My CD player is horses de combat so I have been listening, this evening (now night), to Classic King on the web (98.1 FM if you live in Seattle-which I don't). The particular CD that was being played was Seraphim 8235 (I think), the Beethoven Apassionata Sonata played by Andre Watts. It is good, though not the best recording I've heard (or, at least, not the one I've enjoyed the most). The Apassionata, along with the Moonlight are two piano sonatas that I find immensely pleasurable (and there is not that much solo piano music that I enjoy, though I do enjoy the Mozart sonatas. It is probably the test of Mozart's genius that most CM fans enjoy him). I was trying to decide which recording of Apassionata I did enjoy the most, and realized that I'm not sure. I guess my real question is, "Why does Beethoven sound so powerful in much of his solo piano music while (to my ears) composers like Liszt and Chopin sound so mannered (i.e. unconvincing?)" My short answer would be that Beethoven (and Mozart) were composing music, but that Liszt and Chopin were composing the equivalent of "New York, New York" for their instrument. (I will add a final set of parentheses to say that my assessment of Frank Sinatra is about the same as that of Gary Trudeau [Doonesbury], and so is suspect). I would like to add that DPHorn attempted about two years ago to answer my questions about my lack of affection for the piano, and did a very good job. I am like an Agnostic proceeding towards (musical) Atheism. As the sonics get better, I am less and less able to appreciate them. Mike Cole [log in to unmask]