Customer Reviews

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas; Bagatelles Op. 119, Op. 126 [Box Set]

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3 star:		(5)
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After growing familiar with Brendel's early set and many versions by Richter, Backhaus, Dochnanyi, Horowitz, Serkin, Ashkenazy, Kempff, Schnabel, Pollini, Rosen, Uchida and Gould, I decided I wanted a new set of all 32 sonatas. I listened and read reviews for over a year, gathering impressions of Barenboim, Arrau, Schnabel, Jando, Kovacevich, Goode, and more impressions of those I already knew - Ashkenazy, Kempff, Brendel and Backhaus. Beethoven is my favorite composer. Though I am delighted by "cornerstone" interpretations, I value an undistracting technique and good recorded sound.

Ultimately, I decided it was between Goode and Kovacevich. I listened to the excerpts on this website and chose. When the package arrived, I felt I had erred: I should have gotten Richard Goode's set. Nevertheless, I opened it and the die was cast. Kovacevich (nee Bishop) has been a constant source of wonder. These are stunning, insightful recordings that no excerpting on a computer can do justice. The criticism that all the sonatas are played the same way in this set is simply unjustified. I felt some of that when I listened to the little snatches available online, but when I took the time to play these at home on a good stereo, it was a completely different story. I was astonished and delighted. Every time I play one of these pieces, I feel I am hearing something totally new, but intelligently conceived and emotionally authentic and fulfilling. And he plays well! The first night, I stayed up late listening to four of these CDs in a row, all the way through. I still do that, but less now as I need the sleep. There is no musical wallpaper. And do not be fooled: Kovacevich has a sweet, exquisitely warm and tender side. This is not the 2-dimensional booming some have suggested.

I am content now to enjoy these for years to come. A rich reward of new insights, with gorgeous sound and amazing technique, is all one could ask. Can a piece of music be emotionally and intellectually voluptuous? I now believe so. These 9 CDs (the last is sonata 32 and a lot of delicious bagatelles) are a treasured part of my collection. I return now and then to other versions and am amazed at the new dimensions, first here, now there, that Kovacevich has added when compared to what I had thought were definitive performances. Of course, some of these old friends will never be replaced but the entire array of the sonatas is now far more interesting than ever before. That also applies to the late sonatas: to cite just one instance, he plays No. 30 more sweetly than anyone, including Pollini. It is something to revel in. Kovacevich offers a full array of emotional experiences. What most distinguishes this set is his profound integrity as an artist. The decisions he makes are invariably just to the music and bring out what was evidently there all the time in a way that surprises and delights. Listening with one preconceived version of how Beethoven should sound (e.g., "There is no one like (fill in the blank: Arrau, Kempff, Schnabel, etc.), period") may paralyze the best intentions. Kovacevich has the artistry to transcend the impressions of most opinionated listeners. As to the more mundane issues, the accompanying critical notes are very fine and the packaging not expensive but good and rather stylish in appearance. I also believe the price is fair. This is music to which I return with mingled pleasure, anticipation and reverence. Enjoy.

Along with Brahms's late piano works, Debussy, some Liszt, and The Chopin Nocturnes, The Beethoven Piano sonatas are among my very favorite solo piano listening. I already have the Schnabel set, all of the sonatas that Gilels recorded, and The Goodes. I love all of those for different reasons. Although I don't own the Kempes, I listened to that set repeatedly when I worked at a record store several years ago, and I find his tempos to be a little "samey." Kovacevich is perhaps my favorite pianist, largely on the strength of his recordings of late Brahms, the Brahms First Piano Concerto, and the Beethoven Concertos. After I bought the Goode set several years ago, which I still very much enjoy, I decided that I couldn't justify springing for another full set...but after reading some reviews here, of the full set, and the individual issues, I managed to track down a relatively inexpensive copy of this set, so I decided to make this my latest "last set" of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas...and this one may very will be it.

In the faster music, Kovacevich is fiery, passionate, and unabashedly romantic, but he never fails to find the poetry in the slower, more introspective, music. One of my personal favorites of the Beethoven Sonatas--not just the more famous, or "named" ones--is the Second, and Kovacevich's performance has replaced Gilels' as my favorite. I'm not going to give a detailed breakdown of several of the Sonatas. I just wanted to say how much I enjoy the set as a whole, and was completely dazzled by several movements, especially the famous first movement of the Waldstein, always a favorite pianistic showcase, and Kovacevich's account of that sonata has also become my new favorite. The only place where I noted not really liking his choice of a tempo was in the first movement of the Hammerklavier: I realize that Kovacevich's fast tempo is a valid interpretation, but, frankly, this sonata has never been very near the top of my list of personal favorites of "the 32," and I prefer a more majestic tempo for the first movement; imo, if it is done too fast it sounds kind of "cartoonish,"

Unless you just flat out don't like your Beethoven sonatas played with a bit more romantic flair and flexibility, I think you will very much enjoy this set. Although I can imagine myself not always being in the mood for Kovacevich's more intense interpretations--and for those times I will be glad to also have the Goodes--I feel that Kovacevich's virtuosity and style make this a tough set to beat. Great sound too.

Beethoven's 32 Sonatas requires a wide range of expression that challenge even the most well-rounded pianist: humor and wit, poignant lyricism, a Mozartian-delicacy-of-touch, a passionate intensity, daunting virtuosity and often sheer power and drama. Above all, many of the sonatas are "mini-dramas" that need a master story-teller to bring to life. And some of these "stories" explode with burning intensity (the in "Appassionata," "Waldstein" and "Hammerklavier" sonatas). Everything I knew about Beethoven pointed to a pianist capable of endearing lyricism but especially a pianist who could leave many inadequete claviers in smoldering ruins when the score blackened. His students like Czerny had marvellous stories of such incidents.

So, with this image in mind, many otherwise superb and even legendary readings did not quite fulfill and satisfy. Often, the sound and intensity was not "huge" enough to me, but such is personal preference amoung so many fine choices. But, it was not until I heard these readings by the well-respected Beethovian, Stephen Kovacevich, that my emotions and imagination were completely engaged in certain sonatas.

Kovacovich's readings capture the Beethovenian spirit convincingly and are unashamedly large in scope and expression. His sound is BIG and symphonic, and his readings burst forth with energy and excitement. Perhaps much like Beethoven, he in not shy in hammering the keyboard mercillessly at times. His Beethoven is a style that is often restless, not easily settling in and highlighting the contrasts in the score.

What will attract many is the sheer intensity he brings to the more famous "high velocity" movements - like the last of the "Moonlight", the "Appassionata" or the "Waldstein" - true "white-hot" playing. These do not disappoint. Yet, he finds the tender core of the famous Adagios with much artistry and delicacy but without dragging. He marvelously spins out the "Return" of Les Adieux with an irrestible zest as in some earlier works. Sure they may be a few movements one does not find their favorite, but overall there is a nice consistency to the 32 sonatas here that I found deeply satisfying.

Penguin Guide awarded this 2004 complete set a coveted ROSETTE award while Gramophone called it "A magnificent achievement." And unlike some other Beethoven sonata cycles, the sound quality is on the high-end of the spectrum and is very satisfying in all respects - bright, bold, just the right resonance. A fine engineering achievement I appreciated. This is a legenday set by a very fine pianist and should be viewed as a life-long investment to enjoy for decades. I consider it one of my prized classical sets. Compositions - 5 stars; Performance 5 stars; Sound - 5 stars.

Last, if you are looking for a complete set but cannot afford sets like this one, consider the "super-budget" sets by Bernard Roberts (Nimbus) or Claude Frank (Music & Arts) that are about a third the price of most sets - but that will still reveal Beethoven for Beethoven which is the most important focus.

This very uneven set does not deserve a Penguin rosette (but then, rosettes are often distributed with little, if any, sense of critical reponsibility-i.e., Janson's Tchaikovsky symphonies-BORING!).

Kovacevich is almost uniformly superb in Nos.19-32. Unfortunately, that's less than half the set. Most of the other 18 sonatas are played with ugly, bangy overdone sforzandi that leave the listener cringing in anticipation of the next overbearing onslaught (rather like the overdone drumbeats in Rattle's first Mahler 10). To be fair, 1, 6, 10, 13, 14, 16, and 17 are well done, but in the others, Kovacevich's violence destroys the long line of Beethoven's argument. No.3 is particularly bad. Tempi are so fast the ornaments are muddied, and the passages in sixteenth-note broken octaves sound like grace notes before the beat (a Schnabelesque idiosyncracy, and not one of his more laudable ones-sloppy is sloppy). I honestly wonder if Kovacevich understands Beethoven's early style. His remarks in the notes make me wonder about this: "When I was a boy, I thought Beethoven was awful: a horrible composer, loud and noisy...now I love the early works as much as the late ones..." hmm... read between the lines... His performances of the early sonatas make me wonder whether he has really outgrown his youthful misconception.

The early sonatas still have one foot rooted in the 18th century, but Kovacevich's overprojection makes me wonder if he considers them "bland" and in need of "elivening" to make them as "passionate" (or whatever) as the middle and late works (not all of which are "passionate", either). Perhaps he is trying to convey something of "the outrageous effrontery of a young man" (as a contemporary critic remarked of Beethoven's First Symphony). If so, he has succeeded-most of his early Beethoven is outrageously annoying. True, there is an element of fierceness in SOME Beethoven, but not all of it, and certainly not most of it. Nos.2, 3,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15 (!!) and 18 suffer particularly badly from Kovacevich's heavy hand with the pepper sauce.

Some of my reaction may be due to that fact that the sound is VERY bright, and especially so above forte. A hefty treble cut with the tone controls makes the set more listenable overall.

In fairness, I have to admit that from No.19 onwards I really do like his set-there is some really exciting and musical playing from that point on. If middle and late Beethoven are important to one, and one tends to view the early sonatas as "unformed" waystations on the way to "the real stuff", then this may be the set for you. For me, it's merely a supplement to other more completely successful sets, such as Goode's or even Solomon's (the latter, unfortunately, incomplete, but a paragon).

Stephen (Bishop) Kovacevich's reputation as a Beethoven player was firmly established when he was quite young. The last sonatas, "Diabelli" variations, bagatelles and the concertos with Colin Davis all showed someone who had a genuine and quite mature affinity with the composer. See - Stephen Kovacevich Plays Beethoven.

But apparently, in the following years he played very few of the remaining works - particularly the early sonatas. I read that the recordings of quite a number of the pieces in this set were his first encounters with the music. It shows. Many of the interpretations in this set feel tentative and experimental to me. And some struck me as quite unpleasant - as if he were struggling very uncomfortably with the music (not that Beethoven should ever sound glib). The sound is often overly emphatic and downright clangorous. And it's not a matter of audio engineering. Listening to this set complete, I got the sense of someone simply trying too hard and coming up with as many downright failures as successes. It's definitely not recommendable as a reference set, I'm afraid. A major disappointment from someone so widely considered a true "Beethoven pianist".

...these are just beautiful. I bought the set and didn't play it for weeks feeling I'd been unfaithful to Arrau. But as beautiful and knotty and logical are Arrau's recordings, so are these. And the recorded sound? I'm not an audiophile, but I do notice things. It's magnificent. Clarity and space, as if Glenn Gould recorded for Decca.

I own four sets of the Beethoven sonatas and this is quickly becoming my favorite. The others, Goode, Kempff, and Scnabel are all excellent (I also own the uncompleted set by Gilels which is my reference set along with Shnabel). It may be because there are so many similarities between Goode and Kempff, but when I listened to the Kovacevich set, I felt like I was hearing something new. The third movement of his "Moonlight" is thunderous and the normally, well, pastoral "Pastorale" comes off here as aggresively beautiful. I don't know much about Beethoven's "intentions," though it would seem to me that they don't matter any more than an author's "intentions" when they write a novel or poem. Listening and reading is an act of interpretation in and of itself and so Kovacevich has every right to play these sonatas in a way that he understands them. It turns out that he understands them as fiery and passionate explorations into the human soul. His technique is flawless and though some say his energy runs rough shod all over the more tender passages here, I actually don't hear that. The beauty of, say, the first movement of "Les Adieux" is communicated clearly yet forcefully. I don't see a conflict between a strong force of expression and sensitive interpretation. I can see why the Penguin Guide gave this a Rosette award. It's a gem.

Got the recommendation from Penguin's guide to recorded classical music.
Amazing performance. Stephen Bishop Kovacevich delivers a fine blend of personal interpretation and loyalty to composer's intent.
A collection you will cherish for life.

QUESTION: Is this the best Beethoven piano cycle ever put to disk, and how does it compare with the great recordings of the past?
ANSWER: Yes, it is. In back to back comparisons with the immortal sets of Kempff, Schnabel, Brendel, and Goode (to name a few), the Kovacevich recording holds up quite well.
So well, in fact, as to be considered in a league by itself.
Take Schnabel, for instance. Yes, there is great depth in the playing, but consider the poor recording quality, the mistakes, and the lack of fire compared to Kovacevich.
Now take Brendel and Kempf. Sober, classical style playing devoid of any great highs and lows. AKA-boring.
Finally, consider Richard Goode. A truly 'fine' Beethoven cycle. Solid in every respect. One of the best, to be sure, but lets be honest. Anytime a reviewer uses the word 'fine' in his description of a performance, it is guaranteed that you can do better. It's like an attractive woman referring to a man as 'nice'. Sure, he may get to first base with her, but he'll never score.
Stephen Kovacevich, on the other hand, 'scores' big time with some of the most impassioned, hair raising, nail biting, edge-of-your-seat performances in the annals of the recording age.
Believe me, I do not exagerrate. My collection includes multiple recording of every work Beethoven wrote in his lifetime, and I count the Kovacevich piano sonatas at the very top of that oft-listened to heap of disks.
Unfortunately, I do not find Kovacevich's other recordings nearly as convincing as his Beethoven. In a sense, he is to Beethoven what Glenn Gould is to Bach, humming and all.
Make it your mission in life to acquire this set.
Enjoy.

It was Kovacevich's recording of the Op.31 sonatas, the third disc in the series as they were originally published, that introduced me to this wonderful pianist and to this music. Soon thereafter, I managed to track down the first two discs, and then the looooong wait for subsequent volumes started - at best, one new disc per year. Great times for a collector.

Kovacevich's approach is consistent throughout the 32: intense, driven, fast, colourful, even agressive, and not always as polished as other interpreters such as Brendel or more recently Paul Lewis. But these are also sweeping, involving recordings that sell the music. Reading the other reviews here, you should get a fair idea of what to expect.

But I can't review these discs without mentioning the sound quality. Kovacevich's Steinway was recorded very lifelike: a huge, steely sound, wholly in keeping with the interpretations. At the time, not everybody was happy with the results, such that five years after the first recording of Op.26, which seemed to have received the most complaints from the hi-end crowd, Kovacevich re-recorded the piece, and this last recording has been included in the complete set. Furthermore, for this complete set, Kovacevich re-recorded Op.111. The first Op.111 (actually, the second if you count the earlier take for Philips) seems no longer in print, but it's worth hunting down to hear the - slight but notable - interpretative differences.