Jeffrey Hall enthuses over Brendel's Beethoven piano sonatas.  I'll weigh
in with the following observation.  I have a recording Brendel playing
a few of the sonatas, and I have John O'Conner's complete cycle of the
sonatas.  While I might give a more detailed description at some point,
I'd have to say I prefer Brendel. I think, through subtle variations in
timing (eg.  "pregnant pauses") and small fluctuations in balance, he
manages to impart a greater sense of meaning to certain passages.  On
the other hand, I half suspect O'Conner performs these sonatas more in
a classical mode, so that purists like Joyce Maier might prefer O'Conner.
But on the strentgh of several hearings, I think Brendel enjoys a slight
edge.  FYI, I elected not to buy the complete Brendel cycle because it
was almost twice the price of the O'Conner performances.

Larry Sherwood