1940 - 2026. The pianist who introduced me to Beethoven and a lifelong hero. I only saw him once, live, in Beethoven’s last sonatas in Paris, where he signed my copy of the complete Beethoven sonata cycle. Rest in peace!
Cheers
EJ
1940 - 2026. The pianist who introduced me to Beethoven and a lifelong hero. I only saw him once, live, in Beethoven’s last sonatas in Paris, where he signed my copy of the complete Beethoven sonata cycle. Rest in peace!
13 Likes
Very sorry to hear this. I love his Philips solo Beethoven recordings as well as the concerto cycle with Colin Davis. Brought me a lot of pleasure.
His performance of Mozart’s Concerto No. 21, K467, with LSO conducted by Colin Davis, was movingly beautiful.
RIP.
I agree. It is a wonderful performance. Geza Anda is likely to remain my ‘go to’ bud Kovacevich is extremely good. RIP Mr Kovacevich.
1 Like
One of the 20th Century’s greats. I’d feel much the poorer for not having his Beethoven in my collection, both the Concertos with Colin Davis and his much later Sonatas on EMI. There’s never going to be a single ‘best’ version of such ubiquitous works, but these are frequent choices for me when it comes to wanting to listen to these amazing compositions. RIP Stephen and thank you.
A master pianist, RIP.
We’ve lost a truly great pianist. His Beethoven piano sonatas are probably my “complete set” best option. RIP
They played that on Radio 3 today, breathtaking.
2 Likes