Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Complete Sonatas & Variations [Hybrid SACD]

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

 

 

In the interest of continuing my SACD collection, I spend some time on Amazon buying well reviewed discs. These Beethoven Sonatas and Variations perf by Wispelwey and Lazie had no reviews, but since this was the only SACD with this repertoire, I did the blind buy. Boy, I'm glad I did.

First of all the sound!

The engineering on this one is just as good as it gets. This replaces "The Marriage of Figarro" by Jacobs as the most amazing sounding SACD in my collection, which speaks volumes. Incredible dynamics, richness, spaciousness (even though I only have a 2 channel setup - would love to hear multichannel), all audiophile accolades apply. Even the CD Redbook version sounded fantastic through my iPod. The richness and sparkle made the Pod sound strikingly deeper and richer, and just more real than any other material I have.

If you're looking for a reference SACD to amaze friends and family - look no further.

Second the Performance

The was where I had my biggest concern, given artists I wasn't familiar with and no reviews on Amazon. The performance flirts with greatness. Extremely nuanced and expressive yet driven and energetic. I can't recall ever hearing two artists mesh so perfectly together and speak so much with one voice over so much complex fare - this really amazed me. They went from driven and extroverted to hushed and soulful on a dime - and the playing in general had more of the passion and soulfulness I associate with the eras of the 50's and 60's. The technique and recording brilliance however was definitely state of the art.

The only possible negative on the performance (and not for me) is the absolutely sublime phrasing. The usual Beethoven angst isn't on display here, it's more leave you on a clould sublime ala Mozart. Of the various pieces I have other recordings of though, like with Mutter, Kahn etc, there wasn't a tremdous amount of pathos either. Probably just the nature of these more parlour like Sonatas - in which case criticism doesn't apply. And in any case I find these performances so much more compelling than those of Sophie-Ann or Kahn that I also own.

Sorry for gushing on so much, but getting such a shockingly good performance and recording on a blind buy was something I had to sound off about - especially with no other reviews on this yet. Just buy this, from my POV I can't even imagine better.

While the playing is certainly excellent and spirited, there's unfortunately an annoying electric buzz on this recording - caused maybe by a fluorescent light or something else present in the room while it was being recorded. It's quite audible using headphones (and I've checked this on several different pieces of equipment, initially thinking it was my iPod or something had gone wrong when I added my CD to iTunes). Unfortunately, it's there. Buyer beware - you may find that you don't hear it on your stereo, in a room acoustic, but on headphones you'll hear it.

These works have been well served on disc, from the classic Rostropovich/Richter to the recent Schiff/Fellner (both on Philips). This set certainly belongs among the great ones, and it offers sonics of breathtaking naturalness and realism. Pieter Wispelwey and Dejan Lazic work exceptionally well together. Two strong-willed artists, everything that they do serves the music, not least in the three sets of variations, which are chock-full of personality and clear delight in Beethoven's early compositional virtuosity.

Wispelwey really is that good. The pianist is awesome too. Sound as gorgeous as you can imagine. I never thought I would buy another version after having Richter/Rostropovich for years. This is better in every way.

I have owned this SACD for some time now and still return to it when I need to chill out . Sound and performances are top class.

There are many opinions of Wispelwey's playing which seem to fall into two camps: those who love it and those who hate it. Personally, I fall into the former. Regardless of personal taste however, there is absolutely no denying the explosive originality and craftsmanship.

Wispelwey's cellistic and musical personality is incredibly compatible with Beethoven's faceted music. The sudden changes in mood and dynamic are delivered convincingly and with a rich sound which is as diverse as the music he's playing.

No matter your taste, this is a top quality recording.

MP3 version of this work contains only half of the original version (I mean this supposed to come with 2 CDs, but MP3 version contains only CD1). Three famous sonatas are not included. It is very disrespectful to MP3 music customer who cannot afford SACD.