Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-32 Box set
| GTIN13: | 0028947779582 |
| Verschijningsdatum: | 18. november 2008 |
| Aantal discs | 8 |
| Aantal tracks: | 102 |
To celebrate the centenary last November of the birth of Wilhelm Kempff, DG offer in the Dokumente series this fascinating collection of mono recordings, most of them long unavailable and some from the age of 78rpm.
With Kempff, the most inspirational of Beethoven pianists, pride of place must go to the earlier of his two sonata cycles, the one in mono. The format itself is attractive, with the eight CDs plus the bonus disc packaged in a compact box (the disc sleeves are paper), the same style that DG have chosen to adopt for Fischer-Dieskau’s Lieder collections.
Those who have cherished the 1965 DG stereo cycle (3/91) for its magical spontaneity, will find Kempff’s qualities even more intensely conveyed in this mono set, recorded between 1951 and 1956. Amazingly the sound has more body and warmth than the stereo, with Kempff’s unmatched transparency and clarity of articulation even more vividly caught, both in sparkling Allegros and in deeply dedicated slow movements. If in places he is even more personal, some might say wilful, regularly surprising you with a new revelation, the magnetism is even more intense, as in the great Adagioof the Hammerklavier or the final variations of Op. 111, at once more rapt and more impulsive, flowing more freely.
The bonus disc, entitled “An All-Round Musician”, celebrates Kempff’s achievement in words and music, on the organ in Bach, on the piano in Brahms and Chopin as well as in a Bachian improvisation, all made exceptionally transparent and lyrical. Fascinatingly, his pre-war recordings of the Beethoven sonatas on 78s are represented too. According to The World’s Encyclopaedia of Recorded Music and The Gramophone Shop Encyclopaedia he recorded 22 of the total 32. Here we have his 1936 recording of the Pathetique, with the central Adagio markedly broader and more heavily pointed than in the mono LP version of 20 years later.
The first track has the bells of the World Peace Church in Hiroshima and following this, Bach played on the organ; one can also hear Kempff’s address on the dedication of the organ in that church, the first of the five speech bands. Taken from various sources, set in very different acoustics, his light, clear, precise voice rather mirrors his piano style, and the booklet gives a summary in English of what he says. So the fifth speech-band, “On my interpretation of Beethoven”, tackles head-on the accusation that his view of the master is too personal, more Kempff than Beethoven. The final tracks have him accompanying Fischer-Dieskau in four of his (Kempff’s) own songs, with the first, Liederseelen, bringing a delicious, brilliant piano accompaniment, and the last, In einer Sturmnacht, the darkest and most ambitious. It is a reminder that Kempff, following such masters as Furtwangler and Schnabel, was a creative musician, not just in his individual imagination as a pianist, but as a composer too.
The single discs are more variable. The transfers from 78s of the 1941-2 recordings of Beethoven’s Third Concerto and Mozart’s D minor and the D major Rondoare interpretatively fascinating but offer very poor, often crumbly orchestral sound with heavy surface hiss. In the Beethoven the first movement is less alert than in his later recordings, but the slow movement, like that of the Pathetique, is broader and more espressivo. The Mozart is not just transparent but full of the sparkling qualities that mark Kempff’s later concerto recordings of this composer, and who will worry that his own cadenza has very romantic progressions?
I cherish the Brahms more for the Handel Variations, again transparent, with the crispest possible ornamentation, purposefully conveying pure joy, than for the concerto. There Kempff, rapt and spontaneous-sounding as ever, regularly offering fine, individual detail, somehow seems less concentrated over the whole span. He is not helped by the harsh, even clangy, 1957 recording. In the Schumann disc, dating from the same period, Kempff is again a little uneven, far happier in the dozen jewelled sections that make up the Etudes symphoniques than in the broad span of the C major Fantasie.
Whatever reservations one may make, the magnetically individual personality of Kempff rides triumphant. I remember his seventy-fifth birthday celebration in the intimacy of the Kavaliershaus in Munich, when after the orotund speeches of tribute from the great and the good of West Germany (including major political figures), he simply stood up, made a joke, and suggested he should not talk but play, which he did, magically. It may have been a very un-German gesture on a grand occasion, yet it was one that thrilled and charmed the whole gathering, typical of Kempff as man and artist.’
Disk 1
- 1 1. Allegro (Nr. 1 f-moll)
06:36 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Adagio (Nr. 1 f-moll)
04:42 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 3. Menuetto Allegretto (Nr. 1 f-moll)
03:02 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 4. Prestissimo (Nr. 1 f-moll)
04:59 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 1. Allegro vivace (Nr. 2 A-dur)
07:12 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 2. Largo appassionato (Nr. 2 A-dur)
06:40 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 3. Scherzo Allegretto (Nr. 2 A-dur)
03:25 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 4. Rondo Grazioso (Nr. 2 A-dur)
06:27 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 1. Allegro molto e con brio
09:04 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 2. Largo, con gran espressione
08:10 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 3. Allegro
05:18 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 4. Rondo Poco allegretto e grazioso
07:12 Kempff,Wilhelm
Disk 2
- 1 1. Allegro con brio (Nr. 3 C-dur)
09:53 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Adagio (Nr. 3 C-dur)
07:03 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 3. Scherzo Allegro (Nr. 3 C-dur)
03:20 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 4. Allegro assai (Nr. 3 C-dur)
05:19 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 1. Allegro molto e con brio (Nr. 5 c-moll)
06:17 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 2. Adagio molto (Nr. 5 c-moll)
07:27 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 3. Finale Prestissimo (Nr. 5 c-moll)
04:08 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 1. Allegro (Nr. 6 F-dur)
04:28 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 2. Allegretto (Nr. 6 F-dur)
03:32 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 3. Presto (Nr. 6 F-dur)
04:01 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 1. Presto (Nr. 7 D-dur)
07:06 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 2. Largo e mesto (Nr. 7 D-dur)
08:47 Kempff,Wilhelm - 13 3. Menuetto Allegro (Nr. 7 D-dur)
02:46 Kempff,Wilhelm - 14 4. Rondo Allegro (Nr. 7 D-dur)
03:55 Kempff,Wilhelm
Disk 3
- 1 1. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
07:20 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Adagio cantabile
04:56 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 3. Rondo Allegro
04:38 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 1. Allegro (Original Version)
05:12 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 2. Allegretto (Original Version)
03:33 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 3. Rondo Allegro comodo (Original Version)
03:48 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 1. Allegro (Nr. 2 G-dur)
05:54 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 2. Andante (Nr. 2 G-dur)
05:19 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 3. Scherzo Allegro assai (Nr. 2 G-dur)
03:29 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 1. Allegro con brio
07:27 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 2. Adagio con molto espressione
07:08 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 3. Menuetto
03:02 Kempff,Wilhelm - 13 4. Rondo Allegretto
06:21 Kempff,Wilhelm
Disk 4
- 1 1. Andante con variazioni
07:24 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Scherzo Allegro molto
03:03 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un Eroe
05:39 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 4. Allegro
03:15 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 1. Andante – Allegro – Tempo I (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
04:15 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 2. Allegro molto e vivace (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
02:12 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 3. Adagio con espressione (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
02:34 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 4. Allegro vivace – Tempo I – Presto (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
05:30 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 1. Adagio sostenuto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
06:01 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 2. Allegretto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
02:20 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 3. Presto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
05:36 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 1. Allegro
07:13 Kempff,Wilhelm - 13 2. Andante
06:20 Kempff,Wilhelm - 14 3. Scherzo Allegro assai
02:17 Kempff,Wilhelm - 15 4. Rondo Allegro ma non troppo
05:08 Kempff,Wilhelm
Disk 5
- 1 1. Allegro vivace (Nr. 1 G-dur)
06:27 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Adagio grazioso (Nr. 1 G-dur)
09:57 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 3. Rondo Allegretto (Nr. 1 G-dur)
06:33 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 1. Largo – Allegro (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
08:22 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 2. Adagio (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
07:07 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 3. Allegretto (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
07:03 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 1. Allegro (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
08:30 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 2. Scherzo Allegretto vivace (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
05:22 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 3. Menuetto Moderato e grazioso (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
04:16 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 4. Presto con fuoco (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
04:51 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 1. Andante (Nr. 1 g-moll)
04:05 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 2. Rondo Allegro (Nr. 1 g-moll)
03:50 Kempff,Wilhelm
Disk 6
- 1 1. Allegro ma non troppo (Nr. 2 G-dur)
04:33 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Tempo di Menuetto (Nr. 2 G-dur)
03:46 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 1. Allegro con brio
10:57 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 2. Introduzione Adagio molto
03:06 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 3. Rondo Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo
09:48 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 1. In Tempo d’un Menuetto
05:45 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 2. Allegretto
06:16 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 1. Allegro assai
09:53 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 2. Andante con moto
06:01 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 3. Allegro ma non troppo
08:48 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 1. Adagio cantabile – Allegro ma non troppo
05:06 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 2. Allegro vivace
03:00 Kempff,Wilhelm
Disk 7
- 1 1. Presto alla tedesca
03:12 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Andante
02:41 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 3. Vivace
02:01 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 1. Das Lebewohl Adagio – Allegro
07:06 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 2. Abwesendheit Andante espressivo
02:57 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 3. Das Wiedersehn Vivacissimamente
04:17 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
05:17 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
08:50 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 1. Allegro
08:51 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 2. Scherzo Assai vivace – Presto – Prestissimo – Tempo I
02:44 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 3. Adagio sostenuto
16:31 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 4. Largo – Allegro risoluto
12:05 Kempff,Wilhelm
Disk 8
- 1 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung Allegretto ma non troppo (Original Version)
03:33 Kempff,Wilhelm - 2 2. Lebhaft, marschmäßig Vivace alla marcia (Original Version)
05:52 Kempff,Wilhelm - 3 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto (Original Version)
02:32 Kempff,Wilhelm - 4 4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossen- heit Allegro (Original Version)
05:47 Kempff,Wilhelm - 5 1. Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo – Tempo I
03:19 Kempff,Wilhelm - 6 2. Prestissimo
02:28 Kempff,Wilhelm - 7 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
11:08 Kempff,Wilhelm - 8 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo (Original Version)
06:17 Kempff,Wilhelm - 9 2. Allegro molto (Original Version)
02:17 Kempff,Wilhelm - 10 3. Adagio ma non troppo – Fuga Allegro ma non troppo (Original Version)
09:46 Kempff,Wilhelm - 11 1. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
08:58 Kempff,Wilhelm - 12 2. Arietta Adagio molto semplice e cantabile
15:25 Kempff,Wilhelm
| GTIN13: | 0028944370621 |
| Verschijningsdatum: | 24. juni 1997 |
| Aantal discs | 10 |
| Aantal tracks: | 103 |
| Speelduur: | 639:58 |
As one of the world’s leading pianists, Vladimir Ashkenazy offered important interpretations in his recordings for London of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas; as this 1995 box set reissue shows, his contributions to the catalog still have great staying power. Recorded throughout the 1970s, these performances were originally released as LPs, and listeners following the charismatic pianist were treated to a new album of sonatas nearly on an annual basis. Ashkenazy’s Beethoven is recognizably his own, for the dramatic characterizations and assertive style of playing are similar to his recordings of music by other composers, so anyone who knows his Chopin or Scriabin recordings from roughly the same period will recognize the same confidence and bravado in his youthful, vigorous playing. They will also note his typical freedom with dynamics and tempos, as well as some rushing, but his changes are never inappropriate. To this end, these sonatas may not be the most carefully deliberated, sensitive, or refined performances, but because Ashkenazy seems to prefer a forthright approach to an introverted manner of playing, the music is highly communicative and feels completely honest. The predominantly ADD sound of this set is exceptional for its vintage, though the ninth disc is all-digital.
Disk 1 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro (Nr. 1 f-moll)
05:30 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Adagio (Nr. 1 f-moll)
04:21 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Menuetto Allegretto (Nr. 1 f-moll)
03:24 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Prestissimo (Nr. 1 f-moll)
07:16 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Allegro vivace (Nr. 2 A-dur)
06:56 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Largo appassionato (Nr. 2 A-dur)
07:31 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Scherzo Allegretto (Nr. 2 A-dur)
03:01 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 4. Rondo Grazioso (Nr. 2 A-dur)
06:01 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 1. Allegro con brio (Nr. 3 C-dur)
10:09 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 2. Adagio (Nr. 3 C-dur)
08:33 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 3. Scherzo Allegro (Nr. 3 C-dur)
03:16 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 4. Allegro assai (Nr. 3 C-dur)
05:12 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 2 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro molto e con brio
08:43 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Largo, con gran espressione
08:32 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Allegro
05:01 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Rondo Poco allegretto e grazioso
06:26 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Allegro molto e con brio (Nr. 5 c-moll)
05:55 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Adagio molto (Nr. 5 c-moll)
07:48 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Finale Prestissimo (Nr. 5 c-moll)
04:28 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Allegro (Nr. 6 F-dur)
06:19 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Allegretto (Nr. 6 F-dur)
04:18 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 3. Presto (Nr. 6 F-dur)
02:26 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 3 (CD)
- 1 1. Presto (Nr. 7 D-dur)
06:51 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Largo e mesto (Nr. 7 D-dur)
09:50 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Menuetto Allegro (Nr. 7 D-dur)
02:46 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Rondo Allegro (Nr. 7 D-dur)
03:42 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
08:29 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Adagio cantabile
05:00 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Rondo Allegro
04:46 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Allegro (Original Version)
05:26 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Allegretto (Original Version)
03:09 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 3. Rondo Allegro comodo (Original Version)
02:53 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 1. Allegro (Nr. 2 G-dur)
06:35 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 2. Andante (Nr. 2 G-dur)
05:01 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 13 3. Scherzo Allegro assai (Nr. 2 G-dur)
03:26 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 4 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro con brio
06:58 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Adagio con molto espressione
08:37 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Menuetto
03:15 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Rondo Allegretto
05:50 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Andante con variazioni
07:20 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Scherzo Allegro molto
02:29 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un Eroe
06:10 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 4. Allegro
02:39 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 1. Andante – Allegro – Tempo I (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
05:42 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 2. Allegro molto e vivace (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
01:59 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 3. Adagio con espressione (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
03:05 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 4. Allegro vivace – Tempo I – Presto (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
05:17 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 5 (CD)
- 1 1. Adagio sostenuto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
06:11 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Allegretto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
02:11 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Presto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
07:36 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 1. Allegro
10:42 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 2. Andante
08:05 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 3. Scherzo Allegro assai
02:29 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 4. Rondo Allegro ma non troppo
05:10 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Allegro vivace (Nr. 1 G-dur)
06:29 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Adagio grazioso (Nr. 1 G-dur)
09:22 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 3. Rondo Allegretto (Nr. 1 G-dur)
06:36 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 6 (CD)
- 1 1. Largo – Allegro (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
08:31 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Adagio (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
08:09 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Allegretto (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
07:01 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 1. Allegro (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
08:41 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 2. Scherzo Allegretto vivace (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
05:08 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 3. Menuetto Moderato e grazioso (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
03:55 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 4. Presto con fuoco (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
04:35 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Andante (Nr. 1 g-moll)
04:16 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Rondo Allegro (Nr. 1 g-moll)
03:17 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 1. Allegro ma non troppo (Nr. 2 G-dur)
04:43 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 2. Tempo di Menuetto (Nr. 2 G-dur)
03:16 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 7 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro con brio
11:21 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Introduzione Adagio molto
04:34 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Rondo Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo
09:30 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 1. In Tempo d’un Menuetto
05:54 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 2. Allegretto
05:19 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 1. Allegro assai
09:42 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 2. Andante con moto
06:38 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 3. Allegro ma non troppo
07:30 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 1. Adagio cantabile – Allegro ma non troppo
07:20 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 2. Allegro vivace
02:45 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 8 (CD)
- 1 1. Presto alla tedesca
04:38 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Andante
03:16 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Vivace
01:54 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 1. Das Lebewohl Adagio – Allegro
07:35 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 2. Abwesendheit Andante espressivo
04:00 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 3. Das Wiedersehn Vivacissimamente
06:04 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
05:55 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
07:48 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung Allegretto ma non troppo (Original Version)
04:34 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 2. Lebhaft, marschmäßig Vivace alla marcia (Original Version)
06:00 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto (Original Version)
10:23 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 9 (CD)
- 1 Original Version
09:07 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 1. Allegro
11:09 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 2. Scherzo Assai vivace – Presto – Prestissimo – Tempo I
02:48 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 3. Adagio sostenuto
19:25 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 4. Largo – Allegro risoluto
11:40 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 10 (CD)
- 1 1. Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo – Tempo I
04:17 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Prestissimo
02:29 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
13:39 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo (Original Version)
06:44 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 2. Allegro molto (Original Version)
02:08 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 3. Adagio ma non troppo (Original Version)
04:06 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3b. Fuga Allegro ma non troppo (Original Version)
07:28 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
10:08 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Arietta Adagio molto semplice e cantabile
17:26 Ashkenazy,Vladimir / Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas Box set
| GTIN13: | 0028946312728 |
| Verschijningsdatum: | 09. november 1999 |
| Aantal discs | 9 |
| Aantal tracks: | 102 |
| Speelduur: | 665:03 |
To compare Ian Hobson’s new set of the complete Beethoven sonatas with that recorded by Daniel Barenboim in the late Sixties is blatantly unfair: it is not comparing like with like. As the saying goes, the best is the enemy of the good and Barenboim’s 30-year-old set is, for me, among the best ever. My apologies to Hobson for what follows: one might be kinder to him if not listening to his recording back to back with Barenboim’s. There is not much exactly wrong with Hobson’s Beethoven. His tone is good, his phrasing musical. In the early sonatas he is pleasantly energetic and in the late ones restrained and thoughtful. The problem is more one of imaginative limitation. There are few extremes; the approach often borders on the metronomic and rarely rises above the correct. His performances will offend few, but stop well short of inspiring wonder. But the young Barenboim’s Beethoven shatters every horizon with incandescent energy. He bounds through the early sonatas with all the robust vigour of a young footballer. Over the most solid of foundations, his tempi are sometimes unusually relaxed. This allows the music to breathe – the Pastoral Sonata, Op. 28, positively basks in sunlight – and gives it space to make its often searingly profound point. Hobson, by comparison, can sound tense and self-conscious. Two points illustrate the difference well enough. In Op. 31/2, the D minor Tempest Sonata, the shower of rippling notes that adorns part of the slow movement serves in Barenboim’s hands as a casting of perspective that deepens the meditative inner stillness; Hobson just clatters through them. In the mighty variation in Op. 111 in which Beethoven discovered jazz, Hobson performs nicely and correctly everything that is on the page, but Barenboim throws himself into it with the elemental force of a thunderbolt. There is not much about Barenboim’s Beethoven that could be described as ‘nice’ – it is violent or tender, brusque or wise, visionary or tortured, without limiting horizons, and may offend some. But this, for me, is the true spirit of these sonatas.
Disk 1 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro (Nr. 1 f-moll)
03:46 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Adagio (Nr. 1 f-moll)
05:17 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Menuetto Allegretto (Nr. 1 f-moll)
03:36 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Prestissimo (Nr. 1 f-moll)
04:57 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Allegro vivace (Nr. 2 A-dur)
07:19 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Largo appassionato (Nr. 2 A-dur)
07:16 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Scherzo Allegretto (Nr. 2 A-dur)
03:20 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 4. Rondo Grazioso (Nr. 2 A-dur)
06:17 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 1. Allegro con brio (Nr. 3 C-dur)
10:23 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 2. Adagio (Nr. 3 C-dur)
08:31 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 3. Scherzo Allegro (Nr. 3 C-dur)
02:47 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 4. Allegro assai (Nr. 3 C-dur)
05:11 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 2 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro molto e con brio (Nr. 5 c-moll)
05:54 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Adagio molto (Nr. 5 c-moll)
08:28 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Finale Prestissimo (Nr. 5 c-moll)
04:46 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 1. Allegro (Nr. 6 F-dur)
06:07 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 2. Allegretto (Nr. 6 F-dur)
04:04 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 3. Presto (Nr. 6 F-dur)
02:10 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 1. Presto (Nr. 7 D-dur)
07:08 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 2. Largo e mesto (Nr. 7 D-dur)
10:03 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 3. Menuetto Allegro (Nr. 7 D-dur)
02:53 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 4. Rondo Allegro (Nr. 7 D-dur)
04:10 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 1. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
09:29 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 2. Adagio cantabile
05:20 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 13 3. Rondo Allegro
04:48 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 3 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro molto e con brio
07:59 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Largo, con gran espressione
09:30 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Allegro
04:50 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Rondo Poco allegretto e grazioso
07:15 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Allegro (Original Version)
06:49 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Allegretto (Original Version)
04:16 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Rondo Allegro comodo (Original Version)
03:26 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Allegro (Nr. 2 G-dur)
07:13 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Andante (Nr. 2 G-dur)
05:12 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 3. Scherzo Allegro assai (Nr. 2 G-dur)
03:25 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 1. Andante – Allegro – Tempo I (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
05:36 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 2. Allegro molto e vivace (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
02:07 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 13 3. Adagio con espressione (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
03:12 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 14 4. Allegro vivace – Tempo I – Presto (Nr. 13 Es-dur Nr. 1)
05:40 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 4 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro con brio
07:30 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Adagio con molto espressione
09:18 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Menuetto
03:34 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Rondo Allegretto
06:11 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Andante con variazioni
08:52 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Scherzo Allegro molto
02:43 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un Eroe
06:21 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 4. Allegro
02:50 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 1. Adagio sostenuto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
06:43 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 2. Allegretto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
02:12 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 3. Presto (Nr. 14 cis-moll Nr. 2 “Mondscheinsonate”)
07:41 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
06:19 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 13 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
08:12 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 5 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro
11:16 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Andante
07:41 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Scherzo Allegro assai
02:33 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Rondo Allegro ma non troppo
05:26 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Allegro vivace (Nr. 1 G-dur)
06:33 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Adagio grazioso (Nr. 1 G-dur)
11:45 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Rondo Allegretto (Nr. 1 G-dur)
06:11 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Largo – Allegro (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
08:47 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Adagio (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
08:43 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 3. Allegretto (Nr. 2 d-moll “Der Sturm”)
06:57 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 6 (CD)
- 1 1. Allegro (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
08:44 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Scherzo Allegretto vivace (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
05:19 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Menuetto Moderato e grazioso (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
04:28 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Presto con fuoco (Nr. 3 Es-dur “Die Jagd”)
04:41 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Andante (Nr. 1 g-moll)
04:45 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Rondo Allegro (Nr. 1 g-moll)
03:14 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 1. Allegro ma non troppo (Nr. 2 G-dur)
04:44 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 2. Tempo di Menuetto (Nr. 2 G-dur)
03:44 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 1. Allegro con brio
11:31 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 2. Introduzione Adagio molto
04:38 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 3. Rondo Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo
11:21 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 7 (CD)
- 1 1. In Tempo d’un Menuetto
05:58 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Allegretto
06:01 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 1. Allegro assai
10:39 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 2. Andante con moto
07:34 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 3. Allegro ma non troppo
08:19 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 1. Adagio cantabile – Allegro ma non troppo
06:54 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 2. Allegro vivace
03:06 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 1. Presto alla tedesca
04:38 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 2. Andante
02:35 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 3. Vivace
02:13 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 1. Das Lebewohl Adagio – Allegro
07:49 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 2. Abwesendheit Andante espressivo
04:39 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 13 3. Das Wiedersehn Vivacissimamente
06:16 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 8 (CD)
- 1 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung Allegretto ma non troppo (Original Version)
04:31 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Lebhaft, marschmäßig Vivace alla marcia (Original Version)
05:55 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto (Original Version)
03:32 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossen- heit Allegro (Original Version)
07:27 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 1. Allegro
13:03 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 2. Scherzo Assai vivace – Presto – Prestissimo – Tempo I
03:01 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 3. Adagio sostenuto
21:50 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 4. Largo – Allegro risoluto
12:22 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Disk 9 (CD)
- 1 1. Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo – Tempo I
04:21 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 2. Prestissimo
02:41 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
15:14 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo (Original Version)
07:33 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 2. Allegro molto (Original Version)
02:20 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 3. Adagio ma non troppo – Fuga Allegro ma non troppo (Original Version)
12:07 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 1. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
10:01 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 2. Arietta Adagio molto semplice e cantabile
20:27 Barenboim,Daniel / Ludwig van Beethoven
Murray Perahia plays Beethoven
Murray Perahias interpretations of Beethoven sonatas, collected in a new 5-CD box set, have been compared to viewing a famous painting after its been cleaned and restored (ClassicsToday.com). Gramophones reviewer found them stimulating and fresh the sense of an invigorating energy being released in the act of performance comes across strongly; and Im sure Beethoven would have loved it Its all done with such ease and naturalness of expression. Penguin Guide wrote that Perahia is as authoritative and sensitive an interpreter of Beethoven as he is of Mozart All these readings have the blend of authority, finesse and poetry that distinguishes this great artist at his best.
DUIN: K1A7CPV8U9A
GTIN: 0888430133129
Verschijningsdatum: 28.10.2016
Aantal discs: 5
Product type: CD
Aantal tracks: 57
Disc: 1
Disc: 2
Disc: 3
Disc: 4
Disc: 5
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op.106 ‘Hammerklavier’ & op. 27/2 ‘Moonlight
DUIN: 162A06HRO84
GTIN: 0028947983538
Verschijningsdatum: 09.02.2018
Aantal discs: 1
Product type: CD
Aantal tracks: 7
‘Beethoven: Piano Sonatas’ is een cd van Murray Perahia. Murray Perahia onderzocht voor het eerst de Hammerklavier-sonate toen hij halverwege de twintig was. Terwijl de enorme technische en fysieke uitdagingen van het werk binnen zijn bereik vielen, ontglipten de diepgaande muzikale eisen hem. Hij liet stilletjes het ‘Hammerklavier’ uit zijn repertoire vallen, in het besef dat hij tijd nodig had om zijn kosmische diepten te doorgronden. Meer dan vier decennia verstreken voordat hij zich klaar voelde om het stuk in recital te programmeren.
Na jarenlang de originele manuscripten, werkschetsen en edities te hebben bestudeerd die tijdens het leven van de componist werden gepubliceerd en nadat de nieuwe Henle Urtext-editie van The Complete Beethoven Piano Sonates was uitgegeven, presenteert Perahia nu twee van de beroemdste sonates van Beethoven als een openbaring.
“The challenge of this music is still alive because one can get deeper and deeper into the piece’s mysteries. That’s endless – both musicologically and emotionally. Everything in it is connected. There isn’t a random note, yet it feels improvisatory. So it’s a mystery that will intrigue and occupy musicians forever.” – Murray Perahia.
1)1. Allegro (Original Version)(10:09) Perahia,Murray
2)2. Scherzo. Assai vivace (Original Version)(02:28) Perahia,Murray
3)3. Adagio sostenuto (Original Version)(16:21) Perahia,Murray
4)4. Largo – Allegro risoluto (Original Version)(11:49) Perahia,Murray
5)1. Adagio sostenuto (Original Version)(05:16) Perahia,Murray
6)2. Allegretto (Original Version)(02:11) Perahia,Murray
7)3. Presto agitato (Original Version)(07:25) Perahia,Murray
The first thing we should do in approaching this musically remarkable and, in terms of its exploration of the composer’s tempest-tossed inner life, extraordinarily fascinating addition to the Beethoven discography is banish all thoughts of moonlight.
A further assumption it might be useful to set aside, as we attend to what Murray Perahia calls ‘two of the most radically groundbreaking of the composer’s 32 piano sonatas’, is that the Hammerklavier is the more difficult of the two pieces. I’m not thinking here of the finger-wrenching challenge of actually delivering the Hammerklavier, something the unbridled fury of the finale of the earlier sonata interestingly presages. Rather, I’m thinking of the imaginative and technical challenges that the emotionally complex Sonata quasi una fantasiain the then alien key of C sharp minor presents to the player: first in seeking out its essence, then in distilling that essence on whatever keyboard circumstance or time provides. (As Charles Rosen observed, the sonata’s finale shredded the pianos of 1801 as surely as its opening movement troubles more modern ones.)
One of the many problems presented by the meditative opening movement is that there is no ready-made solution to the question of the speed at which the music should move, other than that which the accomplished interpreter discovers for himself, be it Ignaz Friedman in one of the earliest of all recordings (Columbia, 2/27) or Murray Perahia today. Thus Solomon, in a famous HMV recording (10/54), takes nearly nine minutes over the movement, whereas Perahia, in his luminously voiced yet at the same time emotionally riven performance, takes a little over five.
And make no mistake, this is desolate music. ‘A pale light glimmers above the whispered pianissimo triplets, from whose dark depths the grief-laden melody ascends’, wrote Wilhelm Kempff, whose 1956 mono recording (DG, 10/57) is not dissimilar to Perahia’s, for all that Kempff occasionally allows, for expressive effect, a barely perceptible pause in those whispered triplets. We re-encounter this mastery of musical discourse, albeit at greater length and on a higher plane, in Perahia’s free-flowing yet lofty account of the great soliloquy that stands at the heart of the Hammerklavier.
Kempff was one of the few pianists of his generation who avoided ponderousness in the Moonlight’s middle movement. Perahia, too, catches well the dance’s melancholy grace and epigrammatic charm; and though his account of the Trio is properly robust, the almost hallucinatory quality Beethoven brings to the drone bass in the Trio’s concluding bars is not lost on Perahia. Thus, when the dance returns, it too appears to have taken on something of the mood of barely suppressed pain that is the sonata’s abiding characteristic.
It’s been said that the work’s undeniably angry finale tries too hard, is too repetitive. There’s no sense of that in Perahia’s reading, which has exactly the right degree of implacability, for all that he’s happy to play Beethoven’s game of false dawns with a gracious approach to the recapitulation and a decorous descent from the coda’s emblazoning high trill to the pit below. The ferocity with which the two last chords are delivered suggests, however, that the composer’s travails are not yet over.
A late chapter in this same story arrived with the composition of the Hammerklavier in 1818, by which time Beethoven had become, in JWN Sullivan’s words, ‘the great solitary’, ‘a man of infinite courage, infinite suffering’.
Much ink has been spilled on how rapidly the first movement should travel. ‘Uncommonly quick and fiery’ was Czerny’s judgement, an approach that echoes the spirit, if not the letter, of Beethoven’s hair-raising metronome mark. Artur Schnabel attempted that in his legendary HMV recording (11/36) made in exile in London in 1935, by which time the once ‘flawless’ playing (Claudio Arrau’s testimony) was no longer entirely flawless. For all his own tribulations in recent years, Perahia’s playing pretty well is. His approach to the first movement is never reckless yet it’s essentially ‘quick and fiery’, the fearless ambassador to a still untamed spirit.
Perahia is artist enough to know that great art is never, of itself, ugly. It may be Beethoven’s instinct to push every component of the dauntingly complex contrapuntal finale to its logical conclusion (and beyond) but Perahia, though honouring the intent, declines to turn the music into a rout. In matters of musical diction, lucidity matters.
Not long before the sonata’s end, Beethoven introduces a three-part fugato, a lyric inspiration of rare beauty, limpid in D. In the context of this carefully gauged programme, we might be tempted to recall the similarly precarious beauties of the C sharp minor Sonata’s opening movement – except that, for some inexplicable reason, the producers have placed the sonata after the Hammerklavier. That lapse notwithstanding, this is a disc, naturally and vividly recorded, of rare distinction and pedigree.
Het debuutalbum van de jonge pianisten Arthur (13) en Lucas (17) Jussen. Op het album spelen de broers zowel samen als apart werken van Beethoven. Het album verschijnt op het fameuze label Deutsche Grammophon.
Arthur en Lucas zijn de eerste Nederlandse artiesten die een contract op het Deutsche Grammophon label tekenen. Arthur Jussen is tevens de jongste artiest ooit getekend op het gele label.
Uitgever Deutsche Grammophon
Artiest(en) Arthur & Lucas Jussen
Componist(en) Ludwig Van Beethoven
Solisten Arthur Jussen Lucas Jussen
Uitvoering Cd (album), 1 disk, Speelduur: 78:56
Oorspronkelijke release 2010-04-23
Releasedatum 23 april 2010
EAN 0028947638476 / 002894763864
- 1. Sonata no.5 in C minor – 1: Allegro molto e con brio
- 2. Sonata no.5 in C minor – 2: Adagio molto
- 3. Sonata no.5 in C minor – 3: Finale. Prestissimo
- 4. Sonata no.8 in C minor – 1: Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
- 5. Sonata no.8 in C minor – 2 : Adagio cantabile
- 6. Sonata no.8 in C minor – 3: Rondo. Allegro
- 7. Sonata no.13 in E flat major, op.no.1 – 1: Andante – Allegro – Tempo I – attaca:
- 8. Sonata no.13 in E flat major, op.no.1 – 2: Allegro molto e vivace – attaca:
- 9. Sonata no.13 in E flat major, op.no.1 – 3: Adagio con espressione – attaca:
- 10. Sonata no.13 in E flat major, op.no.1 – 4: Allegro vivae
- 11. Sonata no.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2 – 1: Adagio sostenuto – attacca:
- 12. Sonata no.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2 – 2: Allegretto – attacca:
- 13. Sonata no.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2 – 3: Presto agitato
- 14. Acht variationen über ein Thema des Grafen von Waldstein WoO67
- Portret Arthur & Lucas Jussen (DVD)
| GTIN13: | 4988005856241 (Japanse import) |
| Verschijningsdatum: | 02. december 2014 |
| Product Type: | 8 CD |
| GTIN13: | 0028947941200 |
| Verschijningsdatum: | 10. november 2014 |
| Aantal discs | 8 |
| Aantal tracks: | 102 |
Maurizio Pollini’s Beethoven Sonatas cycle has reached completion after nearly 40 years.
We celebrate this major event with a handsome 8-CD capbox that provides a fitting testimonial to a great artistic partnership between pianist and record label.
The final recordings in the cycle (opp. 31 & 49) are being released simultaneously as a single CD.
Pollini / Beethoven: A story that goes back to June 1975, when Maurizio Pollini began recording the Beethoven Sonatas, starting with two of the last three – op. 109 and op. 110. The remaining Late Sonatas (op. 101, op. 106 and op. 111) followed in 1976 and 1977. Released initially as single LPs, the subsequent 3-LP set won a Gramophone Award.
The story ended in 2014, when the three Sonatas op. 31 and the two of op. 49 were recorded. (Pollini had also recorded op. 31 no. 2, the so-called “Tempest”, before.)
Nearly 40 years to record all 32 Sonatas: Pollini’s is the first cycle on Deutsche Grammophon since those of Daniel Barenboim (1981 – 1984) and Emil Gilels (1972 – 1984, incomplete).
For the release of the box set, the recordings have been arranged by opus number into a compact 8-CD set, with no duplications of repertoire. Although modest in size, the set stands as a monument of artistic achievement, and a remarkable testimony to an artistic partnership that goes back more than forty years.
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1 – 1. Allegro
5:28
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1 – 2. Adagio
4:35
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1 – 3. Menuetto (Allegretto)
2:39
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1 – 4. Prestissimo
6:59
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.2 In A, Op.2 No.2 – 1. Allegro vivace
6:40
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.2 In A, Op.2 No.2 – 2. Largo appassionato
6:34
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.2 In A, Op.2 No.2 – 3. Scherzo (Allegretto)
2:48
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.2 In A, Op.2 No.2 – 4. Rondo (Grazioso)
6:07
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3 – 1. Allegro con brio
9:08
10 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3 – 2. Adagio
6:30
11 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3 – 3. Scherzo (Allegro)
2:53
12 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3 – 4. Allegro assai
5:00
Disc 2
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7 – 1. Allegro molto e con brio
7:34
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7 – 2. Largo, con gran espressione
7:20
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7 – 3. Allegro
4:30
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7 – 4. Rondo (Poco allegretto e grazioso)
6:34
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.1 – 1. Allegro
6:01
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.1 – 2. Allegretto
2:34
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.1 – 3. Rondo (Allegro comodo)
3:00
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2 – 1. Allegro
5:47
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2 – 2. Andante
4:54
10 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2 – 3. Scherzo (Allegro assai)
3:05
11 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.11 In B Flat, Op.22 – 1. Allegro con brio (2012 Recording)
6:45
12 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.11 In B Flat, Op.22 – 2. Adagio con molto espressione (2012 Recording)
6:15
13 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.11 In B Flat, Op.22 – 3. Menuetto (2013 Recording)
3:03
14 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.11 In B Flat, Op.22 – 4. Rondo (Allegretto) (2013 Recording)
5:21
Disc 3
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.5 In C Minor, Op.10 No.1 – 1. Allegro molto e con brio
5:35
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.5 In C Minor, Op.10 No.1 – 2. Adagio molto
7:13
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.5 In C Minor, Op.10 No.1 – 3. Finale (Prestissimo)
3:57
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2 – 1. Allegro
7:48
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2 – 2. Allegretto
3:17
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2 – 3. Presto
3:33
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3 – 1. Presto
6:16
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3 – 2. Largo e mesto
8:18
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3 – 3. Menuetto (Allegro)
2:16
10 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3 – 4. Rondo (Allegro)
3:44
11 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.8 In C Minor, Op.13 -“Pathétique” – 1. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
8:33
12 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.8 In C Minor, Op.13 -“Pathétique” – 2. Adagio cantabile
4:37
13 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.8 In C Minor, Op.13 -“Pathétique” – 3. Rondo (Allegro)
4:21
Disc 4
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26 – 1. Andante con variazioni
7:22
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26 – 2. Scherzo (Allegro molto)
2:37
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26 – 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un Eroe
5:48
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26 – 4. Allegro
3:25
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1 – 1. Andante – Allegro – Tempo I
4:58
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1 – 2. Allegro molto e vivace
1:54
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1 – 3. Adagio con espressione
2:53
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1 – 4. Allegro vivace – Tempo I – Presto
5:28
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 -“Moonlight” – 1. Adagio sostenuto
6:20
10 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 -“Moonlight” – 2. Allegretto
2:16
11 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 -“Moonlight” – 3. Presto agitato
7:22
12 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -“Pastorale” – 1. Allegro
9:35
13 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -“Pastorale” – 2. Andante
7:21
14 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -“Pastorale” – 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
2:09
15 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -“Pastorale” – 4. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo
4:37
Disc 5
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1 – 1. Allegro vivace
5:51
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1 – 2. Adagio grazioso
8:52
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1 – 3. Rondo (Allegretto)
5:21
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 -“Tempest” – 1. Largo – Allegro
7:59
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 -“Tempest” – 2. Adagio
7:12
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 -“Tempest” – 3. Allegretto
5:55
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3 -“The Hunt” – 1. Allegro
7:18
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3 -“The Hunt” – 2. Scherzo (Allegretto vivace)
4:41
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3 -“The Hunt” – 3. Menuetto (Moderato e grazioso)
3:45
10 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3 -“The Hunt” – 4. Presto con fuoco
4:14
11 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.19 In G Minor, Op.49 No.1 – 1. Andante
3:56
12 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.19 In G Minor, Op.49 No.1 – 2. Rondo (Allegro)
3:00
13 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.20 In G, Op.49 No.2 – 1. Allegro ma non troppo
4:05
14 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.20 In G, Op.49 No.2 – 2. Tempo di Menuetto
3:03
Disc 6
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.21 In C, Op.53 -“Waldstein” – 1. Allegro con brio (Live)
10:00
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.21 In C, Op.53 -“Waldstein” – 2. Introduzione (Adagio molto) (Live)
3:53
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.21 In C, Op.53 -“Waldstein” – 3. Rondo (Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo) (Live)
9:59
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.22 In F, Op.54 – 1. In Tempo d’un Menuetto
5:04
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.22 In F, Op.54 – 2. Allegretto
5:37
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 -“Appassionata” – 1. Allegro assai
9:21
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 -“Appassionata” – 2. Andante con moto
5:59
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 -“Appassionata” – 3. Allegro ma non troppo
8:06
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.24 In F Sharp, Op.78 “For Therese” – 1. Adagio cantabile – Allegro ma non troppo
7:02
10 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.24 In F Sharp, Op.78 “For Therese” – 2. Allegro vivace
2:59
11 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79 – 1. Presto alla tedesca
4:08
12 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79 – 2. Andante
3:19
13 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79 – 3. Vivace
1:44
Disc 7
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a -“Les adieux” – 1. Das Lebewohl (Adagio – Allegro)
7:19
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a -“Les adieux” – 2. Abwesenheit (Andante espressivo)
3:20
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a -“Les adieux” – 3. Das Wiedersehen (Vivacissimamente)
5:40
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90 – 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
5:22
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90 – 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
7:27
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29 In B-Flat, Op.106 -“Hammerklavier” – 1. Allegro
10:45
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29 In B-Flat, Op.106 -“Hammerklavier” – 2. Scherzo (Assai vivace – Presto – Prestissimo – Tempo I)
2:42
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29 In B-Flat, Op.106 -“Hammerklavier” – 3. Adagio sostenuto
17:12
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29 In B-Flat, Op.106 -“Hammerklavier” – 4. Largo – Allegro risoluto
12:20
Disc 8
1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101 – 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Allegretto ma non troppo)
3:46
2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101 – 2. Lebhaft, marschmäßig (Vivace alla marcia)
6:14
3 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101 – 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto)
2:46
4 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101 – 4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit (Allegro)
7:34
5 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.30 In E Major, Op.109 – 1. Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo – Tempo I
3:14
6 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.30 In E Major, Op.109 – 2. Prestissimo
2:15
7 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.30 In E Major, Op.109 – 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo)
12:41
8 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.31 In A-Flat Major, Op.110 – 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
6:03
9 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.31 In A-Flat Major, Op.110 – 2. Allegro molto
1:57
10 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.31 In A-Flat Major, Op.110 – 3. Adagio ma non troppo – Fuga (Allegro ma non troppo)
9:46
11 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.32 In C Minor, Op.111 – 1. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
8:47
12 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.32 In C Minor, Op.111 – 2. Arietta (Adagio molto semplice e cantabile)
Pollini’s Superb Beethoven Cycle Enhances Canon
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas. Maurizio Pollini. Deutsche Grammophon 0289 479 4120 0. 8 CDs.
A word first on what this Deutsche Grammophon box is not: a reexamination of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas with whatever wisdom and perspective Maurizio Pollini, 73, has acquired over the decades. Several of these recordings date from the 20th century, including the “Moonlight” (1992), “Waldstein” (1997), and Opp. 101, 106, 109, 110, and 111 (1975 and 1977). The final five, of course, are the works in which one might expect the cosmic glow of experience to be most manifest. Yet this is where Pollini started his journey, arriving at the easy and early Op. 49 Sonatas in 2014. A curious reversal.
Or is it? The Italian pianist has always been about clarity, command, and getting it right in an absolute way, regardless of the vintage of the music or which birthday he most recently celebrated. No law requires an artist to mellow with age. Having listened to these eight discs repeatedly and in shuffle-play order, I detect no difference between Pollini in his fourth decade and Pollini in his eighth. And I say more power to him.
Certainly whatever resentment I harbored over his disinclination to revisit the late sonatas evaporated a few minutes into Op. 101. Here is a vibrant interpretation of music that sounds intimate and experimental at once, the hands widely separated yet impeccably balanced, not least in the final cadence of the first movement, where the heights and depths seem to meet in a kind of Euclidian accord.
The ensuing march, which can be choppy, has playful lift, and if a listener wishes to deem Pollini cool and detached in slow movements, as the critical playbook would have it, he will find no encouragement here. Yet it cannot be denied that the highest praise is owed the spiky fugue that constitutes the development of the finale. Few pianists realize the many strands of Beethoven’s imagination as convincingly — an observation that goes double for the finale of “Hammerklavier“ in a performance of almost frightening authority. Listen to the manic leaps and trills! This is Extreme Beethoven. While Pollini does not observe the composer’s near-impossible metronome recommendation for this movement, he fully captures the spirit of the main tempo marking: Allegro risoluto.
Fine, you say. Terrific fugue, plenty of bravura (as long as this word is understood to encompass intellectual as well as mechanical achievement). But what about the moments of sweet repose? It is true that Pollini is not one to linger. The Allegretto finales of Op. 31, No. 1 and Op. 31, No. 2 (“Tempest”) are pushier than this marking implies. You might be inclined to congratulate the pianist for finding such an invigorating Andante in the second movement of Op. 22, before you realize the specified tempo is Adagio con molto espressione.
And anyone who takes the Sonata Op. 10, No. 2 in F Major to be one of the master’s more genial walks through the Vienna Woods will be surprised by the symphonic grandeur of this rendition. Pollini is both faster and darker in the Allegretto than Mari Kodama in her songful 2014 cycle on Pentatone and more ruthless in the Presto finale. These performances might function as examples of quintessentially masculine and feminine approaches — back in an age when this distinction was widely accepted.
It is important, of course, to avoid clichés and easy equations. Authority is not rigidity. The questioning bars that lead to the second theme of the first movement of Op. 2, No. 2 are free in tempo and a good example of Pollini’s capacity to place bar-by-bar expression at the service of structural strength. As for the contrapuntal prowess mentioned earlier, this is not confined to fugal passages. We hear the right-hand arpeggios of the finale of the “Moonlight” in all their détaché brilliance but also the pulse of the left hand underneath. Likewise, the opening of Op. 10, No. 1 is as crisp as can be, but what catches the ear is the clarity of the Alberti bass that interacts with the soaring second theme in such a satisfying way.
As I commented at the outset, Pollini is a consistent performer over time and across styles. It is nevertheless possible to identify standout performances. The finale of Op. 81a (“Les Adieux”) could hardly be more exuberant and brilliantly lit. There are multiple attractions in Op. 2, No. 3, a recording from 2007 that shows the sexagenarian in fine technical fettle (I presume I am not the only amateur who finds the quicksilver thirds of the opening bar impossible to play clearly at a decent tempo). Take note of Pollini’s radically modern approach to the Scherzo, angular in the main section and sweeping enough in the Trio to seem an 18th-century premonition of its counterpart in the “Hammerklavier.” Firmly modernist, Pollini does not view the Op. 2 works with rear-view condescension or fuss about period niceties. Indeed, the pianist finds traces of Big Beethoven in Op. 49. Yet it should be noted that the arch-familiar Adagio cantabile of Op. 13 (“Pathétique”) is as relaxed and lyrical as it is under the fingers of the thoroughly poetic Wilhelm Kempff. And the Adagio of the “Hammerklavier” is all the more solemn for its momentum and clarity.
I have not mentioned Op. 57 (“Appassionata”), which strikes me as a merely very good performance. An intrepid collector might wish to acquire (by hook or by crook) Sviatoslav Richter’s breathtaking RCA recording of 1961. Pollini is more on form in Op. 53 (“Waldstein”) in a live recording of great excitement in which the headlong tempo in the first movement seems an integral part of the interpretation. And just as the Op. 2 works can sound surprisingly mature, there is no harm in hearing vitality in the famous last three sonatas (Opp. 109, 110, and 111).
Of course, Beethoven options are legion. To enter into extensive comparisons would quadruple the length of what is already becoming (I notice) a rather long article. As a Canadian, I can remark with pride that there are complete (or close-to-complete) cycles to choose from even among my compatriots Stewart Goodyear, Angela Hewitt, Anton Kuerti, Robert Silverman, and Louis Lortie. (Glenn Gould was both a selective and inconsistent Beethovenian.) Alfred Brendel’s traversals (especially the last) are rightly admired for their intellect and wit, and I would not deny the monumental status of the Artur Schnabelcycle of the early 1930s, which is arguably all the more alluring for its wispy mono sound.
Speaking of sound: Most of the Pollini recordings were made in the Herkulessaal in Munich, a resonant enough space. Nevertheless, the DG technical people (led by principal Tonmeister Klaus Hiemann) remained truthful over the years to Pollini’s analytical style, keeping the treble forward. Kodama (in five channels or stereo) is plummier, as is Ashkenazy on Decca (to mention a set available at a moderate price). No cycle will satisfy the demands of all listeners or do full justice to what I would contend to be the greatest body of music in existence. All the same, I plan to keep the Pollini box close to hand.
The program for Pollini’s Oct. 25 recital at Carnegie Hall includes three Beethoven sonatas (Op. 31, No. 2; Op. 78; Op. 57), along with Schoenberg’s Op. 11 and Op. 19.
| GTIN13: | 0028945964522 |
| Verschijningsdatum: | 12. september 2000 |
| Aantal discs | 1 |
| Aantal tracks: | 34 |
Pollini’s recording of Beethoven’s final masterpiece for the piano excels even in comparison with the familiar greats. Schnabel? His musical depth can’t be denied, but his pianistic technique is lacking. Brendel? His recordings — one early, one late — are technically superb, but the earlier emphasizes the virtuoso element at the expense of the humanity and the latter wants humor and pathos. Richter? His three recordings are undeniably great, but all are live and all have grievous flaws. And Arrau? He was just too old to rise to the work’s technical challenges.
This isn’t to say that Pollini’s is the best by default. True, his always astounding technique is at its peak. This means, essentially, that he makes no mistakes: no slipped notes, no flawed pedaling. Most of all, he plays the work the way Beethoven wrote it (something apparently beyond most pianists) — he finds musical depth through intellectually rigorous argument.
But what impresseses most about Pollini’s Diabelli Variations is his humanity. Some critics have said that Pollini’s tremendous technique and prodigious intelligence have inhibited his emotional intensity, citing his Chopin as an example. But listen to his brusque treatment of Diabelli’s dumb waltz theme. Listen to his humor in the variation which combines Diabelli’s theme with Leporello’s opening aria from Don Giovanni. Listen to the passion of the final minor key variation. Listen to the exhilarating final fugue. And listen especially to the wistful return of the Diabelli Waltz. Then try to argue that Pollini lacks emotional intensity and that his is not the best set of Diabelli Variations.
Disk 1 (CD)
- 1 Tema Vivace (Original Version)
00:52 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 2 Variation I Alla marcia maestoso (Original Version)
01:40 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 3 Variation II Poco allegro (Original Version)
00:51 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 4 Variation III L’istesso tempo (Original Version)
01:12 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 5 Variation IV Un poco più vivace (Original Version)
00:59 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 Variation V Allegro vivace (Original Version)
00:50 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 Variation VI Allegro ma non troppo e serioso (Original Version)
01:32 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 Variation VII Un poco più allegro (Original Version)
01:15 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 Variation VIII Poco vivace (Original Version)
01:24 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 10 Variation IX Allegro pesante e risoluto (Original Version)
01:58 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 11 Variation X Presto (Original Version)
00:37 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 Variation XI Allegretto (Original Version)
01:03 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 13 Variation XII Un poco più moto (Original Version)
00:50 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 14 Variation XIII Vivace (Original Version)
00:55 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 15 Variation XIV Grave e maestoso (Original Version)
03:26 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 16 Variation XV Presto scherzando (Original Version)
00:35 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 17 Variation XVI Allegro (Original Version)
00:56 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 18 Variation XVII (Original Version)
00:59 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 19 Variation XVIII Poco moderato (Original Version)
01:24 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 20 Variation XIX Presto (Original Version)
00:50 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 21 Variation XX Andante (Original Version)
02:06 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 22 Variation XXI Allegro con brio – Meno allegro – Tempo I (Original Version)
01:09 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 23 Variation XXII Allegro molto: Alla “Notte e giorno faticar” di Mozart (Original Version)
00:51 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 24 Variation XXIII Allegro assai (Original Version)
00:53 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 25 Variation XXIV: Fughetta Andante (Original Version)
02:50 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 26 Variation XXV Allegro (Original Version)
00:47 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 27 Variation XXVI (Original Version)
00:58 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 28 Variation XXVII Vivace (Original Version)
00:54 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 29 Variation XXVIII Allegro (Original Version)
00:59 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 30 Variation XXIX Adagio ma non troppo (Original Version)
01:07 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 31 Variation XXX Andante, sempre cantabile (Original Version)
01:47 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 32 Variation XXXI Largo, molto espressivo (Original Version)
04:49 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 33 Variation XXXII: Fuga Allegro – Poco adagio (Original Version)
02:54 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven - 34 Variation XXXIII Tempo di minuetto moderato, ma non tirarsi dietro (Original Version)
03:58 Pollini,Maurizio / Ludwig van Beethoven
| GTIN13: | 0028945603124 |
| Verschijningsdatum: | 25. november 1997 |
| Aantal discs | 1 |
| Aantal tracks: | 28 |
| Speelduur: | 71:04 |
Why is this the disc to hear if you want to hear Beethoven’s Bagatelles?
First, Philips’ sound is magnificent, as clear and realistic a piano recording as has ever been made, a recording that puts the piano in the same room as the listener. Second, there are hardly any truly great performances of Beethoven’s three sets of Bagatelles; the only uncontrovertibly great performances were recorded by Artur Schnabel in the ’30s and their sound is unlistenable for most contemporary listeners. Third, and most importantly, Alfred Brendel’s interpretations are every bit as great as Schnabel’s and every bit as individualistic as Brendel’s best interpretations. In Brendel’s performances, each of Beethoven’s quirky Bagatelles is wonderfully characterized and marvelously expressive. Fourth, the disc is filled out with four little pieces by Beethoven in superb performances, an elegant Rondo in C major, a powerful Allegretto in C minor, a delicious Klavierstuck in B flat major, and, of course, a simple and sublime Bagatelle “Für Elise.”
1 Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op.33 – 1. Andante grazioso, quasi Allegretto
4:03
2 Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op.33 – 2. Scherzo (Allegro)
2:48
3 Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op.33 – 3. Allegretto
2:12
4 Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op.33 – 4. Andante
3:22
5 Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op.33 – 5. Allegro, ma non troppo
3:13
6 Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op.33 – 6. Allegretto quasi Andante
2:15
7 Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op.33 – 7. Presto
1:56
8 Beethoven: Rondo in C, Op.51, No.1
6:22
9 Beethoven: Allegretto in C Minor, WoO 53
3:50
10 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 1. Allegretto
2:38
11 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 2. Andante con moto
0:59
12 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 3. à l’Allemande
1:41
13 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 4. Andante cantabile
1:42
14 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 5. Risoluto
1:03
15 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 6. Andante – Allegretto leggiermente
1:55
16 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 7. Allegro ma non troppo
1:06
17 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 8. Moderato cantabile
1:27
18 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 9. Vivace moderato
0:30
19 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 10. Allegramente
0:13
20 Beethoven: 11 Bagatelles, Op.119 – 11. Andante, ma non troppo
1:44
21 Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles, Op.126 – 1. Andante con moto
3:26
22 Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles, Op.126 – 2. Allegro
2:55
23 Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles, Op.126 – 3. Andante
2:38
24 Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles, Op.126 – 4. Presto
3:58
25 Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles, Op.126 – 5. Quasi Allegretto
2:47
26 Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles, Op.126 – 6. Presto – Andante amabile e con moto
4:20
27 Beethoven: Klavierstück (Bagatelle) in B flat, WoO 60
1:27
28 Beethoven: Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59 -“Für Elise”
3:38
Beethoven - Zijn Meest Aanbevolen Uitvoeringen - Zijn Complete Oeuvre 