It is very helpful to have a version with the score to appreciate the range and complexity of this extraordinary piece and the demands placed on the soloist. This is a very fine performance indeed, slightly faster than most versions. I find the change in dynamic at E se vissi a little abrupt. My preference is the sublime Dessay and then Devieilhe but this is wonderful.
The tempo is perfect! So many of the performances online are to slow. But the physics of the music tell you the apropriate tempo. You know gravity is 9.81 m/s^2, so you can tell when you're watching slow motion footage. It doesn't feel right. Even if this tempo seems extreme, it's right. Beethoven was extreme.
13:34 - the huge fugue of the et vitam Venturi! This part has been described as climbing the Mount Everest without oxygen.. I can certainly see that comparison, just listening to it makes me short of breath 😂
