After the success of Messiaen’s Catalogue d’Oiseaux we are delighted to announce pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard​’s return to Pentatone with a recording of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata and Eroica Variations which is now available for worldwide general release. The Hammerklavier Sonata is one of the pinnacles of Beethoven’s creative output, and arguably one of the highest mountains to climb for any pianist. To Aimard, it poses one of the most frightening tests of a performer’s life, but one that is as irresistible as it is insurmountable. The dazzling Eroica Variations are nicknamed after Beethoven’s iconoclastic Symphony No.3 and employ the melody he would later use as the main theme of the symphony’s finale. Beethoven’s fondness for this melody is evident, as he also used it in his ballet music for The Creatures of Prometheus, as well as in the seventh of his 12 Contredanses. 

It is available as a standard CD and digitally to download & stream here.