Ludwig van Beethoven wrote 32 sonatas for solo piano, and they reflect the many sides of his musical style over the course of his life.
Pianist and Eastman School of Music Professor Alexander Kobrin has been playing all of these sonatas in concerts each month this year at Eastman, and he is also releasing them as a series of studio recordings. In addition to Beethoven’s passion and storminess, Kobrin says he finds in this music “warmth, kindness, sweetness, and humor.”
You can hear his thoughtful interpretation in the first album of the project, Beethoven’s first eight sonatas, as we spotlight this first installment on WXXI Classical over the next couple weeks.
And don’t sleep on the opportunity to hear him play Beethoven’s piano sonatas live. The next concert in his series of monthly recitals is February 1st at 7:30pm at Eastman’s Hatch Recital Hall.