Vladimir Ashkenazy - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas in C Op 53 & Op 111 (1993)

This disc is an absolute must for anyone who wants every recording Ashkenazy has ever made, and for no one else. He recorded it in East Germany in 1957, and it has never been available outside of that country before. Ashkenazy was probably still in his teens when he played these performances, which explains his relatively callow playing of the profound Sonata No. 32. The "Waldstein" is a more acceptable performance, but as a listening experience it is ruined by the way the pitch varies through much of the first movement. Fortunately for Ashkenazy's admirers, his more recent recordings of these sonatas are available, making this opportunistic reissue thoroughly unnecessary. --Leslie Gerber