Beethoven's Piano Sonatas - Page 3

Yeah, I tend to shy away from the non-Hybrid discs too, luckily non-Hybrid is the exception, not the rule in the SACD market!

That's today. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. Change is inevitable, I only hope that when it comes it is something we all can live with. I'd love to be able to rip dvd-a and sacd with itunes. I also won't buy music from any of the download stores because the quality of the product is really poor, especially for the price. Unfortunately the majority of Americans are thrilled with the quality of itunes downloads.

I had hoped that with the release of Apple Lossless codec, one would be able to DL higher quality versions of songs. But alas, 99.9% of the market is people who think 128kps is "CD Quality" and are happy with it. So why then bother with lossless, more storage and bandwidth requirements. I think people who are audiophiles will be waiting a long time for a service that targets them.

Where I see a market in classical, is "burn to order" CDs, maybe works that are important, but don't sell enough to warrant a production run. Universal had something like this for a while (I ordered a CD from them, and was quite pleased...). There is so much music either out of print on CD, or has never seen the light of day on CD (this has tempted me in the direction of vinly on a few occasions, my problem is outlay for the vinyl rig...they can can be quite expensive.).

Scott

Maybe the Amazon prices aren't that ridiculous after all.

Thanks for the link.

BW

Happy to be of help.

Bunny

what does everyone think of ashkenazy beethoven sonatas?

They remind me of the plato and aristotle walking together in "School of Athens" painting. Plato (Bach) is pointing to the heavens, while Aristotle (Beethoven) is gesturing toward the earth.

there is a partial review of his beethoven set gramophone.co.uk

Lionel

Schnabel and Kempff are the two standards, although those new to the works might prefer a more modern sound.

Arrau is excellent, although I feel he is too serious in the lighter works.

Goode is wonderful, especially in the later works (makes sense, considering that Goode is an accomplished Bach pianist), although he can be dry and calculating, when the music could stand some fantasy.

Pollini, in the last 5, is unrivaled.

Richter must be listened to. Arguably the most compelling pianist of the 20th century, he will never be the most "faithful" interpreter of Beethoven, be he certainly makes it interesting.

I really dislike John O'Connor. He makes Beethoven sound like a Windham Hill cd.

I don't mind John O'Conor that much although his is a much more romantic interpretation of the sonatas. His Waldstein is very good.

I have complete sets by Kempf, Arrau, Annie Fischer, and Wilhelm Backhaus. The Annie Fischer set is probably my favorite at this time. I've been considering the Cornell cycle of piano concertos by Malcolm Bilson and students on instruments of the period that Beethoven would have had. The instruments change as they would have as Beethoven acquired newer "improved" instruments.

Robert Silverman is also supposed to have an excellent set of the complete sonatas in audiophile quality sound, but I don't have them and have only read about them.

Hi Bunnyears,

Ronald Brautigam's "beautiful" Beethoven sonata recording you mentioned a while back has indeed developed into a series: I just saw Vol. 3 released here. He has so far limited himself to the early sonatas, apparently for the reason that he will be using different instruments (say a Graf copy or original) for later works. Robert Levin has adopted the said principle for his recently inaugurated Mozart cycle. Vol. 1, containing works from mid1770s, was recorded on a Johannes Stein copy which sounds quite differently from a Walter and is the kind of instrument that Mozart liked most at the time (Sony-BMG). The Levin disc also comes with a bonus DVD in which he gives a mini lecture showing the reasons he prefers fortepianos for playing Mozart. Quite worth checking out if you cares for incisive and not-so-pretty Mozart playing.

Hi Masolino,

Yes, Brautigam's cycle is just amazing. And I have already pre-ordered volume 3 which isn't available for another week or so. I am also curious about another volume I found at Amazon:

Beethoven: The Early Piano Variations; The First Piano Sonatas




It will be repeating the material on the first two volumes of the bis set, but the early variations haven't been recorded for BIS yet. I hadn't known that he intended to change instruments as the sonatas proceeded chronologically, but I imagine that it will make for very interesting listening when he gets to the late sonatas.

Have you heard or read anything about the Malcolm Bilson et al. cycle? Here's a link to some information about it. Two of his students participating in the project were Bart van Oort and David Breitman so the level of playing must be very high.

THe Annie Fischer set is the one I go back too. I just love that piano sound. I think her piano was not a top one, but the recording is really fine and natural and I enjoy the clarity that that sound is bringing. At least that piano has 'character' in term of sound.

The slow movement of her hammerklavier is the one I go back the most often as well. I llike that part of the hammerklavier (left hand, 3:03 to 3:50 in the Annie Fischer recording) pretty strict in term of tempo ( ). And not that many are doing it like this.

A really great set, a bit unknown but really very nice.

Lionel

I have found information re the Bilson sonata box on this page
(towards the bottom)

http://www.gyrix.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000147.html

What I gather here is that the set is really a mixed bag, with
interpretative styles all over the map and the acoustics are
not too fine by higher standards (which is a shame because
Claves can do amazing recordings). Maybe one can call it
an opportunity wasted? While I may seek out the Globe
album you posted about (which is nevertheless "early Brautigam"
compared to his BIS recordings) it's Paul Komen whom I
wish had done more Beethoven recordings for this label.

On a slightly related note, Andreas Staier has released
his first Beethoven album on HM, but it's 2 sonatas
(4 and 7) for pianoforte and violin. The violin
was once part of the composer's estate, and still
bears his seal and engraved initial "B" on its back.
The keyboard is a Conrad Graf instrument also
from the Beethoven Haus collection in Bonn. I think
the playing is excellent, with Staier coming totally
into his own elements. I wish the pianoforte were
recorded a bit more closely, but the star on this album
is no doubt the violin.

That is probably the first thing I have seen about the set which wasn't published by Cornell, so thank you very much for the link.

They mention an extremely high price for the set, but I have seen it for about $70 - 90, through a friend who is a Cornell grad, so it might be considered. I have been wavering over the purchase for almost a year and still haven't made the plunge, so I suppose I will always be considering it and not buying.

Now that is a "must have" afaic, especially as I don't have a preferred HIP violin sonata set. I'll certainly be on the lookout for that set.

Meanwhile, have you heard anything about the Silverman sonatas which I've read are very fine? Also, I have been considering the Richard Goode cycle if I ever see them at a manageable price. There's little urgency since I bought the Fischer set, which is very satisfying despite the often slightly harsh / too bright sound. The Gilels hasn't tempted me although I might get the recording of the named sonatas. Thankfully, Beethoven sonatas are a very crowded field so there is no lack of interesting recordings to choose from.

WRT to the Mozart sonatas, I have the recent recording by Richard Goode and it is very good indeed. I also have the Brautigam set of complete Mozart piano sonatas which is, as usual, irreproachable; so I am quite satisfied there. Also, this year I think I have heard more Mozart than anyone should ever hear in one year so I am not really looking to acquire more right now.