Garrick Ohlsson Edition, Vol. 3 - Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2 [Import]

Other reviewers, both on Amazon and elsewhere, describe GO's playing is such glowing terms that you have to shield your eyes from the fiery glow coming off the prose. GO can and does make great music, but this sort of hyperbole does not inform the potential purchaser/listener of any details as to what the CD sounds like, or any details about the actual playing. Here goes...
The recordings in this series are generally a bit dry sounding, close-miked, without much ambience. This took a little getting used to, as most modern piano recordings have a considerable sonic cushioning, usually from a large hall. GO's playing is very straight-forward, clear, clean and precise, which is certainly not to say that he is lacking in poetry or artistry in the Romantic sense. It is just that he takes a general approach that is very similar to Artur Rubenstein, in that his playing could be described as "healthy" as Daniel Barenboim says in the video Art of Piano, a worthwhile addition to any piano fans' video collection, available on Amazon, of course.
He makes the music present itself, which is such a great complement to the composers. Simple passages or difficult ones come and go with equal aplomb and dispatch. These three sonatas are described elsewhere, so I will not duplicate that information here.
Mr Ohlsson's repertoire is probably the largest since Rubenstein, and this vast knowledge and background can be heard in his treating these Beethoven pieces with both the respect they have earned, as well as the perspective that there is a lot of other music out there, which GO also knows and respects. The recording is worth having, but remember, it is just great music, not nectar from the gods, or new revelations from on high, just an artist doing what artists are supposed to do, that being to share their talents and experience with the world.
88melter