Thread: Which of these Mozart Piano Sonata cycles would you keep?

I'm constantly running out of space on my old ipod (160GB Classic). I currently have 7 complete cycles of Mozart's Piano Sonatas on there and I want to cut that down. I honestly don't have a favorite. There are things I like about each of them and things I don't like about each of them. None of them are definitive for me. I currently have:

Alicia De Larrocha
Christoph Eschenbach
Daniel Barenboim (Both EMI & Deutsche Grammophon recordings)
Glenn Gould
Maria Joao Pires
Mitsuko Uchida

I will probably keep Glenn Gould's on there because I have all of his recordings on there and I like to hear his interpretations from time to time. The others are closer together in trying to keep in line with Mozart's ideals I think.

So, which recording would prefer to keep? Granted I just uncheck them in my itunes so I can always swap them in and out later if I get tired of one, but I'm just curious if you were going to choose one to keep on your ipod or mp3 player, which one would you keep? I'm kind of interested to see what the "most popular favorite" of everyone on this board would be. Thanks for any votes/replies.

I would keep the Pires and Uchida.

Originally Posted by poconoron

I would keep the Pires and Uchida.

What the dog said.

Thanks for the replies. They seem to be the most popular recordings, although very different from each other.

Originally Posted by Polednice

What the dog said.

What Vampire Piggy said.

Originally Posted by Polednice

What the dog said.

What the Pig and the dog said... Seems right! Who's got a bird?

By the way throw away Barenboim emi and replace with Arrau
By the way throw away Barenboim DG and replace with Perlemuter
And some Curzon, Brendel, Haskill, Moravec, Brautigam, Serkin, Gilels, Wirssaladze and do not forget Gieseking!
Oh! I forgot the latest Kristian Bezuidenhout Vol. 3...

Mozart is too important to be handled lightly

I forgot too, if you have the DG Pires throw away and buy the Denon cycle...

Last but not the least, throw away the Apple "Hype" and buy a correct 'flac player'.... Mozart deserves it!

Eschenbach would be, and in fact is, my choice.

Originally Posted by Pestouille

What the Pig and the dog said... Seems right! Who's got a bird?

By the way throw away Barenboim emi and replace with Arrau
By the way throw away Barenboim DG and replace with Perlemuter
And some Curzon, Brendel, Haskill, Moravec, Brautigam, Serkin, Gilels, Wirssaladze and do not forget Gieseking!
Oh! I forgot the latest Kristian Bezuidenhout Vol. 3...

Mozart is too important to be handled lightly

I forgot too, if you have the DG Pires throw away and buy the Denon cycle...

Last but not the least, throw away the Apple "Hype" and buy a correct 'flac player'.... Mozart deserves it!

I think we need a frog and a gonzo too

I do have the Arrau but haven't loaded it on my ipod and/or really given it the listening it deserves. I also have some of the non-full cycle recordings from others, including a few you mentioned (Curzon, Brendel, Serkin, Gilels). I do indeed have the DG Pires. I wasn't aware she had another cycle. I will have to look into that.

Lastly, I hate apple too, but until I can buy a 2TB Flac Player that is the size of my ipod, I'm afraid I'm stuck with it...lol. I listen to CD's at home but everywhere else I use the ipod.

Originally Posted by Hilltroll72

Eschenbach would be, and in fact is, my choice.

When I first listened to the Eschenbach cycle a couple years ago, I didn't really think much of it, but I gave all those sets a full listen over the last week and I enjoyed it a lot more this time. Pires has a wonderful almost lyrical ability with her playing and it just flows so well and so natural, but I don't always like her tempos. Eschenbach seemed a little more "choppy" I guess in his playing but I thought his tempos were perfect. He definitely warrants more listening from me.

Originally Posted by realdealblues

When I first listened to the Eschenbach cycle a couple years ago, I didn't really think much of it, but I gave all those sets a full listen over the last week and I enjoyed it a lot more this time. Pires has a wonderful almost lyrical ability with her playing and it just flows so well and so natural, but I don't always like her tempos. Eschenbach seemed a little more "choppy" I guess in his playing but I thought his tempos were perfect. He definitely warrants more listening from me.

How the Mozart sonatas are interpreted seems to me (and I think Arthur Loesser) to have been unduly influenced by 19th C. parlor musicmaking by the young female amateurs who abounded in European 'polite society' of the Piano Century. Eschenbach pretty much avoids that gentile approach. I appreciate it.

Well, for starters (and I mean NOOOO insult to you), I'd get rid of the Glenn Gould, altogether - I would sell the CDS in a garage sale or give them away. The tempos are too fast as if GG is thumbing his nose at Mozart and his fans. I think they sound comic, like a piano-roll gone insane. He stated in interview as not really liking the music of Mozart (source is GG, a Life and 32 Variations, I believe), and something tells me he recorded the sonatas out of contractual necessity. What I'd keep on the iPod in order of my preference is: Eschenbach, De Larrocha, and Uchida...but then it's just my opinion. I need to thin down my iPhone music list, as well.

Originally Posted by realdealblues

I'm constantly running out of space on my old ipod (160GB Classic). I currently have 7 complete cycles of Mozart's Piano Sonatas on there and I want to cut that down. I honestly don't have a favorite. There are things I like about each of them and things I don't like about each of them. None of them are definitive for me. I currently have:

Alicia De Larrocha
Christoph Eschenbach
Daniel Barenboim (Both EMI & Deutsche Grammophon recordings)
Glenn Gould
Maria Joao Pires
Mitsuko Uchida

I will probably keep Glenn Gould's on there because I have all of his recordings on there and I like to hear his interpretations from time to time. The others are closer together in trying to keep in line with Mozart's ideals I think.

So, which recording would prefer to keep? Granted I just uncheck them in my itunes so I can always swap them in and out later if I get tired of one, but I'm just curious if you were going to choose one to keep on your ipod or mp3 player, which one would you keep? I'm kind of interested to see what the "most popular favorite" of everyone on this board would be. Thanks for any votes/replies.

Smart man to keep the Glenn versions as no mere mortal can ever play in such a way...aside from that, I just recently heard the entire Eschenbach cycle and I would definitely give it my stamp of approval. I remember liking Alicia's stuff, too, but I haven't heard her in a long time.

Originally Posted by Hilltroll72

How the Mozart sonatas are interpreted seems to me (and I think Arthur Loesser) to have been unduly influenced by 19th C. parlor musicmaking by the young female amateurs who abounded in European 'polite society' of the Piano Century. Eschenbach pretty much avoids that gentile approach. I appreciate it.

Hadn't really thought about that, interesting thought. Makes me think about my approach to Beethoven. I get kind of the same thing with Kempff and Gilels on Beethoven's piano sonatas. Kempff to me is like Pires. His phrasing is lyrical to me and he flows very nicely in and out of every change, it's pretty but I don't care that much for it. Gilels is like an animal, absolutely ferocious! I love it! Maybe I should look at Mozart more the way I look at Beethoven

Mozart, especially his earlier works have what I think of as that traditional Major key classical music. Stuff that is fairly cheerful and was meant to entertain (obviously later on from him we see more what I feel are introspective works), but after all he was young when he started out and culture of the time was a certain way. Beethoven to me is that later period of composers where we start to see more Minor keys and more introspection early on, maybe because he was older (seems like he was around 25 when he wrote his 1st sonata, where Mozart was like 18).

I guess I've always thought of Mozart as a little more gentile because of this. Hmm...thanks for giving me something to really think on

Originally Posted by NightHawk

Well, for starters (and I mean NOOOO insult to you), I'd get rid of the Glenn Gould, altogether - I would sell the CDS in a garage sale or give them away. The tempos are too fast as if GG is thumbing his nose at Mozart and his fans. I think they sound comic, like a piano-roll gone insane. He stated in interview as not really liking the music of Mozart (source is GG, a Life and 32 Variations, I believe), and something tells me he recorded the sonatas out of contractual necessity. What I'd keep on the iPod in order of my preference is: Eschenbach, De Larrocha, and Uchida...but then it's just my opinion. I need to thin down my iPhone music list, as well.

I take no offense. I'm very aware of how a lot of people feel about Gould's Mozart. He obviously did not go the conventional route but on the other side, I do understand why he did it. I have a very personal connection with Gould so all of his recordings stay with me no matter what. I appreciate the response though. Interesting to see another Eschenbach and a De Larrocha. I really do like Alecia's cycle. She's kind of the cross between Eschenbach and Pires for me. Not as lyrical as Pires and not as intense as Eschenbach. She's a really nice middle ground.

Originally Posted by kv466

Smart man to keep the Glenn versions as no mere mortal can ever play in such a way...aside from that, I just recently heard the entire Eschenbach cycle and I would definitely give it my stamp of approval. I remember liking Alicia's stuff, too, but I haven't heard her in a long time.

Amen. Glenn was one of a kind :-) Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate them.