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Beethoven's Piano Sonatas (the Best of the Best)

85K views 90 replies 38 participants last post by  maestro57 
#1 ·
I've had a complete set of recordings of the sonatas for a long time now (which I'm pleased with), and occasionally I like to dip into portions of other artists' recordings of these sonatas just for the fresh perspective.

However, in this instance, I want to banish my obsessive need to have every sonata in my collection played by one individual, because I know that - especially in complete sets - even the greatest names have hits and misses.

So, in my quest to find the best performer for each individual sonata, I want to open up this question to all of you: even if you might prefer the complete set from someone else, who's done the best Waldstein? The best Hammerklavier? And all the rest!

In your opinion of course :p
 
#2 ·
The best Hammerklavier?
The best Hammerklavier? To my mind there is no question: Glenn Gould's CBC Radio performance of 1970.

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pia...4997723?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1300235682&sr=1-1

(Schiff and Kempff are okay as well.)

Kempff does a fine job with the other 'named' Sonatas ('Moonlight', 'Pathétique', 'Appassionata'); yet Gould gets my vote for them over all--his 'Appassionata' is utterly extraordinary.

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pia...9890515?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1300236132&sr=1-1

Also Gould's disc of the complete Op. 31 Sonatas is a gem:

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pia.../ref=cm_lmf_tit_8_rdssss0/182-3967606-9890515

And the late three:

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pia.../ref=cm_lmf_tit_2_rdssss0/182-3967606-9890515

Now, for the change: my absolute favourite Diabelli Variations is by Arrau:

http://www.amazon.com/Diabelli-Vari...3041334?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1300236310&sr=1-1
 
#3 ·
I like Schnabel (one of the top five recorded pianists, in my opinion). His recordings of the earlier sonatas are his best. He's got a reputation for hitting wrong notes in the more difficult works; but Arrau said he never heard him play a wrong note in concert, so it must have just been recording nerves.

Solomon (Cutner) is probably the most underrated Beethoven interpreter, and one of the most underrated pianists in general. We English should be more patriotic about him: he's practically all we've got.

I love Sviatoslav Richter, and I think he was an excellent Beethoven interpreter (better than Gilels, even). All of his recordings are worth listening to, not least his Op. 120, Op. 34 and Op. 35 variations.

I don't agree that Gould's Hammerklavier is the best, but it's the most insightful.
 
#4 ·
Schiff's setting of the No. 8 "Pathetique" has the 1st movement repeat in the correct place, in my opinion, going all the back to what most people think is just the introduction. When Schiff does this it makes a great deal of sense and adds a whole extra dimension and pacing to the movement. I don't know if others do this, but I had never heard it that way until Schiff.
 
#27 ·
As far as I know, it was first done by Brendel. I think it is entirely wrong, both musically and theoretically. Had this been an early work of Beethoven or a work of Haydn or Clementi I would agree. But, by the time Beethoven wrote the Opus 13, he was already breaking many structural taboos, and was throwing his audiences off-guard with for instance unexpected modulations. The failure to resolve the exposition in a restatement of the introduction is exactly the type of thing that Beethoven would have done here to shock his audience. It seems unlikely to me that the generations of Czerny students who all repeated at the Allegro rather than the Grave opening, would have gone against Czerny's own experience of Beethoven's performances. Schiff's (some would say obscene) haste in the first movement of the Opus 27 No 2 also seems wrong to me, but at least it makes sense according to the actual score.

Cheers, Warren
 
#84 ·
I agree. Arrau absolutely nails the Hammerklavier. For me, the slow movement is the test. Arrau seems to truly get to the heart of that great movement-one of the greatest slow movements in all of music. Arrau's tempos are perfect, the movement is a heartbreaking journey ending in numbing exhaustion. Perfection.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I could go on and on about Beethoven performers, but I think a better thing to do is just point to certain recordings of works that I cherish above the rest.

First off, Richter's Appassionata:



Serkin's Waldstein, used to be Gilels but Serkin is magnificent here:



Gilels' Hammerklavier, though not to detract from Pollini's also wonderful recording:



Edwin Fischer's op.109:



Annie Fischer's op. 111, in what is arguably the best cycle of the 32 sonatas:



Schnabel's near the top in my opinion in all the Beethoven sonatas, and there are certainly moments in his playing that you just have to say - this is the best. How could it not be? But then there are some not-so-good things too - not related to the interpretation itself, but rather to secondary concerns like technique and sound quality. I myself often overlook these "flaws" much like I do with Cortot's magnificent Chopin and Schumann.

Recently I also spun Michelangeli's op. 111 which was very special in the way that it balanced and colored the layers. Unforgettable trills at the end of the second movement.

Also very worthwhile are Richter's Leipzig recordings of the last three Beethoven sonatas. The idiosyncratic Yudina is always an eye-opener for me too, though I realize that some can't stand her.
 
G
#9 ·
In general, I have many recordings of the sonatas that I enjoy, but when it comes to Beethoven and piano, Kempff is my go to guy. My recording of him playing the Moonlinght, Pathetique, Appasionata, and Waldstein sonatas remains one of my absolute favorite albums. For the late sonatas, though, including the Hammerklavier, I really enjoy Pollini.
 
#10 ·
I'm with you guys on most of these--Richter, Gilels, Kempff, Pollini...

However, the Schnabel thing eludes me.

Sure, he was the first to record all the Sonatas (on 78-RPM); even so, he plays too fast.
(Have you ever seen old heavy 78s spinning on a turntable? It's s c a r y: looks like they could slice off a head if they became airborne!)

Brendel's first account of the complete cycle was good--he also played all the Variations, Bagatelles, etc. No small feat.
 
#14 ·
How can you say that Schnabel plays too fast when you're advocating Gould recordings? :confused:

He plays quite fast, by glacial Kempff standards, but not that fast. (Maybe in the Hammerklavier he plays faster than he is really capable of, but that's an exception.) Schnabel is not as powerful as Richter, but he shares many of his other qualities: contrapuntal playing, attention to detail, sense of tempo, interpretative ability. What seperates them is that Schnabel is a master of rubato, something which Richter never really attempted. Richter is no doubt still the better pianist, but I rate Schnabel more highly than Kempff or Gilels, for example.
 
G
#20 ·
I don't know, I have tried repeatedly to like Gould. I understand all the arguments for him, but at the basic, "do I like the sound of this" level, he just doesn't do it for me. And it isn't even, necessarily, his blasted vocalizations in his various recordings. For example, everybody raves about his recording of the Goldberg Variations (take your pick, 50's or 80's), but they bore me. I love these variations, but not with him playing. I much prefer Perahia.

For Beethoven, Kempff just really works for me, at least for the early and middle periods. For the late sonatas, especially the Hammerklavier, he just goes a bit to slow for me. Then I switch over to Pollini.

For what it is worth, I have a recording of the entire violin sonatas with Kempff and Menuhin on DG, and it is one of my prized possessions. I never get tired of the two of them playing the Kreutzer sonata.

Kempff also does wonderfully with Schubert's piano sonatas.
 
#22 ·
I don't know, I have tried repeatedly to like Gould. I understand all the arguments for him, but at the basic, "do I like the sound of this" level, he just doesn't do it for me. And it isn't even, necessarily, his blasted vocalizations in his various recordings. For example, everybody raves about his recording of the Goldberg Variations (take your pick, 50's or 80's), but they bore me. I love these variations, but not with him playing.
Maybe try his Brahms (if you like Brahms), his Haydn, or the last three Bach Partitas. Each of these takes up only one CD, if I remember correctly.
 
#23 ·
I have to agree with Dr. Mike on Gould. But I acknowledge it doesn't mean Gould is bad, but I just can't get into him. At the time I prefer anybody interpreting Bach that I have heard professionally recorded over listening to Gould. I heard a bit of a GG Brahms concerto too - didn't care for it much either. But I admit this has happened to me with other players before, and I came to appreciate them later. When somebody is as famous as Gould I know its for good reason.
 
#25 · (Edited)
...So, in my quest to find the best performer for each individual sonata, I want to open up this question to all of you: even if you might prefer the complete set from someone else, who's done the best Waldstein? The best Hammerklavier? And all the rest!

In your opinion of course :p
I play several Beethoven sonatas, though I would not rank near the very worst performer I've heard on record.

I have complete sets by Barenboim (3 different recordings) and Brendel, and additional recordings by Rubinstein, Pollini, Gilels, Richter, Ashkenazy, Kempff, Horowitz, Schnabel, Serkin, Maria-Joao Pires, Annie Fisher, Edwin Fischer, and many many others. Most of the performances I own are on vinyl, and it is worth the effort to find someone with an excellent record playing system and a good collection, to realise just how much realism is lost in most transfers to or recordings on CD.

The predominance of Barenboim recordings will tell you that I have a particular affinity to his approach to Beethoven, though that does not mean I consider all his performances to be preeminent. To me, Barenboim does three things riight every single time:
  1. Barenboim performs without any technical errors even though, right from the beginning, he almost never did retakes - a very difficult ask in many of these sonatas
  2. Barenboim recognises that a musical line can be much longer than just a few notes, and has the ability to voice that long line better than anyone else I've heard
  3. Barenboim sounds distinctly like himself and no other pianist, without sounding quirky or just plain weird (like say Glenn Gould or Roger Woodward). Far too many pianists have a sound which could be any of 100 or a 1000 others - it should be as easy to tell that a specific pianist is playing as it is to recognise Heifetz, Stern, Grumiaux or Oistrakh on the violin. So it is with Barenboim, Arrau, Horowitz, Janis, Pollini, Rudolph Serkin, etc. Most recently, Paul Lewis presents superb new insights into Beethoven's music, and establishes a sound which is uniquely his.

One thing that Barenboim has, which is a two-edged sword, is subtlety. The sense of sudden and real drama which is so apparent in performances by say Arrau, come across as measured and a little less spontaneous with Barenboim. Some pianists imbue Beethoven with a sense of brutality and agression, which Barenboim clearly does not accept, preferring to establish the power of the music with a great deal of control. Having listened to Arrau, Woodward, Barenboim, Lupu and a host of other pianists playing Beethoven on the concert stage, there is much to be said for that unbridled passion that Arrau displayed in his Beethoven, but the subtle intensity of Barenboim is my preference.

Here are my favourites from among Barenboim's first set on EMI/HVM (Angel?) released in 1970 - these are my favourite performance by ANY performer I've heard:

Pathetique Sonata Opus 13 - Barenboim's very slow introduction to the first movement was a revelation to me, and completely changed my understanding of the movement. I now play it that way (even though Barenboim's more recent performances take a somewhat faster pace). I wish I had the technique at 54, to play the rest of the movement with the same ease he showed in his teens. His tremelo in this movement is incredibly lovely with just enough menace to build great tension throughout. The right hand run down the keyboard just before the recapitulation is, on its own, miraculous. 2nd movement is beautiful. 3rd movement is delightful and perfectly balanced with the rest of the sonata.

Moonlight Sonata Opus 27 No 2 - The most recorded sonata on earth, and Barenboim's is NOT perfect, but I often experiment by playing one that I really like, and then follow it immediately by this Barenboim recording. Within seconds, I have dumped the previous interpretation in favour of Barenboim's (And doing it the other way is an excruciating experience). The last movement especially I find totally satisfying in a way that other performances don't.

Pastorale Sonata Opus 28 - This "relatively" easy sonata sounds dull or clumsy in almost everyone's hands. In Barenboim's it invariably sounds sublime, and, for me, he got it just right in this recording.

Tempest Sonata Opus 31 No 2 - Possibly my favourite Beethoven sonata (depending on my mood maybe), and, for my hands, manageable but very very difficult, Barenboim takes the 2nd and 3rd movements slower than just about anyone else, and does it perfectly. The third movement in particular is romantic Beethoven idealised. Exquisite.

Walstein Sonata Opus 53 - Fiendishly difficult sonata to play badly, let alone well. The last movement sounds deceptively easy (most of it anyway), but is quite a trial right from the very start, and requires a technique well beyond mine once you get to the pianissimo glissando octaves. Barenboim unifies this sonata is a way that no one else does. Whether you listen to Gary Graffman, Brendel, Arrau, Schnabel, the sonata sounds more like a series of connected exercises than a set of 3 movements, let alone the feeling I get with Barenboim of a single piece of music. His amazingly slow last movement is wonderful.

Opus 54 - This 2-movement sonata, which sits like a small child between the giants of the Walstein and Appassionata, is played very very badly by most interpreters. The first movement tends to be very bangy if it isn't handled with care, and the second movement ends up sounding like one of Czerny's more musical exercises! Barenboim's ability to extend an impossibly long musical line is what makes this performance so much better than anyone else's. In the 2nd movement in particular, the line in some respects extends from the beginning all the way to the coda! It is really quite magic.

That will do for now.

EXCEPT...

I need to mention a recording which is outside your request, but is so much better than its rivals that it needs to be promoted: There are a few recordings of Beethoven's own transcription for Piano and Orchestra of the Violin Concerto in D Major, Opus 61. Most of these (in fact all but one that I have heard) sound like a pianist and orchestra playing a transcription of a violin concerto. That one exception is Daniel Barenboim directing the English Chamber Orchestra on DGG. It alone sounds like the work could have been written for Piano and Orchestra, so superbly is it portrayed. I actually like it almost as much as the Violin Concerto itself!

Cheers,
Warren in Sydney, Oz
 
#31 ·
my playlist for the most popular ones is like this for a while:

8 gilels, kovacevich, rubinstein
12 perahia, gilels, lewis
14 a.fischer, lewis, rubinstein
15 perahia, gilels, lewis
17 gilels, kovacevich, lewis
21 arrau. lewis
23 richter, gilels, rubinstein
26 lewis, rubinstein
29 pollini, gilels
30 kempff, kovacevich
31 gilels, kempff
32 pollini, kempff
 
#34 ·
Hey, if you can't 'get into' Gould that's okay...someone's gotta like poorly executed phrasing and fluctuating tempi; mediocrity and plain musicianship...for those of us who strive to find the best and can open our eyes to true expression and interpretation, we have Glenn.
 
#36 ·
About Gould - I like his set of Beethoven's piano variations a lot more tha his sonatas. I own an early CBC broadcast recording of the "Eroica Variations", where he (reportedly) was being given the "your time is up" wave from the control booth and he just "floors" the gas pedal on the last three. One of my favourite Gould recordings!

One name has not been mentioned (much) in this thread, and it's Rudolf Serkin. I like his Hammerklavier, and some of his work in the later sonatas. As for "Moonlight", Kempff is the best IMO.
 
#37 ·
I nearly choked on my coffee when I saw that someone actually likes Gould playing Beethoven! It has been on my "rubbish" list for as long as I remember. He hated Beethoven, and simply does not have the range of emotions required to bring out all the different characters of Beethoven's music. Instead, we get the same old staccato that sounds as if he is plucking the feathers of a chicken one by one. One wonders why he even bothered recording the Beethoven sonatas when he is on record saying that he hated Beethoven.
 
#38 ·
If you read my contribution to this thread, you will note I specifically said I liked his interpretation of the "variations", not necessarily the sonatas.

For the record, Gould made several recordings of Beethoven piano works, and many of them before 1964. This is significant for two reasons (1) most of these were done either for the CBC or with Canadian orchestras before he achieved international notoriety and (2) this is before Gould, shall we say, chose a more reclusive approach to life. I think as he stopped performing and chose a more "introspective" approach to his music, maybe he found more satisfaction in the works of Bach and Richard Strauss than in Beethoven.

Also of note: in the early 1970's, he provided a quite memorable performance of the Emperor concerto (you can find it on YouTube) for CBC television, with the Toronto SO and Karel Ancerl, replacing Michalengeli "a pied leve".

I will grant you that Gould is an acquired taste, but I think it's somewhat myopic to dismiss the entire Gould/Beethoven discography, and some of his perfiormances for CBC radio before 1954 are worth listening to. A Gould posessing all the pianistic power and not yet tainted by agoraphobia.

Chacun a son gout, mon ami.
 
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