In Volume 6 of her magisterial traversal of the Beethoven piano sonatas, Angela Hewitt reminds us that Beethoven could be the god of small (musical) things. Her performances of the three “little” Sonatas in this set illustrate this perfectly. The Schubertian (Hewitt’s apt term) Allegretto of the Op. 14 No 1 Sonata has an ambience similar to that of Mozart’s last Piano Concerto, the composer smiling through tears. Another example is the delightful, slightly torpid four-note intoduction of the Op. 49 No 1 Sonata. The final movement of the Op. 49 No 2 is the same Minuet as the one in Beethoven’s early Septet and Hewitt makes it just as charming.

By the time we come to the Op. 31 No 1 Sonata, we’ve really turned a corner: the slow movement is marked Adagio grazioso – almost a contradiction in terms and, at 11 minutes, by far the longest movement on this CD. Hewitt plays along in beautifully cantabile mode with the notion that it’s both tribute to and parody of Italian opera.

The Op. 81a Sonata Les Adieux refers to Beethoven’s separation from his patron and probable best friend Archduke Rudolf as he was evacuated from Vienna during the Napoleonic invasion. The experience was said to have traumatised Beethoven. Unlike many pianists, Hewitt does not reflect this in the central movement which she, for some reason, keeps moving. Nonetheless, this is masterful playing and her liner notes are, as usual, a model of insightful commentary.