American Record Guide

This is a fine second release from British pianist Beville that gives us a good picture of his keyboard abilities. His training was mostly in Great Britain with advanced study in Germany. He has been an active pianist for many years, as well as a prolific composer. The pieces here were recorded in 2003, 2006, and 2019, all remastered in 2022. In his booklet essay Beville says “Visions both utopian and evasive… ventures towards and away from… forays and escapades—these are what broadly characterize the keyboard music offered on this recording.”

I particularly enjoyed Bach’s solemn 4- voice Fugue following the busy Prelude, essentially in 3 voices. Beville’s contrapuntal clarity is a model of how to balance voices. The Prokofieff comes my way on a regular basis and gives a more gentle and varied look at his piano styles. The 20 short pieces are brilliantly conceived sketches (to use Beville’s description). They allow the pianist to cover a wide range of tempos, dynamics, and articulations, all of which are exceptional on this disc. The final work is Beethoven’s Sonata 4, the large four-movement work sometimes nicknamed The Grand. It is certainly one of the high points of Beethoven’s first compositional period and a fitting conclusion for this program. Beville investigates all of the composer’s contrasts of texture and harmony to give a very
satisfying rendition.

The recorded piano sound is good, and along with the pianist’s detailed booklet essay,
it completes a quite satisfying recital.

—James Harrington