Customer Reviews

Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas [Box Set]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Somewhat to my surprise, the Ashkenazy cycle is the best recording of the complete Beethoven sonatas. I bought every Beethoven recording by every major Beethoven pianist and spent over 1,000 hours comparing all those recordings to each other. The only cycles close to the Ashkenazy are the little-known Claude Frank, Seymour Lipkin and Paul Badura-Skoda cycles (the Badura-Skoda cycle of 1970 on the grand piano, not the fortepiano version). After those come the better-known cycles by Richard Goode, Barenboim (2nd cycle, for DGG), and Kempff (2nd cycle, in stereo), and the little-known cycle by Annie Fischer. I leave aside the Schnabel set which continues to define the standard for interpretations despite inadequate sound, and many high-quality recordings by Richter who never did a complete cycle.

I say "somewhat to my surprise," because Ashkenazy is not known as a Beethoven pianist. He is regarded as a great interpreter of romantic music, with the big technique and beautiful tone needed for that repertoire. Well, he has the big technique and beautiful tone, which is good. However, what is most noticeable to me is the scrupulous attention paid to Beethoven's text. In that regard, Ashkenazy is the equal of Claude Frank and Rudolf Serkin, which is high praise indeed.

The purpose of buying a complete cycle is usually to form a base for a collection. One can quibble with some of Ashkenazy's interpretative details or with Decca's recording techniques. However, the question then becomes: what is the alternative? The competing cycles are either a little worse or a lot worse. After buying one complete cycle, the lover of Beethoven can then add a number of other sonata recordings -- the Horowitz recordings for RCA Victor, the Rubinstein recordings, the Gieseking disk of the Pathetique and other works, the Pollini late sonatas, many of the Richter recordings. If I am asked to recommend one Beethoven sonata cycle as the basis for a collection, I would unhesitatingly recommend the Ashkenazy Decca cycle.

This set has never been a critical favorite. I doubt anyone would claim that Ashkenazy is one of the great Beethoven interpreters. And yet it makes for quite pleasurable listening. For starters, we have Ashkenazy's high technical prowess, his beautiful tone and general finesse. We seem to have accepted as great Beethoven pianism, playing that ranges from the painfully plain (Brendel) to the downright ugly (Kuerti). But Kempff has shown us that a non-aggressive beauty can reveal another side of this great composer. Ashkenazy is not in Kempff's league as a Beethoven interpreter, but nearly every performance is effective here and evinces a real musical fluency. More ambitious Beethoven players (e.g. Kovacevich) have often made recordings that totally miss the mark.

So, this set would be a perfect for listeners coming to this music for the first time. And seasoned Beethoven sonata listeners might enjoy it as well. Just don't expect poetical profundity.

Ashkenazy, as a musician, is far above the level of almost the entire rest of humanity, and is among the very few at the top among great musicians. I certainly don't expect most CD buyers looking for a one-stop-shopping box of all the Beethoven sonatas to grasp where Ashkenazy's Beethoven is, but some have been very correct in noting that Ashkenazy is, if anything, very consistent.

Needless to say, his Beethoven cannot be everything to everyone. But one could hardly even say that about, say, Richter playing the op. 90, the op. 7, or 111, which are all mind-boggling; or of Casadeus doing op. 78; or Gilels doing 81a or 57, or van Cliburn doing 2/1, or Harasiewicz doing 27/1, or Kissin's amazing 53, or other inimitable performances.

But still, few capture as much in any single sonata than Ashkenazy: specific phrases that he simply captures just right, down to tiny little details in phrasing and articulation, like the B section of the op. 13 rondo, or the cascades or serene moments in 111, or the dotted rhythms in the slow movement of 53, and the list goes on and on.

I think it would be hard to deny he has created some of history's best performances of 28, 53, 31, 111, 2/2, and perhaps others. But if you don't want to track down your very favorite performance of every single sonata--a very time consuming and relatively more expensive alternative--this is arguably the best box available. Ashkenazy at this time was practically unique among pianists in having the musicality and intelligence to understand how these sonatas work effectively, as well as having the techinical ability to execute nearly everything he understands.

For most, the comparison comes down to Ashkenazy or Barenboim. Both are incredible musicians with an astounding grasp of this repertoire; but in my opinion, Barenboim was not as tight, precise and consistent when he recorded them, and had some room for growth in his understanding of how many of these sonatas function, whereas Ashkenazy was pretty near his peak when he laid these down. As for Brendel, he has a familiarity and detail on some of these sonatas that few share, but I do not believe he came as close to overall perfection as Ashkenazy did.

My impression has been that when someone has no idea what they're talking about regarding a performance, or doesn't "get" it, the easy fallback is that it lacks "emotion," or "weight." It's so easy to say, and so difficult to refute. It makes this comment the favorite of pretentious and mediocre minds. I can only note that the only negative things anyone can come up with regarding this particular run of Ashkenazy performances is that they lack a more favored level of emotion, or that they lack the weight of some other favored-for-no-specific-reason pianist.

Beethoven, like Bach, should be played as though one was capable of fathering 22 children. It is not to be played in a passionless, mathematical manner. (This is not to say that only men can play these composers as they were meant to be played, as Clara Haskill, Marie Claire Alain, Zuzana Ruzikova, and Wanda Landowska can prove otherwise.) I am basing this review on the Hammerklavier and Tempest sonati, two of my favorites. Mr. Ashkenazy brings a passion into the playing (as well as a technical mastery) that brings them alive in a sense that Helmut Walcha and Karl Richter made Bach keyboard music an emotional,almost cathartic, experience. I will always think that Robert Casadesus was the ultimate pianist for Romantic keyboard, but Ashkenazy makes all thirty-two of the sonati live and stand alone as wonderful musical experiences for the listener. Too many great pianists, and the Twentieth Century had many, only recorded the 'warhorses', but there is not a movement on this recording that is not superlative and stand alone. The allegretto from op.31, no 2 (Tem[est) is as close to perfection as my limited musical knowledge can imagine. Not being a pianist personally, I cannot speak as a virtuosi, but as one who has listened for almost fifty years, this is a recording that would bring pleasure to to anyone who loves music.

Ashkenazy seems to understand Beethoven to a pristine clarity. I know that people will gravitate toward what they like, and Ashkenazy might not 'light your fire' as he does mine, and that's ok. Ashkenazy is my favorite pianist because of his clarity, technique, feeling (which he does actually have, contrary to some peoples' opinions), and emotion and power. Honestly, I can think of no other set that is better. All the other sets mentioned are good, but this one is excellent. Ashkenazy's talent is what 'makes' this set, and his talent produces true music, in every sense of the word, and that's what it's all about.

Seeing as how entire university courses are devoted to Beethoven's 32 sonatas, I feel I can come nowhere near writing a revelatory analysis of these works. But then, this should be a review of the recording of these sonatas. The two are entwined, however. To understand Ashkenazy's interpretations requires one's own faithful interpretation of the piece being played. I recommend any listener to purchase the published sonatas --the two-volume Dover edition is my choice -- and follow along to their favorite sonatas.

I actually own the old version of this collection, the only difference being the bulkier three double-deck jewel cases. I would prefer this slimmer package (I own the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos in a similar 6-disc packaging).

Any releases with Ashkenazy's recordings of the sonatas stem from his 1974 - 1982 sessions, all of which are compiled right here, sounding as if they were recorded all in the same week. The piano's texture is not too smooth, which is good. The levels are mixed well: the loud parts don't blow your speakers apart, and the quiet sections don't make you strain or turn the volume up, only to have the loud parts blow your speakers apart again. There is no info specifying where these pieces were recorded, on what type of piano, etc. I am sure, though, this can be found on separate recordings.

The tracks are in order of publication/opus number, which is standard for Beethoven's sonatas. There is some doubt as to when, exactly, Sonatas 19 and 20 (found on Disc 6) were written, and they supposedly have a similar style to the first couple of sonatas.

Vladimir Ashkenazy's renditions of the sonatas are well done. The first movement of the Moonlight sonata (track 1, Disc 5) has set the standard for what I deem as the proper interpretation. It's neither lethargic nor too quickly played.

And while many listeners will be acquainted with the "nicknamed" sonatas, e.g. the Tempest, Appassionata, and Pathétique, the compilation is a fantastic way to acquaint or re-acquaint one's self with sonatas in the same league...or better! While I would admit that several sonatas seem "ordinary" by today's standards, many of them have little gems hidden within the movements. One that particularly stands out in my mind is in the third movement of Sonata No. 3 (track 11, disc 1). The Scherzo is a pretty tune that is interrupted by the roller coaster, and somewhat exhilarating, Trio that Ashkenazy flies through brilliantly.

I could speak of the many sonatas and my favorites and how they are performed. However, I wish to keep the review short and conclude with the most touching sonatas written by LVB: the last three, simply referred to by their opus nos. 109, 110, and 111. These are by far the most profound and mature of his sonatas. And if you've listened to, and read about, his 32 sonatas in order, you will have heard his sonatas closely resemble the composer's spoken voice. It is in these last sonatas that you will hear Beethoven breathing.

And in the second, and last, movement of Op. 111 -- Arietta: Adagio molto, semplice e cantabile -- you will behold the very tears of Beethoven himself. It is as close to ascension as he has ever achieved with all his compositions.

As a longstanding admirer of Ashkenazy, I was eager to hear how he interpreted this "New Testament" of piano literature (as it has been called). I was not disappointed. Ashkenazy's formidable virtuosity and probing intellect are much in evidence throughout this set. His approach emphasizes the titanic rather than the reflective aspects of these works, and for that reason some listeners might prefer Kempff or Schnabel, particularly in the later sonatas. Ashkenazy can make the piano sing pellucidly or roar commandingly, and this wide dynamic and toal spectrum is entirely appropriate for Beethoven.

I am not about to give away my Backhaus, Kempff, Schnabel, and Frank recordings; each of these artists provides a unique perspective on this greatest canon of solo keyboard literature after Bach. But to these illustrious sets I must now add Ashkenazy; for the present his extraordinary artistry will place him near the top of this select list.

The remastered recordings (from analogue originals of Seventies vintage) vary from good to outstanding. There is just a hint of what sounds like temporal distortion here and there; also the treble register of Ashkenazy's instrument is not as truthfully caught as his "roaring" bass. Strongly recommended nevertheless.

A very fine set of Beethoven Piano Sonatas and one which I treasure. However, prospective buyers should be aware of a point made by March et al in The Penguin Guide: 'the CDs are not always as full and natural as the EMI transfers of the Barenboim cycle'. More should be made of this, and specifically one could mention the whole of Sonatas Nos 19 and 20, as well as the last movement of No.25, where the piano sounds positively strangled - almost as if we are in the next room, or perhaps listening to a fortepiano rather than the piano which Ashkenazy was playing. Perhaps this is a deliberate attempt on the part of the Decca engineers to achieve a more intimate sound in these small-scale works (but why then only the last movement of No.25?). For me, the attempt if it is such, fails. Repeated listening to these particular sonatas does nothing to ameliorate my negative reaction to this sound. If you can put up with these flaws, there is a good deal else here to enjoy; but if you want total perfection (is that available?) - look elsewhere!

Though the performances in this set were originally recorded through the mid 70's and early 80's, the sound overall is quite good. What is exceptional about the set is the intell iegent, sensitve, and energetic playing of Askenazy of music that in many works, especially the later sonatas, stand as peaks of the piano literature.

It is a delight and a treasure to have the 32 sonatas in one volume so ably played. The earlier less familiar works gleam ; the familiar sonatas are refreshed with understanding and the talent to take Beethoven for himself.

Along with the probing and ethereal moments of the last sonatas, the entire series serves itself as music to stimulate the heart, the mind, and the soul.

Playing such as occurs in this set is never dated no matter when it was recorded.

HELP!

Have lost disk 7 of this set - HEARTBROKEN -

Does anyone know of a source for individual disks from this recording?

Thank you so much!

John