John Lill: Beethoven, Cadogan Hall

John Lill has long been thought of as one of Britain’s best pianists. With a career spanning five decades, he turns 70 this year. In the run-up to his birthday, he has dedicated eight concerts to performing the full cycle of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas – of which he is a renowned interpreter – at the Cadogan Hall.  

The series started in October and, unfortunately, the Appassionata, the Pathetique and the Waldstein have all come and gone. But the eighth and final concert, on 24 February, promises to be every bit as riveting.

As with previous concerts, Lill has put together a varied programme that illustrates the progression of Beethoven’s writing, from the early and middle-period sonatas - where echoes of Haydn and Mozart abound - to the astonishingly daring late works, in which the sonata form is all but entirely re-imagined. The evening begins with what must be his best-known sonata – No. 14, or the “Moonlight”, whose darkness and turbulence are answered by the altogether more high-spirited No. 18. The second half highlights the composer’s late-period innovations, with two sonatas that consist of only two movements – No. 27 and the majestic No. 32, Beethoven’s final sonata, which brings the evening to a fitting close.

Lill has said that he believes the pianist’s job is to render the composer’s work as faithfully – and with as little interference – as possible. In contrast to some of Beethoven’s interpreters, who can’t resist the temptation to squeeze as much drama from the music as possible, Lill’s style is direct, robust and masterfully controlled, giving clarity to the music’s dense textures and colours. Whether you’re already familiar with this towering body of work, or whether you’re coming to it for the first time, in Lill you have an excellent guide.