[wower]

I'm going CD shopping for the first time this year (sad sad story, please console me) and wanted recommendations from the forums on Mozart Violin Sonata's and Beethoven Piano Sonata's selections. I'm a bit out of my depth on each.

I've been craving more solo piano recently but heard some of Mozart's violin sonatas on the radio the other day and was rightly impressed. Does mozart have any solo violin (the wiki wasn't clear)?

I'm open to anything in this direction thought I have my sight set on those selections. Though last time I asked about Shostakovich's 5th and ended up buying the excellent Mosaïques Quartet Mozart box set.

(Eventually I did get Maazel's 5th but the other poster's were right and the disk's Tchaikovsky is stronger.)

 

[Tyson]

Goode and Kempff are both great for Beethoven sonatas.

 

[Drosera]

One of my favourites for the Beethoven piano sonatas is Friedrich Gulda's second recording of the cycle (originally on Amadeo, recently released by Brilliant Classics). Very much in tune with the 'wild Beethoven' and it has some very interesting jazzy inflections here and there. And perhaps also Gilels' unfortunately incomplete cycle on Deutsche Grammophon for a completely different interpretation; magisterial and majestic (and perhaps a bit austere).

For Mozart I would recommend the 'complete' recording (actually some of the really early works are usually left out) by Szymon Goldberg with Radu Lupu on Decca. Or perhaps the slightly wayward approach of Nishizaki and Jando on Naxos.


(But maybe you weren't looking for complete cycles at all.

)

 

[analogbox]

Lambert Orkis and Anne-Sophie Mutter does fantastic job on Mozart's Violin Sonatas. It's very lively and dynamic. Not to mention great SQ, too.

As for Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, I've heard pretty much all cycles available on the planet and I much prefer Emil Gilel's cycle. For me, he seems most technically accurate and the tempo seems just right. But, really, you won't go wrong with Gulda's too.

 

[wower]

Sorry. I'm a bit busy here on the island. Just getting back to the thread now. Thanks for the info. I will be writting down those names and bringing them with me. The Lambert Orkis and Anne-Sophie Mutter Mozart looks espeically good IMO.

 

[PSmith08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wower /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry. I'm a bit busy here on the island. Just getting back to the thread now. Thanks for the info. I will be writting down those names and bringing them with me. The Lambert Orkis and Anne-Sophie Mutter Mozart looks espeically good IMO.

As far as complete Beethoven cycles go, I am partial to Wilhelm Backhaus' 1960s set on Decca (in an Original Masters box). His style might merit an audition, as he is very clear-eyed and muscular. There is a tendency to want to say 'granitic,' just like Klemperer, but - like Klemperer - that is a misleading adjective. It implies a sort of rigidity, which I don't find in Backhaus. I'll say this, and others can disagree: Backhaus has a sort of unaffected style, which may or may not be your cup of tea, but it's an approach.

That's my take; YMMV, of course.

 

[zumaro]

Go for the new Paul Lewis disks of Beethoven piano sonatas. He has just finished his cycle (its out on Harmonia Mundi), and its superb - the best for a long time, and the recording is up to the highest standards.

 

[Tyson]

Zumaro,
What is the overall style and approach that Lewis uses? More classical ala Goode or Kempff? Wild like Gulda? Cerebral like Brendel? Rigid like Pollini? Romantic like Barenboim? What's the scoop?

 

[zumaro]

Definitely more along the Goode/Kempff line - he doesn't pull the music around much at all, and everything is played with acute responsiveness and keen intellect. I think each sonata is made to inhabit its own sharply defined world - no generalized Beethoven here, yet the overall tone is classical.

I haven't heard the last volume of the sonatas yet but am looking forward to it, especially as it contains Opuses 109-111. If it is as good as the earlier volumes, then you do have one of the classic Beethoven cycles on your hands.

 

[ctemkin]

I, too, can recommend the Mutter/Orkis collection of the Mozart violin sonatas. You might also like the Manze/Egarr CD of the 1781 sonatas.

 

[lwd]

Rachel Podger and Gary Cooper are definitely worth checking out for the Mozart.

 

[Bunnyears]

For HIP recordings of Mozart's violin sonatas, try Manze and Egarr and/or Seiler and Immerseel. Those are period instrument performances that are excellent.

For Beethoven sonatas, if you want HIP, then Ronald Brautigam's ongoing cycle is the one to collect. For modern piano, Gilels, Annie Fischer, Gulda and Barenboim (any of the 3 cycles he's recorded although the last on dvd is supposed to be the best). Also Wilhelm Kempff's cycle on DG should be considered, but better the earlier mono recordings than the slightly less muscular later cycle in stereo. Any recordings by Rudolph Serkin of the sonatas should also be considered -- especially as they are constantly being remastered so that the sound quality is quite good. Unfortunately I don't think that there is a complete cycle by Serkin on disc.

 

[analogbox]

Lately I'm enjoying Andra Schiff's ongoing Beethoven's piano sonata cycle. I've listened to one of his lectures on podcast and he was very informative on Beethoven's style and how the tempi must be on some of sonatas. Truly he's one of the best out there.

 

[geoges.ravel]

W. A. Mozart Sonatas for Violin & Piano KV 378, 379
Oleg Kagan (violin), Svyatoslav Richter (piano)

The sonata Kv379 on this CD is one of the finest moments one rarely experiences.