Henle verlag beethoven sonatas in order

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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In this review I will be looking at two recent volumes from publisher Henle Verlag which between them offer an excellent introduction to Beethoven’s 35 Piano Sonatas, in a superb new edition edited by Norbert Gertsch and concert pianist Murray Perahia.

The two volumes are:

• Five Easy Piano Sonatas, Henle 1391
• Five Famous Piano Sonatas, Henle 1392

The Gertsch-Perahia Edition

Henle have been steadily releasing their new edition of the complete Beethoven Sonata cycle over recent years, sonata by sonata, and are now more than half way through the project. Several Sonatas have been issued as single copies, while the second of the three projected complete volumes is also available.

Ultimately Gertsch and Perahia’s edition promises academic authority to compare with the recent Del Mar edition from Barenreiter (reviewed here), with fingering added by maestro Murray Perahia, and presented