. This new recording presents three lesser-known chamber works by the young Beethoven, the Piano Quartets WoO36. Like every musician in Europe, the young Beethoven knew and greatly admired Mozart's compositions. He performed Mozart's piano concertos in Bonn's Hofkapelle and later played the viola in performances of Mozart's operas. Beethoven's piano quartets were based on Mozart's two great examples of the genre. From a young age, Beethoven was a phenomenal pianist who explored the limits of existing piano technique while expanding it. The piano technique demonstrated in these works was unprecedented for the time, especially in terms of fingering, use of pedals, left hand technique and sheer virtuosity. The period instruments are played by Bart van Oort on piano and the Van Swieten Society. Bart van Oort has an impressive discography including the complete piano works of Mozart, Haydn piano pieces and sonatas, works by Chopin, Dussek and several chamber music projects (all Haydn piano trios).

Album spans genres Classical and Romantic.