Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto gets top billing on Hélène Grimaud’s first CD devoted to this composer’s music. The two late sonatas, however, wind up commanding our primary attention. Grimaud’s measured yet flowing tempos are perfectly suited to both opening movements’ improvisational intimacy. At the same time, the pianist calmly unravels the contrapuntal strands in the fugue of Op. 110, while maintaining the melodic fabric with the cloudy trills enveloping the final variation in Op. 109’s third movement. Given Grimaud’s stylish flair and digital assurance in these pieces, it’s surprising how she labors through some of the G major concerto’s upward runs in the first movement, and overpedals the quicksilver soloist/orchestra exchanges in the Rondo. Here Kurt Masur’s mainstream support comes to life, tapping into the music’s frolicking sensibility with crisp, pointed rhythms. In sum, this disc is worth investigating for the sonatas. For the concerto, stick with Fleisher/Szell (Sony), Gilels/Ludwig (Testament), or the miraculously detailed and ravishingly engineered Moravec/Turnowsky version (VAI).
