I previously said I would report back on my opinion of Lortie's sixth
volume of Beethoven piano sonatas - this is it.

When first playing the disc, I was not satisfied with the sound quality; it
sounded like "mush" to my ears.  So, I got out my equalizer and tinkered
with the sound until I reached a relatively "mushless" stage.

What an equalizer can not do is make a professionally ordinary performance
into something special, and Lortie's performances were fine but ordinary in
that nothing about them really caught my attention.  The "Moonlight" sonata
is on this sixth disc; the first movement was good, the second movement too
"affected", and the third lacked some drive.  This type of playing was
prevalent throughout the recording.

So, I have to give Lortie a thumbs down judgement.  It baffles me why he
even started or continues with this series.  The competition is fierce, and
Lortie is not close to the top.  Still, I admire his overall pianism; he
needs to pick repertoire better suited to his strengths.  Maybe Debussy
would be better.

Don Satz
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