Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas

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Beethoven's Piano Sonatas are one category in classical music brimming with an abundance of quality choices - both historic and modern - and begs the obvious question, "Which set to chose?" One can spend hours and hours comparing performers and recordings work-by-work and still not really have a solid feel for which one is "the best" - at least for you. And in doing so, the focus can become overly weighted on the finding the elusive ideal recording that one can miss the importance of just sitting down with one of the many great recordings available and revelling in the depths of Beethoven's piano music.

So, if you are looking for your FIRST complete set of the 32 masterpieces, consider the complete cycles from Bernard Roberts (Nimbus) or Claude Frank here - both of which are offered at a "super budget" price below $60 brand new ($20-30 "used"). Other sets will cost $100 and up typically. Both performers give compelling, musically rich and interpretatively balanced readings. As so, such readings form a solid reference point to understand and appreciate the other historic performer's interpretive artistry (as most connoisseurs have several sets eventually). Claude Frank orginally recorded this cycle in the 60's to great fanfare. The analog tapes were remastered in 1990 and this set of 10 CD's re-released in 2002 on the "Music & Arts" label. Of course, if you are a fan of the great pianists who have recorded these works (Arrau, Brendel, Backhaus, Kovecevich, Annie Fischer, Schnabel, Goode, Gilels, Perl, Kempff, O'Conor etc) by all means get those if you like them and can afford them (although not all are complete cycles). At some point of one's Beethoven journey, it becomes enlightening to listen to such historic greats, but early on it is probably more important just to hear Beethoven-for-Beethoven and focus less on the performer.

But don't let the price or lack of popularity make you think they are sub-standard performances either. Roberts is well known and much admired in his native England while German-born Claude Frank's Beethoven's recordings were, according to music writer and pianist David Dubal, "highly prized." Both get good reviews (both on Amazon and music press) and both represent Beethoven faithfully and with much artistry. ClassicsToday gave this set an most-impressive 10/10 for Artisty/Performance and a 8/10 for Sound Quality.

The sound quality is good for its 60's heritage (bright, clear with little background hiss), but somewhat lacks the "breathing space," depth of tone and greater "warmth" of the latest DDD recordings. The overall ambiance has more "up-front" presence/miking than a spacious, resonant environment (such as Robert's set on Nimbus). To me Frank's piano sound is more fitting for Mozart's more delicate piano aonatas - sharp, crisp attack with a quick decay - but lacks the "weight" and power of tone for conveying the gravity of Beethoven's weightier masterpieces. But, on the good side, such sound allows one to really hear and ponder Frank's crystalline articulations (no over-pedaling or overly resonant spaces here). Also, the sound is better than some of the pre-1970's historic cycles. But definitely not audiophile quality to marvel over.

As for Claude Frank's playing here: it is crisp, lyrically rich and of a high caliber. Overall, his style can be described as more "poetic" and "civilized," lacking diverting idiosyncracies. He especially shines in the early works with a touch that is fresh and vibrant - especially in the "Mozart-like" Sonatas No. 19 and 20. His sharp, articulated style clarifies the virtusotic knots found in the more hyper-kinetic sonatas like the "Waldstein." In the monumental compositions like the "Appassionata," or "Hammerklavier," Frank's expressivity is bold and dynamic yet retains clarity and control without going over the edge. In none of these does he doddle or overly ponder but keeps an energizing, brisk pace. His readings of the "name sonatas" are straight-up, clear and satisfying. In the famous dazzling presto of #14 "Moonlight," Frank displays some pristine pianism with effortlessly runnning demisemiquavers - reminding me a bit of the liquid precision and clarity of Maurizio Pollini.

So, overall, Mr. Frank finds a nice balance between the Beethoven who pounded away at the sub-standard keyboards of his day and the other, surprizingly gentle Beethoven who played equisite adagios with great tenderness and poinancy. All considered, Frank finds a nice middle-ground here in this repertoire with a most respectable, very satisfying complete cycle. One other aspect that some might find appealing is his organizing each of the 10 CD's into a non-chronological "mini-recital" of contrasting periods and stylistic elements. This worked for me. The 4 pages of notes by Michael Steinberg offer an interesting overview of the 32, but are not "program notes" to follow each work. Rating: Compositions - 5 stars; Performance - 4.5 stars; Sound quality - 4 stars; Value - 5 stars.

From American Record Guide: "Frank's approach to this literature echoes certain characteristics of his teacher, Artur Schnabel - spontaneity, vigor, irascibility - though I much prefer Frank's pianism, with its urbanity and higher polish. Generally his style is straightforward and common-sense, yet full of drama, has a wide dynamic range, is technically faultless, and tonally refreshing. Frank has an endearing ability to communicate the essence of a phrase or segment, or th make the structure of an entire movement lucid to the listener in a revealing, often unexpected way. These things make his Beethoven Sonatas a joy to hear; they are performances that will not pall and will tend to expose something new on each rehearing."

Also on this same label is another wonderful Beethoven cycle by Claude Franks along with his daughter, Pamela Frank - The Violin Sonatas.

Claude Frank recorded these sonatas in, if memory serves, the late 1960s and when they first came out they were greeted with much praise. Not only that, they were mid-priced even back then. They were the first complete Beethoven sonatas recorded by an American. Now they appear on CD and are budget-priced. Frank, who studied with Artur Schnabel (as well as being father of violinist Pamela Frank and husband of the late pianist Lilian Kallir) is one whose technique does not call attention to itself. What one hears in this set are closely studied performances that do not try to grab one's attention by odd dynamics, tempi or phrasing. They are, in fact, rather close in approach to that of Schnabel, but without the ancient sound and missed notes. His approach is rather gentler than some; he seems attuned to Beethoven's lyricism more than some. When the music calls for dramatic outbursts as in, say, the finale of the 'Appassionata,' he remains a bit too moderate for my taste. Still, there is something to say for a player whose playing doesn't shout.

At this price this set is a real bargain, both financially and musically. I certainly wouldn't want it to be my only Beethoven sonata set, but I'm glad I have it. I suspect that a music lover coming to these sonatas for the first time, but with limited funds, this would be a good investment.

8 CDs=10hrs, 23 mins.

Scott Morrison

I purchased Claude Frank's Beethoven sonatas three decades ago on RCA Victrola LPs. Unforunately, RCA's discs of that era were abominably badly manufactured. The company made a big deal about how you could bend their discs into pretzels and they'd still snap back into their original shape. The problem was that their original shape wasn't anywhere near flat. In addition, the surfaces were noisy and the production was sloppy, with stitched grooves, pre-echo, overload, etc. So I returned the set to the store as defective, and RCA deservedly had to eat it.

Now, luckily, we have these fine performances on CD. Frank is thoroughly in the Schnabel tradition: deep respect for the music, but not fear of it; obvious delight in exuberant music-making; and willingness to produce pianistic effects unintended by the composer and possibly even foreign to his conception of music.

That said, the Frank set is indispensable. There are several valid traditions of Beethoven performance, and Frank's is the best of its kind. Yes, better than Schnabel's great but uneven set (Schnabel's Appassionata is weak, his Opus 111 transcendental). Frank's art is more uniformly high, he consistently hits the right notes, and the recorded sound is wonderful (far better than the old LPs, which might have been equalized without modern high fidelity systems in mind).

Schnabel's set is of course historically important and certainly worth purchasing. Those seeking that collection should be very careful, however, as several incarnations exist with great variation in sound and production quality.

I don't believe one can own too many complete sets of the "New Testament of piano music." I own and treasure the 32 by Schnabel, Kempff, O'Conor, Brendel, Backhaus, Arrau, even Badura-Skoda (there are insights to be gained from hearing the sonatas on Beethoven's piano). And certainly Pollini, Moravec, Solomon, Bishop-Kovacevich, and many others have contributed mightily in the individual sonatas. (Is Pollini's set complete yet?)

The music is timeless and greater than anyone can play it. No matter how many records you have, you'll be glad you got Frank's (and it won't set you back much, either).

This is a marvelous set of the piano sonatas. I learned about the set from Professor Greenberg's lecture series on the Beethoven piano sonatas (also worth getting from The Teaching Company). Greenberg uses this set to illustrate his lectures.

Yes, it's true that one can find flashier performances of a few of the pieces elsewhere (I've heard the Waldstein much more fiery), but these performances fit together nicely as a deep reading of the whole set. They are invariably beautiful and thoughtful. A few are, to me, mind-blowing (the Les Adieu, the Pathetique, second movement of the Opus 111, several of the scherzi).

Also, the sound on the CD is terrific. Hightly recommended.

When American Record Guide did an overview of Beethoven piano sonata recordings, it singled out two complete sets: Wilhelm Kempff and Claude Frank. For my taste, Frank's is the set to have. He's the rare artist who seems equally attuned to all Beethoven's moods, whether it's the impetuous fireworks of the "Appassionata" or the genial "Adagio grazioso" from Op. 31, No. 1.

It's sometimes whispered among pianists that Frank is a tad sloppy, but don't let that put you off this stellar recording. Here, Frank is every bit as finger perfect as more celebrated names, and he adds a flair and obvious love for the music that shines throughout the entire set.

The sound is good late 1960's vintage, and the price is low. You'll find no better bargain.

I agree with the positive comments of all the reviewers below. A couple of points that that might interest prospective purchasers:
1. Most of the repeats, but not all, are observed.
2. Although I agree that the level of playing and interpretation is VERY high, I found Frank's mannerism of anticipating the right hand with the left occurred often enough to be annoying.
That said, this set will give a great deal of pleasure, but I agree that I wouldn't want it to be the only one in my collection.

One man's viewpoint:
I have three other sets of the 32, and love them all. I must say that Frank can really cut it - great agility, a bit of rubato, and a sense of true comprehension and mastery of the music. His Hammerklavier surprised me: It's one of the most thoughtfull I own.
*** Frank can--in some pieces--transport us in ways we hadn't expected. When I bought this, I paid an amazing low price. Now, to my ears, it's worth triple that amount. Get this set and the O'Conor set. Fall in love twice.

The playing and sound is superb and the price is right. I have one big complaint, though. My set came with no liner notes whatsover, not even a listing of the pieces and which of the ten CDs they are on. This information is found only printed on the CDs themselves, which means you have to rummage through them to find a particular sonata. And even then the track listings are not given, so unless you have memorized how many movements each sonata has you are out of luck on finding where a particular one begins. Quite an oversight - I would gladly have paid a few dollars more if they had included a brochure with complete track information.

This was the first set of complete Beethoven sonatas that I listened to in my teens. The Victrola pressings were terrible as stated elsewhere. I have heard Claude Frank in both solo piano recitals and chamber music and have always found his Beethoven wonderful. I think that this set is a great buy at the price. Do not hesitate to buy it as your first set. I also have complete sets of Kempff (stereo), Goode, and Ashkenazy on LPs. I also have individual recordings by Rudolph Serkin, Richter, Perahia, Pollini, and Solomon. They are all worth listening to. There are many great artists. This set is a perfect place to start. The Kempff budget box is a nice second set. Very different style.

I purchased this particular set to go with the Teaching Company course on the complete Beethoven sonatas. I have enjoyed the recordings very much because of the wonderful technique of the performer and the familiarity that comes from having heard the same recordings discussed in the course. The set includes 10 disks. The sonatas are not in any particular order and are typically 3 to a disk. (Each disk is approximately one hour long.) Track numbers are not on the disks themselves, but are in the booklet that comes with the set.