From 1795 to 1822, Beethoven produced one of the most significant bodies of solo keyboard works in Western music history: the 32 piano sonatas trace his transition from blossoming talent to radical master, and forge the link between the Classical aesthetics of Haydn and Mozart and the Romanticism of Chopin and Liszt. The sonatas also represent a formidable challenge, demanding absolute mastery of the piano and a stylistic versatility beyond compare. 

Beethoven’s solo piano works have been at the center of Daniel Barenboim’s career since his mid-twenties, when he made his first landmark recording of the complete sonatas. By 1983–1984 when this series was filmed, Barenboim had been playing these works for decades, and his incredible experience and artistic insight are on full display in his authoritative performances of all 32 sonatas. Set in the lavish beauty of Austrian palaces, this series features one of the greatest living interpreters of Beethoven at his best!