Having previously recorded Beethoven’s complete violin sonatas with Corey Cerovsek, as well as some fairly uncompromising 20th-century works, including pieces by Boulez, Bartók and Rautavaara, Paavali Jumpanen has released a two-disc set of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. He’s chosen some of the very earliest works in the Op 2 set, as well as the Sonata in A Major, Op 101, and he concludes with the monumental Hammerklavier. Jumpanen’s approach to these pieces is highly convincing; in the early sonatas, he reminds us that they were dedicated to Haydn through a thoroughly Classical reading of the works. However, there’s an intensity behind the elegance that’s refreshing. It’s clear that Jumppanen realises that Beethoven was already pushing the boundaries of the Classical style, showing a firm understanding of the works’ progressive nature. The Sonata in F Minor begins with an arpeggiated melody highly reminiscent of Haydn himself, but it’s only a short time before the storm clouds gather. Take for example, the passionate last movement, which is full of gestures that signify what was to come for Beethoven’s stylistic development – we hear crashing bass chords paired with rapid-fire scalic passages. The Sonata in A is a more restrained work, and it’s worthwhile…