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0228-0 2 CDs

The Koroliov Series Vol. XX

Late Piano Works

by Ludwig van Beethoven
Evgeni Koroliov, Duo Koroliov, piano

EAN/barcode: 4009850022800

Although Beethoven's opus numbers extend to op. 135, there were no more piano sonatas after op. 111. There is, though, a variation cycle lasting almost an hour on a simple theme by Anton Diabelli. This astonishing cycle takes the listener into such distant moods, that even after the first variation it doesn't matter what the theme is, it is all so unmistakably Beethoven. Also on this disc, two cycles of "simple" piano pieces entitled "Bagatelles". Small, unimportant things, trivialities, which make you think involuntarily of much later romantic composers. And finally, the usually so self-critical Beethoven allocated his penultimate opus number (op. 134) to a "simple" piano score of the "Große Fuge" op. 133! So how does all this fit together?
Obviously, the scope of classical forms was too narrow for Beethoven. Did this apparent simplicity serve a wider purpose? The very last movement of the very last opus, the string quartet op. 135, is based on the text "Must it be? - It must be! " Was Beethoven in his last works pursuing an overall objective? Or did it all just happen like that? Find out now! You can find these last works for piano alongside each other on a double CD.
Just listen to the first few seconds of the "Große Fuge" with Ljupka Hadzigeorgiewa and Evgeni Koroliov. Succumb to the charm and allure of these two musicians, who lead us selflessly and confidently through this perplexing hiatus in musical history.

See reviews for this production

Fanfare (05/01/2018):

Much of my writing in these pages suggests a certain impatience with new recordings of standard repertoire. more...

Artamag (01/25/2018):

Diapason Magazine (01/01/2018):

Pour son vingtième volume chez Tacet, Evgeni Koroliov s’attache aux opus tardifs de Beethoven – deux ans après un album regroupant les trois dernières sonates. Ses Diabelli sont les plus constamment belles que nous connaissons. more...

Piano News (01/01/2018):

Was hat dieser grandiose russische Pianist nicht schon alles für TACET eingespielt - Bach, Schubert, Mozart - etliche der Standardliteratur hat er in seinen Interpretationen mit neuem Leben versehen. more...

image hifi /2018 (01/01/2018):

(…) Die Große Fuge op. 133 umgibt der Nimbus eines genialen, unzugänglichen Spätwerks für Streichquartette. Beethoven selbst hat davon eine Fassung für Klavier zu vier Händen erstellt. Das Duo Koroliov plädiert in einer pianistisch imponierenden Aufnahme für dieses Opus 134. more...

Audio (12/01/2017):

Auf Vol. XX seiner Edition präsentiert der in Hamburg lebende russische Pianist Evgeni Koroliov die letzten Kompositionen Ludwig van Beethovens für Klavier. Diese gehören zum Höchsten und Schwersten, was ein Pianist bewältigen kann. more...

klassik-heute.de (11/15/2017):

Evgeni Koroliov ist sicher einer der ernsthaftesten, selbst in hochexpressiven Momenten unerschütterlich diszipliniertesten Interpreten nicht nur der pianistischen Gegenwart, sondern auch der gesamten Szene seit es Möglichkeiten der Aufzeichnung gibt. more...