Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Bagatelles

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In addition to his 32 sonatas, astonishing "Diabelli Variations," and 5 concertos with orchestra, Beethoven also composed a series of smaller pieces he called "bagatelles." The name, which more or less designates a little nothing, a bit of whimsy or fluff, scarcely designates the imaginative and emotional content that Beethoven often invested in these little works. Many were studies for other pieces, or ways of trying out ideas before developing them in larger works. Listening to Alfred Brendel play these works is revelatory: he convinces you that these short works are perhaps the most profound things that Beethoven ever penned. He knows them intimately, having edited some for the Wiener Urtext Edition of Beethoven's works. Yet while he brings these pieces a sense of gravitas, he never forgets that brevity is the soul of wit. In short, this disk lets you enjoy Beethoven's final works for his own instrument played with as close to perfection as you're going to get.

Listening to this CD, it is quite easy to conjure up a picture of Beethoven playing at home, by himself, for himself. These pieces are among his most intimate and this recording gives the feeling of eavesdropping outside the composer's open window (something he never tolerated, by the way!). Many of the bagatelles are such gems that one can only regret that LvB didn't do more with them.

If you are one of those people who think Beethoven only wrote loud and bombastic music, listening to this recording will immediately dispel any such nonsense.

This recording is also Brendel at his best. Understated and elegant, he lets the music speak for itself. None of the regrettable -- and regrettably common -- fireworks or idiosyncratic interpretations that tend to mar Beethoven recordings by, say, the likes of Bernstein, Gould and Kovacevich.

The previous reviewer is simply wrong. This is an incredible recording that impresses me more with each playing.

Yikes! Reading previous negative reviews on this title is a bit shocking! Despite their trifling title, the Bagatelles cover an amazing range of music. People reared on the Beethoven symphonies and concertos are in for a real treat when they discover his chamber and piano music. If people come in expecting the grandness of those works, they risk being disappointed. Brendel is an acknowledged Beethoven interpreter for good reason. His understanding of the music is phenomenal, bringing out detail and depth that is often missing in other recordings. His technique is flawless. And he's up to the incredible range of music the Bagatelle's present to any performer. Having made my case for the recording, I do share a similar criticism of Brendal's performance that others have made. Brendal get so lost in the complexity, texture, and detail of the music that he seems to leave his heart behind. At times, he seems almost pedantic and bloodless. Still, I've listened to this CD for almost 100 hours since buying it and I'm not tired of it yet. What Brendal does best is hold up the music for a long and meaningful conversation between listener, composer, and performer.

Alfred Brendel and Ludwig van Beethoven suits each other in a fascinating manner. Far from profundity and scope of sonatas, Beethoven's bagatelles convey in their terse texture a large gamut of moods and demand the soloist to get a subtle balance between technique and feeling. Exactitude and finesse of touch is needed of course, but the grace is that who takes the stage in performing these lovely miniatures. Despite their lightness and simplicity, for playing seductively these short pieces, the pianist must master a deeper understanding of Beethoven's inner universe and be very attentive with nuances, with fine tuning and gauging the sound effects. These are quite the quality Brendel has a lifetime been praised for. This recording simply shows Brendel at his most charming. He simply amuses in playing this repertoire. And what a seductive result!

Another example of Alfred Brendel's supreme performances
of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano work.

The Bagatelles are but rarely performed compared to the 32 Sonatas (not speaking about the Concertos). The reason is obvious after listening to Brendel's recording: this is Beethoven at his most intimate but also most inventive (a parallel with the quartets comes to mind). A Beethoven which doesn't fit a large concert-hall but a salon where small circle of friends lean on the piano while one of them plays.
Brendel's pianism is amazing as usual - simple but never dull, sensual but not over-romanticized. The sound is great and nuanced (I don't hear any humming after repeated listening on my DENON hi-fi).
I have absolutely no reservations about recommending the CD to anyone who loves piano music.

If you've never heard the Bagatelles, they are a trove of delights, done in the sentimental vein of the Pastoral symphony.

Having grown up with a scratchy record I once had of the young Alfred Brendel playing the Bagatelles, I am a true affecionado of his charming, simple (in the good sense) interpretations. As another reviewer before me said, other interpreters tend to be too egocentric in their approaches.

Yet upon hearing the very first bagatelle on this CD, I knew something was very amiss. This is not Brendel as I remember him!
It turns out that this is not Brendel's first recording of the bagatelles. I'm sorry I cannot tell you what date the recordings I used to have were from, but I have learned that Brendel recorded the bagatelles as early as the 60's.

Basically, these new recording (done in the 90's) has sadly lost a great deal of the early recording's brilliance, snappiness, and wit. Brendel sounds indifferent and it seems even as though his strength has debilitated.
To boot, the sound engineering is bad. The piano never sounds 'there', dynamics as I said are monotone, and you can hear Brendel humming regularly.

He's an okay player and this recording is also mediocre. But if your just an amateur classical music listener then it's a good performance. Otherwise if your listening to improve your piano, choose another cd.