Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos.3, 7, 12 & 22

This original program abruptly juxtaposes early sonatas, based on the models provided by Haydn, with the impatience of Sonata No.22. This long forgotten diptych, as brief and adventurous as it is essential owing to its modernism, foreshadows the return to Bach, given a new treatment by Reger and Berg. Sviatoslav Richter charms with his Haydn-like sense of humor, then sharply addresses the listener in the Opus 54. These live recordings were made in 1959 and 1975.