Customer Reviews

Barenboim on Beethoven - The Complete Piano Sonatas Live from Berlin

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It is truly unbelievable what Daniel Barenboim did in the lapse of three weeks in these 8 concerts given in Berlin in 2005, what a precious gift to be able to watch these superb performances of the complete Beethoven 32 Piano Sonatas in wonderful sound and image and a really beautiful camera work, it takes more than eleven hours to play them all, Daniel Barenboim is an extraordinary musical genius, not to mention the superb quality of his playing and the fact that he didn't even read a single note.
I really didn't know Daniel Barenboim is such a fantastic pianist, his playing in this set is simply unsurpassable, he shows a deep feeling and connection with this music, his understanding of the music and the piano in particular is totally amazing and that is completely reflected in the unique way he plays, he is never boring, his interpretations are so vivid, each phrase played with such care and passion, his musicality and expressiveness are outstanding, and his technic is absolutely of the highest level, truly astonishing, it was like the piano was actually singing all the time.
This whole set is a magnificent masterclass by Daniel Barenboim, truly in the same league with the greatest masters of the piano ever.
The format of the film is widescreen and for the audio we have the option of Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround for optimal sound.
So if you love the piano and feel passion for it do not miss these magnificent, spellbinding, breathtaking and electrifying performances beautifully captured on film.

Here is a set that is, and will be for future generations, priceless. If it cost twice as much it would still be worth it, and a great deal.

The complete traversal (in recital) of the Beethoven 32 has been done a number of times since Sir Charles Hallé first accomplished the mammoth task in 1861, but never before has it been caught on film.

Maestro Barenboim is completely up to the task. Having played many of the Sonatas for more than fifty years one is not surprised at his great insights and seriousness, but almost shockingly (when one thinks of how much time he spends with his "non-pianistic" activities) he is also still up to all the considerable technical and endurance demands.

The recitals are filled to the brim with moments of insight, beauty, profundity, joy, power and greatness that are too numerous to mention. Even the occasional interpretive choice that I find puzzling (the decidedly not "Allegro molto e vivace" from Sonata no.13 jumps to mind) does nothing to diminish any of the concerts, no one will ever be able to play all 32 in a way that pleases everyone, it would be folly to even attempt to do so. Instead Barenboim does exactly what he should (unsurprisingly); he plays with great knowledge and understanding, leaving nothing to chance. It would be impossible for me to recommend this any more highly to anyone interested in the Piano, Beethoven or Music.

THIS is what I'm talkin about! A fantastic collection with more magnificent playing from Barenboim. The chap's hitting his stride! Having just watched the excellent 2disc '50 Years on Stage', I went looking for more. This is a superb film (6 discs) and Barenboim's Beethoven is wise and abundant - and the film's not just music. Conversation, breezy cutaways, but always returning to the reason for the season, which is Barenboim's musical maturity and his seeming emergence as a revered elder. In the Master Class segments, Barenboim even manages to get Lang Lang to LISTEN more! Young musicians have a great deal to learn from the maestro in this phase of his musical life: learning to lean on music, to trust it, to set aside ego inside one's work, and how to listen as a musician. These pure qualities this pianist possesses in spades. Absolute recommendation. How many times can you hear these sonatas played with this kind of beautiful authority? Dont even think twice. Worth twice the price.

If any contemporary pianist can be said to "own" the Beethoven piano sonatas, it is Daniel Barenboim. This is his third traversal of the complete sonatas, and by any standard, this latest is his greatest effort - bringing the distillation of a lifetime of living with this music that he has been playing since he was eight years old. In the end, one comes away from these concerts with a renewed appreciation for the range, creativity, genius and sheer daring of Beethoven as a composer.

The sonatas are presented in a series of eight concerts, often with selections from each of Beethoven's early, middle and late years. For example, the first concert presents three sontatas - numbers 1, 18 and 29 (the Hammerklavier). In addition, there are two bonus disks with Barenboim presenting a series of 55-minute master classes with six talented young pianists, each of whom plays a movement from one of the Beethoven sonatas and then Barenboim offers his observations and suggestions, often illustrating his point by playing on his own piano. He comments on a wide range of topics - the sonata at hand, music in general, piano playing and its special demands, life in general - replete with occasional anecdotes and stories. He takes questions from the audience at the end of each session.

For anyone who loves great piano playing, this set is a must.

We should be deeply grateful to EMI and Maestro Barenboim for providing us with this treasure. The inclusion of the masterclasses are valuable not only in terms of performance but also and especially because of the profound insights into the music Barenboim provides in the course of his critiques. These insights are nothing short of a basic philosophy of Beethoven and of life. One is left with the impression that playing and studying Beethoven his whole life had the effect of helping make Barenboim the person is today. Through Beethoven's music Barenboim is an artist who helps us feel this great poet's insights into himself and human nature and does so in a way that is most affecting.
My suggestion would be to go to the masterclasses first and then listen to Barenboim's performances after. The performances themselves are exciting, passionate and persuasive. It is impossible not be in awe of the intelligence and humanity of Beethoven as realised by Maestro Barenboim.

The DVD Barenboim on Beethoven is one of the very best DVDs I have ever owned.
A great investment especially if you are trying to introduce wonderful music to a young person. Also it is a DVD you are able to watch over and over again for many years. The Master classes are excellent, and the concerts given by Mr. Barenboim are just wonderful to say the very least.

Of course I must add that I am a fan of Mr Barenboim, Lang Lang and of course Beethoven.

It is one thing to listen to the Beethoven Sonatas, another to experience Bqarenboim's recreation of this epic soundworld. His interpretations transcend technique. One sees the role of Beethoven in music history and the history of keyboard writing in a whole new way.

Beethoven was a revolutionary man living in a revolutionary time. He captured his inner voice, demons and all and the spirit of his time, and in doing so, created a body of music the likes of which no one had ever before imagined. A virtuoso at the keyboard, Beethoven used the piano as his personal musical laboratory, and the piano sonata became, more than any other genre of music, a place where he could experiment with harmony and his developing view of music as a self expressive art. Spanning the length of his compositional career, Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas provide a window into his personal musical development, and they show the concept of the piano as an instrument and the piano sonata as a genre undergoing an extraordinary evolution. The sonatas are not simply compositions for the piano, but are about the developing technology of the piano itself, an evolving instrument that Beethoven pushed to its limits and then beyond, ultimately writing music for an idealized piano that didn't come into existence until about 40 years after he died. Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas include some of his most popular works that took him about 30 years to compose gradually transforming a medium that Mozart and Haydn had already turned into a staple of Classical expression to a vehicle for personal expression that takes us to the time of 19th century Romanticism. These works were very much intended for home entertainment, and Beethoven initially continued that tradition by writing a number of works for his students to play. But as he began to be affected by deafness, playing the piano became his only tangible means of, as it were, 'hearing' music.

There's no denying Beethoven's capacity for communing with the soul through his piano. The adventures in form and musical working out of ideas were all part of this need to say things in music that had never been said before. Beethoven was constantly striving for more, particularly in range and dynamic capability. As an example, he composed the "Hammerklavier" Sonata about seven years before he had a piano that could cope with its demands of register. He often said, "The whole tribe of pianoforte manufacturers have been swarming around me in their anxiety to serve me and all for nothing." Just one more example of the way Beethoven in his sonatas was always ahead of the game. In this 6 DVD set Daniel Barenboim does an amazing job of playing all of Beethoven's sonatas and what truly baffles and impresses me the most every time I watch this set is that he plays them all by memory. This is a wonderful set and anyone interested in seeing Beethoven's sonatas performed will not be disappointed. Truly, Beethoven's piano music is his voice, emerging from his mind, through his fingers, to our ears and hearts. And his piano sonatas are, more than any other of his amazing works, his personal testament, expressed in his own voice.

Fabulous. Beautiful. Brings out the beauty, the emotion, the power of the sonatas. If you are a piano player, you will soon be buying a collection of Beethoven's sonatas to play on your own. Shows you just how amazing and beautiful the sonatas can be.

Excellent. Playing 32 Beethoven sonatas in few concerts it is just incredible, it is live concert, then you cant expect 100% of perfection, but I recall one Barenboim concert in Valencia, he was playing Liszt, it was amazing, one of the best concert of my life. You were there or not .These DVDs are for people that didn't have the choice to be in Berlin to enjoy these 8 concerts. We can loose long time discussing how Beethoven sounds (neither Beethoven new how it sound it self ) or expend your time listening to this great job (gift) from Barenboim. You will find an "old" Barenboim enjoining his playing and playing for himself, nowadays he don t have anything to demonstrate. He is a Master.
There are many ways to understand music, this is not for people that think that music is a competition, or a race or they expect the pianist to be like a monkey in a circus. This is for people who believe that music is written and played for soul an feelings. I really like many piano players, but Barenboim contribution on classical music is it s just great.
There will be only one Barenboim....just how he performs last movement of Tempest he deserves immortality.

8 great concerts, 32 sonatas , a moment of music, a gift. Enjoy it.