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Disc 1:

1. Adagio sostenuto -
2. Allegro
3. Rondo: Allegro vivace
4. Theme
5. Variation 1
6. Variation 2
7. Variation 3
8. Variation 4
9. Variation 5
10. Variation 6
11. Variation 7
12. Variation 8
13. Variation 9
14. Variation 10
15. Variation 11
16. Variation 12
17. Adagio sostenuto ed espressivo -
18. Allegro molto più tosto presto
19. Rondo: Allegro
20. Theme
21. Variation 1
22. Variation 2
23. Variation 3
24. Variation 4
25. Variation 5
26. Variation 6
27. Variation 7
28. Variation 8
29. Variation 9
30. Variation 10
31. Variation 11
32. Variation 12

Disc 2:

1. Allegro ma non tanto
2. Scherzo: Allegro molto
3. Adagio cantabile -
4. Allegro vivace
5. Andante
6. Vivace
7. Adagio -
8. Allegro vivace
9. Allegro con brio
10. Adagio con molto sentimento d'affetto
11. Allegro fugato
12. Theme
13. Variation 1
14. Variation 2
15. Variation 3
16. Variation 4
17. Variation 5
18. Variation 6
19. Variation 7

Rating: - Great playing from the world's greatest cellist
Wispelwey really is that good. The pianist is awesome too. Sound as gorgeous as you can imagine. I never thought I would buy another version after having Richter/Rostropovich for years. This is better in every way.

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Rating: - Great Artistry - Fantastic Sound
In the interest of continuing my SACD collection, I spend some time on Amazon buying well reviewed discs. These Beethoven Sonatas and Variations perf by Wispelwey and Lazie had no reviews, but since this was the only SACD with this repertoire, I did the blind buy. Boy, I'm glad I did.

First of all the sound!
The engineering on this one is just as good as it gets. This replaces "The Marriage of Figarro" by Jacobs as the most amazing sounding SACD in my collection, which speaks volumes. Incredible dynamics, richness, spaciousness (even though I only have a 2 channel setup - would love to hear multichannel), all audiophile accolades apply. Even the CD Redbook version sounded fantastic through my iPod. The richness and sparkle made the Pod sound strikingly deeper and richer, and just more real than any other material I have.

If you're looking for a reference SACD to amaze friends and family - look no further.

Second the Performance
The was where I had my biggest concern, given artists I wasn't familiar with and no reviews on Amazon. The performance flirts with greatness. Extremely nuanced and expressive yet driven and energetic. I can't recall ever hearing two artists mesh so perfectly together and speak so much with one voice over so much complex fare - this really amazed me. They went from driven and extroverted to hushed and soulful on a dime - and the playing in general had more of the passion and soulfulness I associate with the eras of the 50's and 60's. The technique and recording brilliance however was definitely state of the art.

The only possible negative on the performance (and not for me) is the absolutely sublime phrasing. The usual Beethoven angst isn't on display here, it's more leave you on a clould sublime ala Mozart. Of the various pieces I have other recordings of though, like with Mutter, Kahn etc, there wasn't a tremdous amount of pathos either. Probably just the nature of these more parlour like Sonatas - in which case criticism doesn't apply. And in any case I find these performances so much more compelling than those of Sophie-Ann or Kahn that I also own.

Sorry for gushing on so much, but getting such a shockingly good performance and recording on a blind buy was something I had to sound off about - especially with no other reviews on this yet. Just buy this, from my POV I can't even imagine better.