In late March I was channel hopping and happened to see one of my favorite classical pianists, Lang Lang. It turns out the show I happened to catch was a BBC show entitled "Barenboim on Beethoven."

Daniel Barenboim is a world renowned pianist himself, and in this show, he was actually coaching OTHER world class pianists on Beethoven's sonatas. Apparently Barenboim himself memorized all of the sonatas by age 17, and it's quite amazing to watch him play them from memory while the other "masters" need the music in front of them. :P Since catching only part of this show, I've been searching everywhere for it. The amazing release group UKNova came to the rescue! (torrent below).

It's simply amazing to listen to Barenboim explain the thought process that goes into specific sections of each piece, and more amazing to hear how different a section of music can sound due to subtle changes in dynamics and tempo.

Here's the summary text from the BBC:

Renowned pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim's masterclasses on Beethoven's piano sonatas were recorded at Symphony Hall, Chicago this January. The featured works are: the Appassionata Sonata, Op 57; the first movement of Sonata Op 31 No 1; the first movement of the Tempest Sonata, Op 31 No 1; and the third movement of Sonata Op 109. Barenboim takes each player through their chosen sonata movement, illustrating the importance of structure and the relationships between tempo, harmony and dynamics.

Torrent: http://www.thebws.com/files/BBC.Barenboim.on.Beethoven.-.Masterclass.on....