Robert Silverman, whose many recordings for Stereophile have made him a living legend among audiophiles, continues his series of performances of all of Beethoven's piano sonatas in San José, California, November 11 and 18. Held in San Jose's lovely and acoustically superior Le Petit Trianon Theatre, the concerts mark the halfway point in Silverman's eight-concert series. All proceeds go toward building, at Stanford Children's Hospital, an Elf Foundation Room of Magic: a private entertainment theater in which uplifting music and films can be shared with patients.

Produced by Michael Silver of Audio High, a high-end store in Mountain View, the series is being recorded by Marc Wilsher. Sometime next year, the recordings, mastered by Steve Hoffman, will be released as both "Red Book" CDs and as high-resolution downloads. Again, all proceeds will help create the Room of Magic.

Blog reports of Silverman's first two concerts by Ori Mizrahi-Shalom, of the Bay Area Audiophile Society, were almost ecstatic: "I don't think that I'll ever in my lifetime hear piano playing at that level. . . . What a night!"

On November 11, Silverman will perform Beethoven's Sonatas No.4 in E-flat, Op.7; No.5 in c, Op.10 No.1; No.25 in G, Op.79; No.27 in e, Op.90; and No.31 in A-flat, Op.110. The November 18 sonata program is exceptionally rich: No.15 in D, Op.28, "Pastorale"; No.14 in c#, Op.27 No.2, "Moonlight"; No.12 in A-flat, Op.26; and No.13 in E-flat, Op.27 No.1. Audio High's website includes links to descriptions of the sonatas.

Anyone who attended either of Silverman's recent performances in the lobby of the Denver Marriott Tech Center during the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest can attest to the power and beauty of his playing. The rare opportunity to hear him in concert in an intimate, virtually ideal setting deserves to fill the house.