A man discovers an abandoned mansion. He wanders through the labyrinth-like building, passed closed windows, cracked walls, and dusty floors. He comes upon a grand piano, stopping his wanderings to play while the camera continues to explore the ruin in all of its crumbling beauty… He works his way through Beethoven’s Opuses 109, 110, and 111, piano sonatas composed at a time when Beethoven’s deafness had irrevocably limited his world. With these works, the composer explores the most intimate meanderings of the human soul, from its deepest despair to its transcendent transfiguration.

Alexandre Tharaud appears courtesy of Erato / Warner Classics.
Photo: © Leonidas Arvanitis / Idéale audience