The ups and downs of Russell Sherman’s perplexing Beethoven Sonata cycle reach roller-coaster dimensions in this latest installment. There’s no question that the pianist is keenly in tune with Beethoven’s often-stressful markings regarding dynamics and articulation. But each time Sherman trots out the expressive artillery, he shoots himself in the foot. His basic problem is rhythm. Hardly two or three measures go by without an agogic opinion, a protruding accent, or a shortness-of-brea(d)th pause. As a result, the music cannot flow, no more than energy bars and carbo fluids comprise a well-balanced fulfilling meal. The irony is that Sherman’s genuine insights best coalesce when he gets out of his way and plays, rather than plays at the music, as his relatively straightforward performance of the C minor Sonata Op. 10, No. 1 bears out. And the inner movements of the Op. 22 B-flat sonata sing with calm simplicity. Producer Gunther Schuller contributes a fascinating essay on the meaning of Beethoven’s booming, closely voiced bass register chords. Sherman’s own program notes, though, are stylistically fulsome and virtually unreadable.
