Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Michael Houstoun

2015 CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas is an exceptional achievement from one of the world’s finest Beethoven interpreters, New Zealand’s own Michael Houstoun.

Launched at Parliament on 14 October 2014 by Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Maggie Barry, this handsomely handcrafted 14-CD boxed set comes with an illustrated hardback book featuring extensive notes on each sonata by Michael Houstoun and a biography by Charlotte Wilson, A Portrait of Michael Houstoun.

Produced by Kenneth Young
Engineered by Steve Garden
Piano tuning by Michael Ashby
Cover artwork by Philip Trusttum (Lost in Translation, 2001, courtesy of the Wallace Art Trust)
Design by UnkleFranc
Printing by Studio Q


Released: 11 October 2014
Catalogue: RAT-D048/14


This landmark album is sure to be treasured by collectors of exceptional classical music. The sonatas are presented in seven double-disc programmes, each offering listeners the experience of the music in the order Michael Houstoun created for his Chamber Music New Zealand 2013 ReCycle series.

"There is a power in his music that I don’t find in Mozart or Haydn; some basic emotional psychological power. There are moods and emotions in Beethoven that you never deal with in any other composer, from the highest highs to the lowest lows and everything in between." — Michael Houstoun