Beethoven Complete Release
Over the past two decades, much has changed—both in the world around me and in my own life. Yet through every turn, Beethoven’s music has been a steadfast companion, shaping my artistic identity and deepening my understanding of his profound compositions.
After completing two full cycles of his piano sonatas and one cycle each of the violin sonatas, cello works with piano and piano trios, I began recording the piano sonatas in 2015 at Teldex Studio Berlin. With producer Martin Sauer and piano technician Thomas Hübsch by my side throughout, and Bösendorfer Vienna’s finest instrument, the project continued through the pandemic and was completed in the spring of 2023.
I am with surge of emotions to announce that my complete recording of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas “Testament” is out now. (Decca Korea). The album is on all major streaming platforms, with physical copies available from Korean online retailers. For U.S. orders please use the order form link.
I look forward to sharing this recording with listeners worldwide and to engaging with audiences through the upcoming recitals.
- March 15 @University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, US
- March 23 @Steinway Gallery Baltimore, MD, US
- April 2 @Daegu Concert House, Korea
- April 10 @IBK Chamber of Seoul Arts Center, Korea
- August 13 @Bay PianoFest | San Francisco Conservatory, CA, US
- September 9 @Musikalischer Sommer | Schloß Gödens Sande, Germany
- September 11 @Schloß Friedrichsfelde Berlin, Germany
At last, I am happy to share some memories captured from Teldex 2015-2023!
Update (Aug 10) : added press reviews
Between 2013 and 2023 HieYon Choi recorded all 32 Beethoven sonatas at Berlin’s Teldex studio. The cycle’s physical edition is hard to source outside of South Koreas, yet can easily be found via download and streaming platforms. Her Bösendorfer grand’s mellow patina and registral distinctions don’t match the power and projection one finds in top-flight Steinways, yet they somehow suit Choi’s attention to small details of articulation and voicing. She fares best in the first 15 sonatas, with a scurrying brio and harmonic awareness that leave Julian Kim’s Op 2 No 3 at the starting gate, along with an Op 10 No 1 finale that takes Beethoven’s optimistic Prestissimo directive on fundamentalist faith, capping one of this sonata’s greatest-ever recorded interpretations. The E flat Sonata, Op 31 No 3, is a model of intelligent bravura. Granted, the pianist can be cautious to a fault (the Pathetique’s outer movements, most of the Hammerklavier, an over sedate Op 78 and low-voltage traversals of Op 31 Nos 1 and 2) or too pre-planned (Op 109). And listeners attracted to Ogasawara’s spacious Op. 111 Arietta may take issue with Choi’s terse stringency. Yet I know that I’ll be returning with pleasure to much of Choi’s cycle, especially in the early sonatas.
Jed Distler [Gramophone UK] August 2025
“She’s especially persuasive in the early sonatas. Her Op. 2 No. 1 Allegro may lack the unbuttoned fantasy of Schnabel, Pollini and Kovacevich, yet her contrapuntal awareness and strong left hand presence compensate, as do the Jnale’s hair-trigger precision. Op. 2 No. 2 is a model of lightness and witty inQection, while Op. 2 No. 3’s Jnale fuses scurrying brio and harmonic tension. In Op. 10 No. 1’s Jnale, Choi takes Beethoven’s optimistic Prestissimo directive at his word, while her sophisticated scaling of dynamics and pinpointed timing of chords and silences left me awestruck: this is one of Op. 10 No. 1’s greatest recorded performances. Op. 10 No. 3’s outer movements have similar effortlessness and speciJcity of detail, although one misses the breadth and timeless aura that others bring to the Largo, like Arrau, Hungerford, and Horowitz. “
Jed Distler [Classics Today] June 2025
“최희연은 여기에 강한 집중력으로 매우 강렬하다. 3악장에서 최희연은 감상자와 함께 심연을 향해 무거운 발걸음을 꾹꾹 담아 옮기고 있다. _ (No. 29) Here, HieYon Choi is intensely powerful with unwavering focus. In the third movement, she treads heavily toward the depths, carrying the listener with her every step.”
“베토벤의 의도를 충실히 반영한 최희연의 모범 답안 […] 이렇게 사랑스러울수가_ HieYon Choi’s model answer, faithfully reflecting Beethoven’s intent.(No. 9) […] How utterly lovable this is (No. 10)”
“베토벤은 소나타 작곡의 모범을 제시하고 최희연은 소나타 연주의 정석을 과시한다. 11번 소나타에서 최희연은 짧고, 다부지고 맵다_Beethoven set the model for sonata composition, and HieYon Choi exemplifies the ideal of sonata performance. In Sonata No. 11, HieYon Choi’s playing is concise, vigorous, and fiery.”
성용원_ Yong-Won Sung [월간리뷰_ Monthly Review] April/May/June/July 2025
“Choi ist mit dem sprachlichen Duktus dieser Musik mehr als nur vertraut. Sie versteht diese Musik, vollzieht sie nach und kann somit die vielen Feinheiten zu einem großen ganzen formen – die größte Herausforderung bei diesen Sonatenwerken. Feisinnig vermag sie die Linienarbeit, die Verwirrspiele Beethovens in den Themenausarbeitungen für den Zuhörer zu entwirren, sie mit Leben zu füllen, nachvollziehbar werden zu lassen. Dabei ist ihre Spielweise verbunden mit großartigem Klanggespür, niemals übertreibt sie die Tempi (wunderbar schreitend in Op. 90 der 1. Satz!), die Dynamik, selbst harte Akzente und Ausbrüchen hören sich wohlklingend an, ohne ihre Bedeutung zu verlieren. In Op. 81a spürt sie dem Schmerz der Aussagen so überzeugend nach, dass man die Emotionen nachvollziehen kann, die in dieser Musik umgesetzt sind. Und auch die schwer in fassbare Strömungen zu leitende Sonate Op. 109 gelingt ihr famos! Schade dass diese CD nur bei Decca Korea erschienen ist.”
Carsten Dürer [Piano News] 02/2019