Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas [Box Set]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I happen to know for a fact that there are a number of you out there who are finding it hard to decide to pay the asking price for this set. Therefore, I shall try to explain why you should do so, immediately.

First of all, I will say that I own complete cycles by Gulda, Fischer, Schnabel, Kempff (mono), Kovacevich, Ciccolini, Brendel (VOX), Barenboim (DG), Goode, Roberts, Gilels (incomplete) and Backhaus (mono and stereo.) Of these, Annie's is my favorite complete set, easily. I also own single/double discs by Serkin, Richter, Moravec, Horowitz, O'Conor, Pollini, Kempff (stereo), Arrau, Jando and Rubinstein. Annie also trumps many of these as well.

Secondly, I must say that Annie's cycle is remarkably consistent. She does excellent or superb on 25 of the 32. In the others, she is fair or good. In my experience, this is no small feat, in fact only Gulda equals her in consistency, though his imterpretations rarely reach the heights of Annie Fischer's performances. Gulda tends to rush through these works, an approach which doesn't always come off well and even when it does, he still lack's Fischer's depth. Schnabel's legendary set, now available on Naxos from European sellers with excellent transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn, is of course very consistent and superbly played. However, many will likely pass on this set due to the historical sound. Kempff plays these works on a smaller scale that doesn't always work for me, though few can match his tone and beauty. Backhaus's more masculine approach is more to my liking, though his fast slow movements, like Gulda, lack depth. Kovacevich's set is more aggressive than even Annie's, who is surprisingly aggressive when needed and deeply touching and sensitive when appropriate. She handles all three of the main periods of Lvb's works with equal achievement, an incredible feat.

Third, the quality of her playing simply has to be heard to be believed. The opening to her Appassionata sonata dispels all worries that you might have that she isn't up the job. You can listen here at Amazon on the page that holds the single disc from this set. Her playing sounds like thunder from the heavens, as does the finale here and in the Moonlight Sonata. She finds young energy in the early works and confident strength and power in the heroic middle sonatas. Her Op. 31 is easily my favorite, combining a great sense of rhythm, drama and beauty. Her Late Sonatas are incredibly profound and gorgeous. Without resorting to some of the more extreme tempo choices others have made, she finds a style all her own that works magnificently. In fact, her tempo choices are almost always just right, never rushing, nor letting the tempo sag.

Fourth, when compared to her closest rivals, Schnabel, Gulda, and Kempff, her set has superior sound. She plays a gorgeously dark sounding Bosendorfer that was recorded remarkably well. Her recordings were made in the 70's and 80's and the close miking accurately conveys her sweet tone and powerful fortes. Sure, Goode and Kovacevich may have better sound, but IMO they don't play at her level. Goode's interpretations lack excitement at times, while Kovacevich seems to focus a bit too much on excitement.

Fifth, you will notice that the price changes from time to time by some of the marketplace sellers, buying it now saves you from paying more for it later. More importantly, there may not even be a later, for this set is hard to find as it is. This can certainly suggest that it may not stay in print. With talent like this, why gamble? This is mostly a matter of taste of course, I suggest that you listen to the samples here and compare for yourself. I really don't think that you'll be sorry if you choose Annie, though!

(...)

First, it did not take fifteen years to record these sonatas. The notes are quite clear that they were recorded 1977-78. It is possible considerable patches were recorded later, with some selection of takes still later, but heck, that's been going on since magnetic tape came in after WWII.

Check a book by Glenn Plaskin on a certain famous pianist's patching. Vladimir Horowitz was always revisiting performances supposedly already in the can. The only complete Beethoven cycle without splicing is Schnabel's, and there's more of a few of us who suspect he might have benefitted with some.

Secondly, Ms Fischer was not a stranger to any of these sonatas. She did concentrate on the named sonatas earlier in her career, as did most pianists of her generation. But these recordings were made following performances of the complete cycle in 16 recitals during 1976-77, after 55 years on the concert platform, and Annie Fischer is about the last pianist on earth to sell glib sight-reading to the public.

I saw Annie Fischer only once, in Edinburgh around 1970, and I've never seen a more responsible artist. There's nothing tentative, immature or dishonest about these recordings, and how they were made is less important than the performances they contain.

My only cavil is that the sound may be a bit close for a tank like the Boesendorfer. My preference is not for an under-the-lid sound in what sounds like a small studio (see the additional notes below). I like a piano's sound to expand and breathe in a comfortable sized space. However a lot of other people seem to like the pianists's perspective rather than the audience's, and it's the rule, not the exception, among Beethoven cycles.

(...)

After checking the recordings on the 'scope, I discovered that the engineers have removed most of the stereo information. In some recording setups, the production staff can increase or diminish stereo content as easily as you can raise or lower your volume control at home.

What's left in these recordings is not quite a hard knot of pure, vicious mono, but almost. As a result, you are not supposed to find out that the sessions were in fact done in a warm, spacious hall, not in an airless shoe box as you and I might have guessed. (By contrast, Claude Frank's superb set was recorded in a much smaller room, but the breadth of the stereo wears much more easily on the nerves.)

The cure for the overly aggressive sound given to Annie Fischer's piano is to retrieve the suppressed stereo information. That restores the environment around the instrument and gives the sound some air. There are several ways to do this, but perhaps the easiest is to listen on a surround system and if necessary, boost the rear speakers. The piano itself will stay solidly front and center, but the air around the sound will spread throughout your listening area, easing the occasional brutal proximity of the recording.

And then you will find Annie Fischer's excellent performances sound even better.

This is a brilliant set of Beethoven's piano sonatas. The Hungarian Annie Fischer is one of the legendary figures in the history of music. To any true lover of Beethoven this boxed set is a must.

When it comes to Beethoven's piano sonatas my feet are not set in concrete. There is no one "perfect" interpretation, there are many "perfect" interpretations. I've been listening to these sonatas for over 50 years and have enjoyed many different renditions. We must remember that after all, it is Beethoven that we are hearing. That's where the true genius lies.

I first heard and came to love Beethoven's piano works played by Arthur Rubinstein. My personal favorite interpreter is Claudio Arrau. He's currently out of fashion. I like his extremely slow tempo and his mysticism. However I've never heard a more interesting first movement of Pathetique than Alfred Brendel's. And I never understood the final movement of Hammerklavier until I heard Brendel's reading of it. Emil Gilels owns the Second Sonata in my estimation. But there are many other renditions worth hearing.

Ms. Fischer was a perfectionist and did not like studio recording. The information on the disc insert says that she did not play any of the sonatas at a single sitting. She would play portions over and over until she had the effect she wanted, and then the recording engineers would electronically splice the parts together. It took her 15 years to finalize the entire sonatas. The engineering is perfect and you would never suspect the splicing of her sessions.

I was put off when I heard how Ms. Fischer had spliced these sonata sections together. Also by the fact that she did not want them released. I'm glad these concerns did not hold me back from purchasing the set. The greatest praise I can give them is that often I hear notes and experience emotions that are new to me. In each sonata there is a fresh sound to keep me inspired by the master composer.

I will weigh in on the side of Annie Fischer in the Beethoven sonata controversy. Well, perhaps I should say that I find these performances compelling because I understand Fischer did not want them released. These recordings have given me a great deal of pleasure. Fischer brings her special power of intensity, committment, and command to these greatest of all piano sonatas.

While from the liner notes there is something of a mystery of how these sonatas were recorded and edited, there is nothing but pure pleasure in the listening experience, at least in my humble opinion. While these studio recordings perhaps don't have the electricity of some of her live recordings, I am just grateful to be able to hear this great artist's thoughts on the Beethoven ouvre.

A word on the sound. I like it---very clear, perhaps a little light on the bass, but very suitable for these works and yielding great aural clarity. It helps to keep the volume down a little so the fortissimos don't become overbearing to the ear.

I too wish these performances were available at a more reasonable price (about $100 from caiman), but to me they are one of the best complete sets I have heard, and they will give me many years of enjoyment.

Annie Fischer captures Beethoven throughout the trajectory of his immensely startling transformation of the meaning and magic of the form of the piano sonata. Many reject her for her sound, her certain personal perspectives. Having heard her in live recital many times, I can account for the great difference in a live performance and recorded.

But what must not be overlooked is her immense scholarship coupled with an intuition that cannot be learned but is purely from the heart. I have all the best scores of Beethoven (TOvey obviously the best) and often Fischer strays from certain markings. But never does she stray from the overall meaning of the work.

It is an approach, a style of playing inherited from her traing. My under-graduate studies were with her colleague, Edward Kilenyi. I can attest that no printed addition, however scholary brings music to life like the sound to if.

Annie Fischer, to me, with my training, is the very sound of Beethoven: it is not always pleasing, but that was the least thing on Beethoven's mind. The best way to understand, fully, Fischer's playing, is to read the great Wilfred Meller's Book BEETHOVEN AND THE VOICE OF GOD.

I can accept many disputes for certain lapses in her approach, but there is one I have heard who makes my hair stand on end as does Fischer, and then console me with the vivid meaning of experiencing the birth of a universe as she does in the last movement of OP 110 and 111, to mention only two.

More importantly, her strict and great dedication to giving the early works the serious considersation they deserve is beyond anyone, except Schnable.
Excuse typos and misspelling,it is late and I my hands are temporarily disabiliated.

While so many others praise Goode, and I appreciate him, there is a lack of the immense drive and passion that Fischer brings like no other. And without that, where is the Beethoven?

I hope to have some responses, as I most appreciate engaging with others who have other ideas different from my own. I must also add I have just recieved Uchida's late sonatas and am enraptured as always by he rplaying, but must have more time to consider her work.

But all told, Annie Fischer captures the raw, tender, real Beethoven like no one else I've heard. But then, it is the heart that counts, and maybe we must have a certain connection in the heart.

Again, I appricated responses from anyone, as I am deeply pasionate about Beethoven. May I also reccomend the DVD "Beethoven: Eroica" with john Eliot Gardner conducnting and the BBC telling the story of the first perofrmance of this universally transforming work. I think there is a kinship between his interpretation and Fischer's work in general.

Timothy WilsonBeethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas

In "Beethoven," by JWN Sullivan ("the son of a poor Irish sailor"), written in 1927 and never out of print since, the author describes the last movement of the Hammerklavier sonata as "the expression of the final refusal of annihilation, even if no hope and object be left in life." If this sort of thing sounds like nonsense to you, then you don't need Annie Fischer's performances of the Beethoven sonatas. If Sullivan's words speak to you, and you can already hear it in the performances of the sonatas you know, then again you needn't purchase Fischer's set. If, however, Sullivan's words ring true yet you have never found a performance that adequately embodies the truth that you long to hear, then Fischer's performances are for you.

That is perhaps the simplest way I can explain why I love these CDs. No other set I know (save, perhaps, Schnabel's) satisfied me, whatever fine qualities it might possess. I am thinking of Kempff, Goode, Roberts, Frank, Kuerti, Brendel, Kovacevich, Arrau, Perl, and Gulda, all of whose sets I have owned and listened to for years and then either given away or sold, because I could not hear in them the full range of states I know are expressed in the Beethoven sonatas. Besides Fischer, Schnabel alone has the spiritual depth and intellectual power to bring forth all the meaning of those phases of existence, yet the sound is distracting and there are a few occasions where he seems to put showmanship before communication. To make it even simpler, I will say that if, like me, you find Furtwangler's interpretation of the Beethoven symphonies (particularly those recorded during the war) revelatory in a way that no other performance has yet matched, then Fischer is to the sonatas what Furtwangler is to the symphonies. (If you don't know Furtwangler's recordings, more's the pity. They are available from Music & Arts.)

A more complicated way to explain would be to discuss the differences in cultural life (and therefore all life) wrought by what Walter Benjamin called "the age of mechanical reproduction," when recordings and reprints have flooded the world with what Lyotard calls "simulacra" of reality, so that we feel as though we have had an experience, though there are no emotional or intellectual traces of it left afterward. Fischer somehow avoided being caught up in "the concert industry," so her performances were genuine communal experiences between the composer, the performer, and the audience (not the empty gestures of practiced automata, like our prolific technical miracles). What's more amazing is that through what must have been an incredibly painstaking process of "patching in" (much like what Glenn Gould explains he did in his great Bach recordings), over several years and contrary to her own predilection Fischer managed to recreate that experience in the isolation of the recording studio so that we who never heard her in performance can nevertheless participate in it.

I was briefly tempted to try to justify some of my claims about Fischer's set by analysis, but even if I were adequate to the task it's absurd in this forum, so I will just baldly make the claims, and you may accept or reject them as you wish. First, Fischer understands and conveys the meaning of virtually every phrase, every contrapuntal line, every harmonic development, every dynamic contrast in a way that is nothing short of revelatory. Second, she plays with something like the range of touches, colors, expressions that were attributed by listeners to Beethoven's own playing, so that she has the heartbreaking delicacy of the adagio in op. 110 and the heaven-storming thunder of the allegro in op. 57, as well as everything in between. Third, the sound is finally adequate to the vision, amazingly "present" and beautiful, never diffuse or hazy, but really in the same room. Fourth, the packaging is beautiful, each CD in a paper sleeve accompanied by a fine booklet in English, French, German, and Hungarian, all contained in a super-slim high quality box. I am deeply grateful to Hungaraton (apparently now a subsidiary of Sony) for making this set available.

Of course, the price is very high, though I was able to find it new at Video Warehouse and at Best Prices for just over $100. If, like me, you love this music, you will likely feel that it is well worth it.

This is not a review of CDs. But, I thought the followings will be helpful for this CD set owners.

Some of previous reviewers commented on the sound quality of Annie Fischer's Beethoven Sonatas CDs. They read: <the horrendous tone of the Bosendorfer. It sounds like he's (sic) playing the upright piano in the church basement. Yes, it's that metallic a sound. Horrid. Could not listen to it repeatedly. > < Fischer decided to use a Bosendorfer, which, though one of the world's finest pianos, has an enervated and slightly wooden timbre that needs a soft, if not comparatively dry, acoustic to elicit its true qualities. > < the splicing is audible, especially since the spliced segments are frequently accompanied by different levels of tape hiss. > < the piano she plays on sounds somewhat harsh at times. > < the overly aggressive sound given to Annie Fischer's piano >

I noticed excessive high frequency sounds on the Amazon sound samples of these CDs. Since I love Annie Fischer's piano play, I worked on fixing the problems after this box set was delivered to me. I guessed `Dolby A' noise reduction was encoded on the original tape recordings. A possibility was Hungaroton engineer did not Dolby decode during the process of digital mastering. I thought this mistake could happen considering the fact that the final editing was made in 1995, the time when analog recordings already disappeared. So, I listened the CD by applying 10 dB suppression above 3 kHz, a cross-over frequency of Dolby A. This made quite nice sound. I then tested `Dolby A' decoding. Unnatural artifacts, however, appeared at the compressed-uncompressed signal level transition. After modifications of some parameters, `Dolby A' decoding gave me quite satisfying sound. Very Bosendorfer characteristics, which comes from extended range of three steel strings design instead of employing two copper-wound strings, and beautiful high notes were reproduced. Tape hiss was suppressed.

No CD player has Dolby noise reduction decoder. However, application of equalization with parameters; 10 dB down above 3 kHz with 12 dB/octave ( Q = 1 ) transition gives nice results. Computer CD player software, such as Real Player, has equalizer.

It is nice if Hungaroton reworks the mastering. I do not think they will. So, I fed the WAV files converted from CDs into a digital audio workstation ( Protools in my case ) and made Dolby A decoded files. CDs are then burned. The results are quite satisfying.

My tests were carried-out with the use of Bosendorfer Imperial piano ( for sound comparison ) and B&W 800D speakers in a sound treated 1000 sq. feet size room. Dolby noise reduction decoders were synthesized with the use of equalizer and expander plug-ins on Protools.

The playing on this collection is frequently exquisite, heavenly, and sublime. Unfortunately, as others have noted in their reviews, the recording technology, both at the time of recording the pieces and at the time of transferring them to CD format, is extremely lacking. The Bosendorder she used for these recordings presents a sound that is clangy, harsh, tinny, and even occasionally out of tune. Those sound defects seriously detract from the listening experience, and prevent me from giving the performances the 4 stars out of 5 that I feel they deserve.

As a note to potential purchasers, this set is available to be downloaded from iTunes at 256 kpbs for a price of $89.99. At least one of the tracks cuts off completely 28 seconds before the end of the movement, and 5 other tracks downloaded with encoding errors or miscellaneous electrical interference. iTune's "support" response was, in part, as follows: "...I can't say when or if the issue will be resolved. Please try again in a few weeks."

So, if you buy a COMPLETE set of sonatas from iTunes, your set won't be complete---well, it will be complete, but defective---and iTunes doesn't seem to be too concerned about correcting the issue on a timely basis. Buyer beware.

I found Annie Fischer's recordings of the Beethoven sonatas in the process of looking for readings of a sonata I am studying myself. I was so impressed that I took the opportunity to hear the entire cycle. It became a project, as a worked to hear the cycle as my own celebration of Beethoven's birthday on December 16. I have heard many versions of the sonatas, but this was my first experience with Fisher. I was taken by the drive, energy, inwardness, and forward propulsion in her interpretations of Beethoven. These CDs are difficult to find, but the recordings are readily available elsewhere.

Fischer (1914 -- 1995) was a reclusive Hungarian pianist who had an outstanding career both before and after WW II. She travelled only rarely to the United States. She recorded the Beethoven sonatas in the mid-1970's but they were released only after her death. It is important to understand how these recordings were made. Fischer was a perfectionist who recorded the sonatas in small sections and then spliced the sections together to get the version of the sonata she wanted. She was apparently not entirely happy with her efforts. The result of the process is a strong, highly thought out performance of the sonata cycle. There is a lack of spontananaiety in this approach; and, of course, the sonatas would never be performed in this manner in recital. But much is to be admired in the process in Fischer's dedication to and continued reworking of the music and in her unceasing attempts to get the music as she wanted it. It is inspiring to any serious pianist and reminded me of the many hours of practice required to get an acceptable amateur reading of even one sonata.

Fischer plays at a generally fast tempo and with extraordinary intensity. I compared her readings with those of Kempff, whose Beethoven cycle I have lived with for many years. Both performers bring a metaphysical, highly serious approach to Beethoven. While Kempff is subdued and frequently classically restrained in tempo and volume, Fischer's Beethoven is of the heaven-storming, striving variety. Her performances are rhythmic, idiosyncratic, and pull the listener into the passion of the music.

Her readings have individuality. After hearing her recordings of a number of sonatas, I was able to pick up her style and interpretation through the set. I first heard a recording of five sonatas composed at different times in Beethoven's life and then proceeded through the cycle by generally following the opus numbers. Her readings capture a great deal of the continuity of Beethoven's style and musical personality through changes. I loved Fischer's reading of the massive Hammerklavier sonata, opus 106, and her passionate and virtuosic performance of the "Appasionata", opus. 57. Other wonderful performances included the "Les Adieux" sonata, opus 81a, and a number of the earlier sonatas, including opus 28 and opus 31, nos. 2 and 3. And I was led to explore Fischer by her driven reading of the Beethoven sonata I have been studying, the sonata in B-Flat opus 22.

Fischer recorded the sonatas on a Bosendorfer grand. The sound tends to be jangling but effective. At Fischer's level of performance, possible shortcomings of recorded sound made little difference.

The Beethoven sonatas are inexhaustible from the standpoint of both performing and listening. There have many complete sonata cycles recorded over the years and there is room for substantial divergence of opinion. Many critics regard Fisher's cycle highly. A review of 20 different cycles, published on "Classical Net" concluded: "these 32 extraordinary compositions range from strict classicism through passionate romanticism to the most austure expressions of the composer's thought, from quite simple pieces to those demanding the utmost in virtuosity, and nobody can be equally effective in all of them. But some come closer than others, and Annie Fischer comes closest of all."

I enjoyed reading the comments of my fellow Amazon reviewers on Fischer's Beethoven cycle. Fischer was able to deepen my understanding even after the near lifetime I have spent loving his piano sonatas.

Robin Friedman

It's never a pleasant or welcome task to slay sacred cows, as it were, particularly one as revered as Annie Fischer. She was one of the keyboard giants of the last century, favorably compared to the likes of Backhaus, Schnabel, Rubinstein, and others who, at their best, combined a rare virtuosity with irresistible artistry. Like Curzon, Fischer was always uncomfortable in the studio and never quite reconciled her musicianship with the unique constraints of a recorded medium. As a result, though her live performances were legendary and quickly gained widespread accolades, her recorded output was beset by technical and interpretive problems that often rendered her work in the studio relatively stale and uninspiring. That is exactly the problem with this admittedly formidable cycle of Beethoven sonata recordings.

On the whole, the performances on these discs are a far cry from what Fischer was capable of producing on the concert stage. First of all, despite the fact that the engineers did an admirable job of splicing together the numerous short takes that constitute these recordings, the individual sonatas are marked by inconsistencies of style, tempo, and interpretation that are unacceptable by today's standards. If you sample the final movements of Op. 27/2 (Moonlight) or the A-flat sonata, Op. 110, you will notice these inconsistencies most conspicuously. The fist movements of Op. 57 and Op. 28 also provide apt examples. As far as movement-to-movement interpretive integrity is concerned, the recording method greatly undermines any sense of architectural wholeness that is so important to the compositions.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of these performances is the pianism itself. Fischer was a child prodigy who possessed a remarkable keyboard technique throughout her career, but, unfortunately, that is not evident here. The many slips of finger and the overall sloppy execution in passage-work are highly uncharacteristic, and one can only conclude that Fischer's discomfort in the studio compromised her execution. Listen to the uneven trills at the end of Op. 109 or Op. 111, if you are curious. Furthermore, the piano sustains quite a beating throughout this project, and the constant staccato-like pounding during the more animated sections of these works exhausts one's patience and tolerance. Yes, the pianism can be quite awesome at times, as is the case throughout most of Op. 57, but the true moments of greatness are few and far between. In addition, Fischer employs far too much sustaining pedal in most of these sonatas, so, coupled with the rather murky and resonant recording quality, the performances frequently become a soupy mixture of Debussian sounds.

Part of the dilemma here lies in the choice of instrument. Fischer decided to use a Bosendorfer, which, though one of the world's finest pianos, has an enervated and slightly wooden timbre that needs a soft, if not comparatively dry, acoustic to elicit its true qualities. Andras Schiff has used a Bosendorfer in many of his recordings, and the results have been splendid--as his cycle of Mozart piano concerti with Vegh as conductor ably demonstrates. To compound matters, Fischer's Bosendorfer is not tuned properly for many of these performances, which particularly undermines the effectiveness of Beethoven's lovely bass parts and the resolution of melodic tension that, at many times, depends on the interplay of half-tones.

Finally, the recording quality is mediocre to poor, and the sound image is beset by problems that belie any advantages of technology that may have accrued by the late 1970s, which is when most of these sonatas were taped. What's more, with a decent set of headphones, the splicing is audible, especially since the spliced segments are frequently accompanied by different levels of tape hiss.

All in all, this set has value for pianophiles, musicologists, or devout Annie Fischer fans, but even its historical significance cannot justify the almost 200-dollar price tag. I would recommend purchasing one or two of the more credible discs, such as the one containing Opp. 57, 31/2, and 28, but, for a complete set, look elsewhere. Schnabel is still the top historical choice, and Kempff's two cycles are also indispensable for any collector. In terms of digital choices, Goode, Lewis, Kovacevich, and Brendel all offer superlative playing and inexhaustible insights. Annie Fischer's cycle of the Beethoven sonatas is a somewhat flawed reminder of a keyboard master who, at her best, could create magic at a piano. It must be said, however, that not much magic is on display in these recordings.