John Lill's Beethoven Sonata cycle for ASV has been making the rounds of super-budget labels. The 10-disc set recently appeared on Brilliant Classics, and now Sanctuary Classics repackages it in a space-saving box. Those who gravitate toward Teutonic Beethoven playing of the sober, conscientious variety will relate to Lill's even-handed temperament. He tends to pace slow movements and slow introductions even slower than pianists like Barenboim, Schnabel, and Arrau, as the "Pathetique", "Les Adieux", "Hammerklavier", and Op. 111 sonatas duly demonstrate. Some of the earlier sonatas sound slower than they're performed (specifically Op. 2 Nos. 1 & 2, Op. 10 Nos. 2 & 3, Op. 14 No. 1, and Op. 27 No. 1) due to lack of nervous energy, forward momentum, and dramatic inflection. The "Tempest" sonata's finale virtually gallops, although Lill redeems his heavy-handed traversals of Op. 31 No. 3's first three movements with an intensely driving finale.

Fortunately, Lill's inspiration takes off for excellent performances of the C minor Op. 10 No. 1, Op. 79, "Les Adieux", "Waldstein", and "Appassionata", plus Op. 101's first two movements (a pity he holds back in the knotty fugue). His spacious, intelligently detailed, well-sustained accounts of the last three sonatas yield little to the catalogue's finest versions (Arrau, Pollini, Goode, and Serkin, among others). Given Sanctuary's rock-bottom price, you might consider investing in this set for Lill's best performances alone, as opposed to a cheaper alternative to pricier yet superior complete Beethoven cycles from Arrau, Frank, Goode, and Kempff.

--Jed Distler