Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathetique & Appassionata Piano Sonatas, Opp. 13, 27:2, 57

Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Rudolf Serkin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Rudolf Serkin
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000025M4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,129 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb both musically and technically, September 3, 1999

By 

C. K. Merrill "CKMerrill" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathetique & Appassionata Piano Sonatas, Opp. 13, 27:2, 57 (Audio CD)

I have listened to this recording in awe since I first heard the original on LP in 1983. I have heard many pianists play these pieces, but I have hear few renditions as sincere, austere, emotionally rich, and technically secure as this one.

Serkin's rendition of the Presto Agitato of the Moonlight Sonata, track 3, is one of the few most superb technical and musical accomplishments I have ever heard. He manages to capture an intermittent lightning storm in sound, and do it better than anyone else I have ever heard. Every time I hear it, it makes me shiver. I have heard Horowitz, Dubravka Tomsic, Marta Argerich, Ashkenazy, Arrau, Brendel, Berezovsky, Stephen Hough, Hamelin, and manyother great pianists. They, too, can achieve this effect, but it is something that is achieved intermittently. It is never insured. Its not something you pull out of a hat. It is true inspiration. True inspiration on track 3. Buy it.

Both the Pathetique and the Appassionata are interpreted with unique style. How often does a pianist these days leave you with a lasting vision of the piece that is different from the vision presented by every other pianist? Not often. Serkin had personality, and it shows. Listen to the way he phrases, pedals, and voices. This recording is wonderful. I highly recommend it for someone who wants to learn something about *true* interpretation, and what you can add beyond what is written on the score.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reviewers who bagged on these recordings are mistaken, June 6, 2003

By 

Christopher Urrutia (Riverside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathetique & Appassionata Piano Sonatas, Opp. 13, 27:2, 57 (Audio CD)

I read the reviews which questioned the quality of these recordings. Quite frankly, I don't think I have ever disagreed more with someones critique of a performance. The review that questions Serkins technique in arrpegios etc., is completely off the wall. In fact the opposite can be said. These renditions are perhaps the most perfect technically of any ever rendered. The punishing difficulty of the 3rd movement of the Moonlight is played with complete "risk". There is no holding back so as to keep from making a mistake. Instead he really goes for it, particularly in the final measures which are so often unclear by other pianists. As to the one who wrote that Serkin has no sense of rhythm or meter, he is nuts. Serkin has a broad sense of tempo and rubato. He is a master of playing with time pulling it in and out just as Jascha Heifetz was. By no means does Serkins account of the Appasionata leave you feeling like there is no set meter. Again, the contrary is the truth. This is the most perfect rendition of the Appasionata on record without a doubt. The "passion" is so very, very intense particularly in the final movement. The coda is especially perfect in its tempo, technical execution, and risk taking. So often, in other recordings, I hear wrong notes hit during the final measures of this piece. I understand as a pianist that these measures are extremely difficult in particular because the right hands fast notes are so exposed up in the silver area of the piano. Serkin is completely secure in thses notes. Not a wrong note is to be heard and he plays with such a strong confident tone. It is truely hair raising. I highly recomend this CD to anyone who wishes to hear top notch piano playing.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful recording of Beethoven's three greatest sonatas., May 10, 2006

By 

L. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beethoven: Moonlight, Pathetique & Appassionata Piano Sonatas, Opp. 13, 27:2, 57 (Audio CD)

I must take the strongest exception to the review written by Ray Liikanen. Because he personally prefers Barenboim's recording is no reason to leave a one star review. This is one of the finest recordings of these three sonatas in existance, in both technical and interpretive respects. The Appassionata in particular is outstanding, the final coda will leave you breathless; Serkin's expressiveness, power, and technical mastery are second to none. The production of the recording itself my have what some perceive to be flaws, such as the occasionaly audible creak of the bench as Serkin moves, but I find these very human and charming, and far preferable to the sterile pefection of music that sounds as if it were recorded in a vacuum. Serkin also takes exactly the right amount of artistic license with the music, never indulging in excessive histrionics, yet instilling sublime emotion into every note. This recording has the feel of a masterwork: Commanding and confident, yet beautiful and intimate. No praise is too high for Serkin.