The Adagio at the beginning of Beethoven’s Mondscheinsonnate is well-known but indestructibly beautiful. The Russian pianist Nikolai Luganski plays it almost without an accent, as if he is afraid of falling into sentimentality, and immediately creates a distance between him and the listener. And that while Luganski is by no means a cold fish. He plays with passion for ten in the haunted final section, which is tailored to his strongest points. The same goes for the subsequent sonata, the turbulent Appassionata.
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Luganski’s hypothermic lyricism is a conscious choice that won’t appeal to everyone ★★★☆☆
