Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I first bought Schnabel's complete Beethoven Sonatas in a big Angel LP box set back in 1963 - paying for it with the proceeds from many a high school lawn mowing allowance. Later on I got the mono Kempff set from the 1950's on DG - which I still have. Then came the Phillips set by Arrau - these three sets gave me many hours of fascinating comparisons, with the Schnabel my over-all favorite.

When I decided to get the Schnabel set on CD, I first did a few comparisons. I was frankly appalled when I heard this EMI set - it is distinctly inferior even to my Angel LP's (which in turn I suspect were inferior to the earlier RCA LPs). Then I had an opportunity to hear the Pearl set. In the main I found the Pearls to be "plain Jane," unfiltered transfers from pretty noisy 78's. Then I chanced to come across the 14-disc Dante set, which also includes all the miscellaneous Beethoven piano music recorded by Schnabel (bagatelles, variations, etc.) PLUS the 5 concertoes with Malcolm Sargent AND the later Emperor with Galliera. I was lucky: the 14-disc set was selling as a discontinued remainder item for just $28. The sound is superb - vastly superior to anything else I have heard.

Schnabel's interpretations are inspired, even when his fingers are hitting a few wrong notes (most notably in the Hammerklavier Sonata - and even there, his Adagio is simply unequalled in my experience). I also treasure a CD box set of the complete sonatas recorded in the 1950's for EMI by French pianist Yves Nat, some of whose performances I even prefer to Schnabel's. These two box sets are the cornerstone of my Beethoven piano collection - they are supplemented by many individual sonatas from the likes of Richter, Levy, Renard, Hungerford, and Gieseking.

My advice: Schnabel's Beethoven Sonata recordings belong in any serious piano collection. However, I would definitely avoid this EMI set and explore the alternatives. My choice is the Dante set.

I had this set and was completely satisfied with it for the longest time, until I wanted more Schanbel playing Beethoven. I did some research on the net and found a set on ebay that not only contained the complete Sonatas but had all the Concertos, Variations and Bagatells that Schnabel did! Let me tell you again. THE COMPLETE SOLO PIANO AND CONCERTO RECORDINGS OF BEETHOVEN BY SCHNABEL!!! This was too good to be true, so I went out on a limb and ordered it. When I got it, I was holding gold my friend! 14 CD's in a slim case boxed set! Okay, so I'm happy eh, but now for the transfer test...I compared the EMI tranfers to the transfers this French label called DANTE did. Absolutely unbelievable! I'm listening to the Dante versions and I hear clarity, volume and depth, and hardly any hiss! I put on the EMI versions and I hear large hiss, muffled clarity and hardly any piano depth from the recordings. I was astounded! I immediatly sold the EMI. Now, I also noticed that in the EMI, they don't always give each movement its own track, they sometimes link 2 movements together in 1 track (weird). But in the Dante they give each movement its own track and present the sonatas in complete chronological order, whereas in the EMI the order of the sonatas are mixed up a bit (which doesnt matter anyway). But I'm just letting you know. The Pearl transfers are better than EMI, and the Naxos are not bad too, except for the full hiss. but these are all available as singles pretty much right now. If you invested in all of these, you'd wind up with no more room in your collection!

If you want "the" Schnabel set, spend the time to look for the DANTE 14 CD slim box set, remember I found it on ebay. I paid full price though, but it's been the best purchase I ever made in my life! (I would still recommend the EMI set to anybody, just because it's Schnabel playing Beethoven).

GOOD LUCK and ENJOY!

First off, the EMI release of these recordings has very dull, lifeless, muffled sound when compared with the 5 volume reissue on Pearl Records, under the title "Schnabel Plays Beethoven". The engineers on the Pearl series give you all the sound that was captured on the records, while the EMI engineers amputate the color of the piano along with the surface noise. In regards to the music contained herein, Schnabel's performances are simply magical. I like to lie down and close my eyes while listening to them, and Schnabel evokes a myriad of images and un-nameable essences that dance through my subconscious. I have to be careful when I sometimes want to hear just a sample of a piece, because Schnabel draws me in and I end up stopping whatever I was doing, and listen to the whole piece. My one irritation with Schnabel is that he habitually rushes his runs, and I am a fanatic about rhythm. But Schnabel playing Beethoven shows why, among all the composers who have ever lived, it is Beethoven who reaches deepest into inner reaches of the imagination.

Though several fine pianists (and Daniel Barenboim) have all taken a stab at the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven, among them Wilhelm Kempff, Alfred Brendel, Claude Frank and Russell Sherman--all of whom had wonderful moments in their sets--the only two pianists who have truly captured the Beethovian magic throughout their cycles were Artur Schnabel and John O'Conor, for completely opposite reasons.

Schnabel was probably the only pianist of his era who played the piano in a manner reminiscent of Glenn Gould. He preferred an instrument with a lean tone, used the sustain pedal very rarely, and worked very hard to bring out inner voices, counterpoint, fugues and canons. He played all of the fast movements at Beethoven's written tempi, even when his flawed technique was not up to the task (the worst example being the first movement of the "Hammerklavier"), and all of the slow movements slower than written. In many of these he was able to bring out a "spiritual" quality that went straight to the heart of those Beethoven-lovers who saw his music in this vein. Yet in relistening to his complete set, modern ears hear more problems in the later sonatas (22-32) than our forebears probably heard: inaccurate playing of syncopated rhythms, for example in Sonata No. 29, and sometimes clumsy handling of some of those slow movements (i.e., the first movement of Sonata No. 12). In many other sonatas, however-including the Op. 49 pair, which were, after all, very early sonatas simply published in the middle of the series-his approach was nonpareil and still remains an object-lesson for aspiring Beethoven pianists.

O'Conor, by contrast, uses a rich-toned Steinway, is a master technician and a master of pedal effects. His Beethoven does not always follow the written dynamic contrasts, especially in most of the early sonatas (1-11), because, as he told me, "the fortepianos of Beethoven's time were incapable of them." Historically accurate, but not necessarily the composer's intentions. We know that he was delighted when more powerful pianos appeared, shortly before he lost his hearing for good (around 1805), and that he stated to friends that he thought of all his sonatas being played on that kind of instrument.

Yet, paradoxically, O'Conor's more legato phrasing and singing tone often brings out the very best in Beethoven, particularly in sonatas 22-32 but also in numbers 12, 14 ("Moonlight") and 16, where he scores many points in continuity over Schnabel. Moreover, he, too, brings out many of the inner voices whenever contrapuntal effects are called for, and combined with his sterling technique and "binding" of phrases, this can create a mesmerizing effect. I therefore feel that the best of both pianist's sets can combine to make a very satisfying set of the 32 sonatas.

Your choice between them will, of course, be a matter of personal taste, but I can assure you that EMI's remastering of the Schnabel recordings is nothing less than miraculous. Only rarely does one hear even the merest swish of the old 78-rpm records. They are noiseless, bringing out the very finest nuance of Schnabel's playing. And the O'Conor set is, of course, digital, though I find that boosting the treble is sometimes necessary as Telarc has always tended to prefer somewhat dull sound.

I feel the last reviewer was overly negative about this set, despite making some legitimate points. First let me say that I do not recommend the present set as a first choice for the complete sonatas, much less as a first choice for a cd purchase of some the sonatas. I recommend either complete version by Kempff over the present one. For an introduction to the sonatas, my main recommendation are the recordings by Solomon. Solomon recorded 18 of the 32 sonatas, including the popular named sonatas and the last sonatas, and these recordings are my prime recommendation.

Having made these recommendations, I point out that for a pianophile, one should have as many recordings of the Beethoven sonatas by as many pianists as possible. Afterall, these are some of the very deepest and most beautiful creations in the piano literature. I recommend having recordings by Solomon, Kempff, Richter, Brendel, Kovacevich, and Schnabel.

The talent of Schnabel lies in his interpretation of the music, his intellectual, musical, and spiritual understanding of the music. Schnabel was never considered a great piano virtuoso and technician in his own day, but rather a musician. Sometimes his technical flaws do distract from the music. Schnabel's genius lies in his ability to capture the essence of the character of the music. I don't agree with the last reviewer's remarks that we've surpassed Schnabel in the years since these recordings. I doubt many pianists nowadays have a better understanding of the music of Beethoven's sonatas than Schabel, or could even approach his understanding. Certainly many people could execute the notes more perfectly, but the same was true in Schnabel's own day. He was never considered a great technician.

I wasn't bothered much by the sound quality of the recording, contrary to some other reviewers. I think recordings of Schnabel belong in any library of Beethoven sonatas, though it really depends on what you can afford and how far you have progressed in your purchases. If you haven't a lot of other recordings already, you might be somewhat disappointed if you make this purchase. But if you've already explored Solomon, Kempff, and Richter, I recommend trying out Schnabel.

This review is going to burst some balloons and slaughter some sacred cows, but so be it. It's interesting that Schnabel was hesitant to put down his accounts of the sonatas for posterity because he feared his recordings would become the subject of hero worship--and that's exactly what's happened. These are not the "best" recordings of the sonatas out there (as if there could be), no matter what the hype says. They are groundbreaking, they are sometimes very fine, occasionally even on a plane all their own (the Arietta of Op. 111 is the real standout) but they are also botched in parts: Many of the early sonatas are brutishly attacked and nervously raced through. There's no use denying his technique was by this time wobbly, or that he needed to practice more than he did. Some say he performed better when he wasn't under the strain of microphones, and perhaps this is true. Too bad we don't have much that was recorded in concert, where he was supposedly more relaxed. Still, it's hard to excuse the abrupt rushes of his fast passages, or the habit of sometimes dropping whole beats or shifting the accent. While it's true he is often transcendant with Beethoven's slow movements, it's also true that Beethoven did not write only slow movements, and that he wrote his broad and rich piano sonatas for a complete pianist. Schnabel, I'm sorry to say, great as he was (and he was great) was not truly a "complete" pianist. No wonder he excelled best in Schubert, where virtuosity is minimal and expression is maximal.

Incidentally, the talk about these readings being somehow so "authentic" because Schnabel was a student of Czerney, who was a student of Beethoven, is false. He wasn't. He was a student of Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915), who was in turn a student of Czerney. But even so, why is this so important to so many people? Most piano teachers do not play examples of how they want their students to interpret, because they don't want their students to turn out as robots. So there's no reason to believe Schnabel is any "closer" to Beethoven than Murray Perahia is. Claudio Arrau's pedagogical great grandfather was Franz Liszt, yet Arrau does not play Liszt anything like what Liszt himself reportedly played his music. And Arrau never played for his students, nor do any of his students (the most famous being Garrick Ohlson) play like him.

Back to the current release, the sound is muddied--too much noise-clipping--and the Pearl set is recommended over this. If you buy these recordings on either label, get ready for a great Last Five (except the outer movements of the Hammerklavier, where the train derails repeatedly) and a wonderful Waldstein, a mixed-bag Moonlight, some too-driven and charmless early sonatas, a muddled and too-driven Appassionata (particularly in the second movement), and a superb Op. 90. Too bad his 1937 recording of the Diabellis isn't also included with the EMI (it is with the Pearl). That is a wonderful recording overall, if you can forgive the fugue. There are some jewels in the present set. But there are also some clinkers. Whether it's fashionable to say it or not, in sixty years we've come surpass Schnabel, at least in *some* ways. I have a feeling no one would agree more than the great man himself.

Better than this set, though, as many others have observed, is the set put out by French company Dante. You get more music--the concertos (including TWO Emperors), Diabellis, Eroica Vars, and other smaller works that aren't included here, and the sound is better--not as muffled as these discs and not as crackly as the unfiltered Pearls. And the price for that set is the best I've yet seen. If you can't find it, look high and low--it's worth the effort.

"Schnabel is the greatest Beethoven interpreter" or something like that you will be told along the way. "Seminal" and "belonging in every serious collection".

I bought into that - listened to them - was appalled - gave my set away. I reconsidered - listened to them - and finally was ready to grasp what might be great about them.

Schnabel's is _not_ a set for those who are looking for an intro to Beethoven and is not for those who demand perfect playing or good sound. The sound in none of the many transfers of these performances can be called 'good'. They merely vary between 'god-awful' and 'acceptable'. And that, too, differs according to your predilections.

If you want insight into Beethoven performance practice; want to hear Schnabel play these works; are prepared to leave the Maurizio-Pollini-standard-of-technical-perfection far, far behind you and if you don't mind sound that reminds you of war-reels, you ought to hear Schnabel in this.

That being established (or not, as it were), the question comes up as to which transfer of these performances. The first answer can easily be had: NOT the EMI transfers. They are probably the worst(except for some excerpts on a Philips collection of these pieces) I have heard. Neither really clean nor realistic, they will offend most anyone.

If you can't stand surface noise, hiss, hickups and speckle you will be best off with the DANTE transfers. Very little noise but also rather thin... some will argue that the life has been sucked out of them. But on the surface (literally), they are the least offensive.

If you rather have general hiss, noise and whatnot... but can't stand a 'veil' over the playing and want to hear the fullest piano sound (apart from that white noise)... i.e. if you want your brain to filter it out rather than have it be done for you by a computer (which usually means quicker listening-fatigue), you might want to go for PEARL's "natural" transfers.

If you don't want either extreme, go for the well and fairly balanced NAXOS recordings which M.Obert-Thorn put together very well. Best of both worlds - perhaps... but probably still too much noise for the noise-sensitive and maybe not enough realism for those who want to hear as much as they can, even if that means hearing it through the densest, spottiest fire of cracks and plucks and hisses.

If the main objective is to save money, you can give TIM your money... their transfers are on the noisy side, have less volume than Pearl (or even Naxos) - but are better (or at the very least the equal) of the EMI's and much less expensive.

(I have not heard any of the Arkadia or Arabesque transfers.)

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I am supremely pleased with this EMI set. I've owned the Pearl for many years and could no longer put up with the "authentic" sizzle of the 78s burying the piano in a sonic sandstorm. Emboldened by reading the many praises of the Naxos CDs, I bought one to sample and was stunned to still hear half of the Pearl "sizzle" still crackling (as well as a significant loss of low-end in the piano). After hearing the low-res samples of the EMI set at Amazon and hearing a "sizzle" reduction, I took a chance and am now a very happy Schnabel/Beethoven owner. For what it's worth, I don't hear a muffled or "boxy" quality to these remasterings. In fact, the piano sounds as full, robust and true to its acoustic space as could be expected from these ancient discs. The only small quibble I have is that, unlike the Naxos versions, the movements do a quick-fade out at the end.

This is a good set to get if you just want to get the entire Beethoven collection. I would recommend a more modern recording such as the Serkin (more modern than Schnabel at least) recordings and some of the other individuals. Arthur Schnabel was one of the best pianists and he was one of the leading authorities on Beethoven (just because of his close relation in instructor/pupil lineage). His edition of the Sonatas, the scores, are the best things to get.

Walter Hautzig, one of Schnabel's pupils asked Schnabel after a concert refering to a section of one of the sonatas. "You played [it] very well but i have a question. In your recoding you played it staccato and in your performance you used full pedal. Why is that?" I believe it has something in the Op111. The response... "Those recordings... I knew nothing of Beethoven then." And it is true. Walter Hautzig, who commonly gives master classes and performs all over the world agrees that the recording of the Beethoven Sonatas by Schnabel are not the best.

Schnabel often didn't like making recordings and since these are on LP there was a sense of TIME being important so many of the movements are taken at faster speeds, even rushed. Many slow movements are not taken at their proper tempos (if there is such a thing). On top of that the transfer from the LP isn't of the best quality and EMI might be at fault for that.

I would highly recommend the Schnabel Beethoven scores for studying the sonatas as they are, in my mind and in the mind of many others, the best Beethoven sonatas around, just ignore the fingerings. Schnabel had small hands and his fingerings accomodate for that, and technique was never something he stressed in his teachings.

This 1930s interpretation of Beethoven Piano sonatas remains unbeatable.The electronic re-mastering is of very good quality, remembering the age of the recording. It is a must for every CD collector.