When brilliant Australian-born Paul Wee’s survey of Beethoven’s last five sonatas dropped into my inbox I had been recently seen two splendid, if very different, live performances of two of them. Canadian Marc-André Hamelin marked his debut Sydney recital with the Hammerklavier while Polish maestro Piotr Anderszewski closed his concert with the Sonata No. 31 Op. 110 in A-flat. Both renditions were miracles of pianism and stamina, but if you are after an equally stunning recorded survey then look no further than this double disc by London-based lawyer-by-day, pianist-by-night Wee.

Up until now his impressive discography has included works by less performed Romantic pianist-composers Charles-Valentin Alkan and Sigismond Thalberg – both of them, coincidentally, championed by Hamelin – but with this latest album he plants his flag firmly in heady mainstream territory.

The results are wonderful realisations of works that take piano writing to another level. The litmus test is the formidable Hammerklavier, which Beethoven predicted pianists would still be trying to figure out 50 years later. Wee starts off like a startled rabbit out of the trap. Has he gone too fast, we wonder? But he reels it in with masterly control, great poetic awareness and a thrilling touch. The massive fugal finale is superbly done – as are all the other fugues, trills, arias and variations inspired by Beethoven’s study of Bach and Handel while writing these sonatas between 1816 and 1822.

Spending two hours or so listening to Wee’s Beethoven is as satisfying as delving into the Takacs’ survey of the late string quartets.

Listen on Apple Music

Composer: Beethoven
Work: Late Piano Sonatas
Performer: Paul Wee p
Label: BIS BIS-2765