Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas

Alfred Brendel (Artist), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (August 10, 1993)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B00000416N
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,062 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best interpretation I've heard, January 11, 2001

By 

Victor A. Vyssotsky "mandvav" (Orleans, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas (Audio CD)

Beethoven's piano sonatas can be interpreted in as many ways as there are pianists, from the restrained literalism of Schnabel to the bravura of Van Cliburn. For the early and middle sonatas this causes no problem; one can understand and enjoy almost anybody's rendition of the Pathetique or the Waldstein. But starting with Opus 90, and continuing through all the later sonatas, there's a problem. In so far as I can tell, Beethoven was no longer writing piano sonatas for his friends to play or the public to listen to; he was writing them for himself, to experiment with possibilities of musical form. I think 150 years later he would have enjoyed rock immensely, but that was too great a conceptual leap for him. What he did do was try every variety of musical concept he could come up with, which is why, at the time, some of his later sonatas were regarded as unplayable. Now, of course, any top-flight pianist can play them, so the question becomes how to listen to them, which of course depends on how they are played.

In my own amateur opinion, Brendel does these better than anybody else I've heard. In particular, his tempos and phrasing allow the listener to follow a trick Beethoven evolved in the late sonatas: introduce a few bars of a variation, drop it, and go on to something else, while expecting the evolution of the (abandoned) variation to continue to play in the listener's head along with what's actually being played on the piano. For this to work, the tempo and phrasing of the subsequent passage must be not just as written in the score, but subtly adjusted to fit the unwritten and unplayed evolution of the abandoned variation. This becomes clearest if one listens to Brendel's performance of Opus 110 and Opus 111 with the score in front of one; you can "hear" what Brendel isn't playing, as well as what he is.

I can't listen that way to any other pianist's rendition of the late sonatas that I've heard. And I must admit that parts of the Hammerklavier, Opus 106, are still mysterious to me, even in Brendel's rendition. If you really love Beethoven, try this!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous, April 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas (Audio CD)

As an introduction to Beethoven's late sonatas, this 2 cd set can't be beat, especially at the price.
While I prefer a more violent Hammerklavier, Brendel's, along with No.s 27 and 28, is far more than merely adequate. The deeply introspective nature of all of these pieces make numerous interpretations well worthwhile anyway.
But what really stands out in this set is the Arietta of opus 111. It seems to me that maybe Brendel was just playing the Maestoso to get to the soul of the work, but it's likely that's just my own overly eager anticipation as the listener! His Arietta is the most exquisite I've heard; the pain and joy and revelation are life-changingly astounding.
Buy it as an introduction, treasure it for No. 32.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comparison between Rosen's and Brendel's, April 25, 2007

By 

Johnson Lee (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas (Audio CD)

Both Rosen's and Brendel's are great recordings which testify their unquestionable musicianship. But their views of these monumental works couldn't be more different. Rosen tries to bring the emotion and meaning of every bar to light. Brendel on the other hand chooses to hide inside Beethoven's subconscious. Rosen is explicit. Brendel suggestive.

The first thing I noticed in Rosen's is his bright, immediate tone. This tonal quality serves his voluptuous interpretations well. Loud passages are thunderous and percussive. Quiet ones are unmistakably lyrical. Transition from piano to forte (or from forte to piano) is sudden and dramatic. His piano shouts, stomps, moans, and sighs with the music. And you are right - Rosen here reminds us of the great Horowitz in every way.

Brendel is on the other end of the interpretative spectrum. He never bangs on the keys. His careful voicing of certain chords always makes them sound just the way he wants. His fortes are incisive rather than explosive. In slow passages, you get to meet Brendel the hypnotist. He truly knows how to create long arch-like lines while expressing the hidden nuances. Unlike the ever flexible Rosen, he keeps his pulse rock steady. Combine all these qualities with his delicately veiled tone and you are taken to the world of the subconscious.

There is no point in trying to choose between the two recordings. The lights they shed on these works are so different they are like two different movies based on the same story. Stick to only one then you will miss a lot.