You might want to listen to Mitsuko Uchida playing this. I think she does a wonderful job! All of her late Beethoven sonatas are on YouTube -- here's the Op. 110:

 

I remember seeing her play it and very much enjoying the concert.

 

My favorite of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas is his No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110. I grew up listening to Arrau's complete set on Phillips, but did not really discover this piece until I heard a live performance of Richter's in one of his Russian archives CD. It blew me away.

Since then, I have listened to renditions by Brendel, Annie Fischer, Rudolf Buchbinder, Paavali Jumppanen, Angela Hewitt, Claude Frank, Pollini, and Brautigam on Fortepiano.

All of them had something special, and I particularly like Fischer and Hewitt's... and Pollini may have even surpassed Richter.

But in general, for me, it is Richter and Pollini that have stood above the rest. The final fugue is glorious in their hands. I am interested to hear other people's favorites and see what other interpretations I must hear of this amazing piece?

Thank you in advance!

Richter and Pollini are exceptional, and in fact I think they share a virtuoso approach . Neither are for me particular favourites, a list of op 110s which I like very much are

Georg Demus
Igor Zhukov
Tom Beghin
Ernst Levy
Edwin Fischer
Wilhelm Kempff
Gieseking EMI
Valery Afanassiev
Sviatoslav Richter (Live Classics -- I much prefer Richter's later recordings)
Hans Richter-Haaser
Rudolf Serkin (1960, BBC Legends)

There are probably more but those are the ones which I remember.

 

Philosopher, art historian and Beethoven biographer Romain Rolland had to say of her: "Would you express to Madame Youra Guller my respectful remembrance, and the hope which I have of being able to hear her again in one of the last sonatas of Beethoven, of which she remains, for me, the unique interpreter in our time."

 

Speaking of the ladies, the Op. 110 I grew up with was played by Dame Myra Hess. And played very well it was, too.

 

Here's a few more.

Jando on Naxos 8,550151 is a well-played, characterful performance though not outstanding.
Brendel on Phillips 438 374-2 has B's typical wit and some beautifully phrased passages.
Gilels on DG Klassikon 439 426-2 is my go-to. Red-blooded where necessary, delicate elsewhere, deeply satisfying.

 

I have an excellent rendition by Aldo Ciccolini but I can't remember when and where it was recorded

 

My favorite of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas is his No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110. I grew up listening to Arrau's complete set on Phillips, but did not really discover this piece until I heard a live performance of Richter's in one of his Russian archives CD. It blew me away.

Since then, I have listened to renditions by Brendel, Annie Fischer, Rudolf Buchbinder, Paavali Jumppanen, Angela Hewitt, Claude Frank, Pollini, and Brautigam on Fortepiano.

All of them had something special, and I particularly like Fischer and Hewitt's... and Pollini may have even surpassed Richter.

But in general, for me, it is Richter and Pollini that have stood above the rest. The final fugue is glorious in their hands. I am interested to hear other people's favorites and see what other interpretations I must hear of this amazing piece?

Thank you in advance!

Try to hear Bruce Hungerford, not only in 31, but in 30 and 32 as well. One of the greatest of all Beethoven piano sonata interpreters.

 

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone! I listened to the Uchida and Guller performances last night and they were wonderful. Will check out Hess today and also look into acquiring some of the other recommendations. I want to hear Gilels and Hungerford.

 

Hungerford's Op. 110, along with a lot of other sonatas, can be found on this 99-cent bargain download from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Beethove...ie=UTF8&qid=1524418016&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=big+beethoven+box

 

Try Schnabel if you don't mind the dated sound.

Or Serkin

Or Kempff's 1950s rendering

Or Kovacevich

 

I'll second Kempff's 1950s rendering, in his famous mono box set, and also Kovacevich, available in a recent super budget Warner box. Haven't heard Richter, or several of the others being recommended, though...

 

Over the decades, the best performances I've heard of this sonata have come from the following 4 pianists: Rudolf Serkin, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, & Youra Guller. (I've not heard Myra Hess, but her Op. 110 has a strong reputation.) However, in the case of Richter & Serkin, it's difficult to pick a best performance, as there are numerous recordings, in varying degrees of sound quality, & I've not heard them all.

1. For Serkin, I've particularly liked his "unreleased" recordings, which his son, Peter, permitted to be issued after his father's death. Serkin's 'unreleased' performances of Nos. 30 & 31 are exceptional--desert island discs (for me)--whatever their minor flaws may be otherwise (which I gather are what prevented Serkin from releasing these recordings during his lifetime).

https://www.amazon.com/Serkin-Unrel..._1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524346356&sr=1-1&keywords=Serkin+beethoven+unreleased

Serkin's later recording for DG was made towards the end of his life at a Carnegie Hall concert in the 1980s. Again, whatever the flaws, and I've heard people complain that Serkin was technically past his prime by this time, his Op. 110 is nevertheless a deeply insightful and beautiful performance, IMO. If interested, you can hear it on You Tube:

In addition, there is an earlier CBS/Sony Serkin recording, which I've not heard, and the 1960 BBC recording that Mandryka mentions, which I've also not heard:

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-So...1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1524351003&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Beethoven+serkin+op.+110
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-So...=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524351003&sr=1-1&keywords=Beethoven+serkin+op.+110

2. With Richter, there's a late Op. 110 performance on the Russian Revelation label that is excellent, and a live performance from Prague that is remarkable. But perhaps my favorite Richter Op. 110 comes from a 1963 concert in Leipzig, as I tend to find Richter's best period to be the 1960s:

https://www.amazon.com/Richter-Leip...A85TCE3X20KG8910&pd_rd_w=lZdDu&pd_rd_wg=BLII9&psc=1&refRID=WFJNA85TCE3X20KG8910
https://www.amazon.com/Richter-Leip...sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524346761&sr=1-2&keywords=Richter+beethoven+leipzig

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-La...=UTF8&qid=1524346859&sr=1-3-fkmr0&keywords=richter+beethoven+russian+revolution

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pi...usic&ie=UTF8&qid=1524346886&sr=8-2-fkmr2&keywords=richter+beethoven+prague+sacd
https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...0_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524347234&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=richter+prague+0p.+110

3. As for Gilels, I've found his Beethoven was often better live in concert, though I don't know if there are any live Op. 110 recordings from him?--perhaps from the Russian archives box set, or from Meloydia or Doremi? However, if so, you're probably dealing with a lesser sound quality. Fortunately, I think very highly of Gilels DG studio recording of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Nos. 30 & 31, which was the last recording he made before his untimely death in the mid-1980s:

4. Youra Guller's recording of Beethoven's Nos. 31 & 32 for Nimbus is another desert island disc in my collection, and no matter how many versions of the Op. 110 sonata you may have, Guller's is essential, IMO.

https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Sonata...ef=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524347649&sr=1-2&keywords=Youra+guller+beethoven
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-La...ef=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524347649&sr=1-3&keywords=Youra+guller+beethoven
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pi...ef=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524347649&sr=1-1&keywords=Youra+guller+beethoven

5. I've also liked Annie Fischer's late Beethoven too, but she only recorded Nos. 30 & 32 early in her career (for EMI), & Fischer couldn't consistently play through difficult pieces late in her career without making lots of noticeable mistakes. So she ended up painstakingly recording her Beethoven cycle for Hungaroton piecemeal, that is, one small section at a time. In other words, they are heavily edited performances, unusually so, even if Fischer does have a very deep understanding of the music:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LO6A51S/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

6. On period pianos, I've liked both Ronald Brautigam and Penelope Crawford in Op. 110, but haven't explored any others:

https://www.amazon.com/Beethovens-P..._1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524347796&sr=1-3&keywords=penelope+crawford+beethoven

7. Finally, most recently, I liked Igor Levit's Op. 110 recording for Sony. Levit brings a more Baroque-like feel & touch to Beethoven, which I can find interesting, particularly in the more fugue-like movements, such as in the Hammerklavier, where clarity is so important:

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-La...8687C/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524347820&sr=1-1&keywords=Levit+beethoven

So, there's a lot to choose from. Even though it's a pity that neither Bruno-Leonardo Gelber or Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli ever recorded this sonata, as they're two of my favorite Beethoven pianists.

P.S. Historically speaking, I've not heard Edwin Fischer's Op. 110, or Wilhelm Kempff's pre-war APR recordings either, but would imagine they're very fine. And, of course, there's also two recordings of Op. 110 from Artur Schnabel, who tends to struggle in the more difficult passages, but plays the slow movement with incredible beauty.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LK4QK2/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-La...1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524350475&sr=1-1&keywords=wilhelm+kempff+beethoven+apr
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007FST7GS/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp

Hope that helps.

 

Other good ones: Igor Levit / Piotr Anderszewski and last but not least Annie Fischer

 

Thanks again for the replies!

Josquin13, thanks so much for the links and advice. I am going to look into all of those suggestions. I just ordered the Youra Guller disk and also looking at the Gilels options. I have also found my favorite Richter performances to be in the 60's, with my favorite of his Op 110's to be a 1965 recording. I will need to look for the 1963 one you mentioned!

 

My favorites are ones you already listed: Brendel, Pollini, and Fischer. Some interesting runner-ups would be Bavouzet and Kikuchi.

 

Thanks for mentioning Kikuchi.

 

For me I start with the fugal passages. I need to hear them at a decent speed, not too slow which eliminates Richter, Gilels and Serkin. I also want to hear them played with some degree of delicacy, shaping the phrases. This eliminates a number of pianists who choose a louder, more massive rendition - Kovacevich, Nikolayeva, Kempff, Pollini, Schnabel.

So what's left for me is Annie Fischer, Myra Hess, Horszowski, Solomon, Backhaus and Egon Petri. I love Egon Petri in late Beethoven in general, together with Liszt and other composers. His #32, Op 111 is the best of all for me, followed by Julius Katchen. Myra Hess, as noted is really good in late Beethoven together with a lot of other repertoire like Schumann. Solomon and Backhaus need no introduction. The Horszowski is very nice.

 

One of my favorites is from the Soviet master Anatoly Vedernikov, who had the same teacher as Richter and Gilels and was one of the great Russian pianists of the 20th century. He's all about balance and clarity, and it works very well in Beethoven.

 

Another vote for Gilels but I don't own that many others.

 

Versions I have:

Richter
Serkin
Kempff
Pollini
A Fischer
Gould
Schnabel
Kovacevich
Solomon

All ahem something to say. Take your pick!

 

One should at least give Gould a listen

(I´ve kept 18 versions).

 

Richter :
- Leipzig 1963
or
- Ludwigsburg 1991

Than Pollini (only for the late sonatas)