We have come to the final installment of Steinway & Sons' complete Beethoven Sonata series with the great pianist Konstantin Scherbakov. The set was coproduced with Swiss Radio SRF 2 Kultur.

Konstantin Scherbakov performs Beethoven's monumental triptych, sonatas 30 through 32.

“Scherbakov's readings have a feeling of total technical mastery.”

— AllMusic Guide

“His command is impressive and complete. Scherbakov files off the rough edges, leaving a diamond gleam.”

— All About Jazz

“Many listeners do not realize how often Beethoven ended his sonatas softly, but Scherbakov skillfully draws attention to the times this occurs, with the result that when Sonata No. 32, the last of them all, ends both its movements quietly, this seems altogether fitting and a capstone for the cycle...Scherbakov also tosses off the variations that conclude No. 32 with trills that sound nearly effortless – testimony to his remarkable technical prowess.”

— Infodad

Album Credits

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9 / Konstantin Scherbakov • STNS 30149

Release Date: 09/04/2020

Recorded Recorded June 6 – 7, 2020 at Alte Kirche Boswil, Switzerland in coproduction with Swiss Radio SRF 2 Kultur.

Producer/Engineer: Andreas Werner, Silencium Musicproduction

Recording Technician: Bachmann Pianos, CH-Wetzikon                 

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner

Art Direction: Jackie Fugere

Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carrasquillo

Photos of Konstantin Scherbakov: Jen-Pin Lin

Production Assistant: Renée Oakford

About the Artist

Konstantin Scherbakov is an internationally renowned member of the modern piano world. His artistry and contribution to the piano repertoire and recording catalogue are highlighted in his uncompromising responsibility and selfless dedication to music and piano repertoire throughout his nearly forty-year-long career.

In 1992, Scherbakov received an invitation from the founder of Naxos, Klaus Heymann, to make a CD with repertoire that had not been recorded before. The release of the CD (Lyapunov’s Douze études d'exécution transcendente, Op. 11) was a sensation which not only started Scherbakov's long and successful recording career, but also determined its direction and perspectives, both in the studio and on stage. Since then Scherbakov has worked extensively in the studio, producing well over 40 records in total.

In 2019, Scherbakov recorded a double album for the Steinway & Sons label, pairing Liszt’s twelve Transcendental Etudes with Lyapunov's Douze études d’exécution transcendante. For Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020, Steinway is releasing Scherbakov's recordings of the complete piano sonatas.

In 1990, Scherbakov made his European debut at the XX Music Festival in Asolo, Italy where he played the complete works by Rachmaninoff in four evenings. In 1993, Scherbakov made his Lucerne Festival debut, where he was described by the press as the "Rachmaninoff of today". Boasting an extensive repertoire of around 60 concertos, Scherbakov has performed as soloist with some of the world’s best orchestras and conductors such as Georg Alexander Albrecht, Rudolf Barshai, Aldo Ceccato, Arnold Katz, Andrei Boreiko, Yoel Levi, Dmitri Liss, Cristian Mandeal, and Kirill Petrenko.

Konstantin Scherbakov has given solo performances in over 50 countries on all continents. He has played in many concert halls and at renowned international music festivals, such as Salzburg, Frankfurt, Bregenz, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Beethoven Festival Bonn, Schubertiade Feldkirch and Schwarzenberg, Singapore Piano Festival, Piano Rarities Husum, Beethoven Festival Krakow and Warsaw, Lebanon Music Festival, “Primavera concertistica” Lugano, Evian, Colmar, Liszt Festivals in Raiding and Weimar, Piano Festival Lucerne, and among others - numerous festivals in Italy, France, New Zealand, USA, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.    

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.