Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Cello Sonatas & Variations

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

 

 

During a certain moment in Solti's Rheingold one can hear the distinct sound of the ice machine in the lobby (I checked the score and Wagner makes no mention of it anywhere although Strauss called for one in Don Quixote). At one perilous instant in a Kabasta Bruckner recording we can dimly make out the detonation of a 100 pound bomb off in the distance somewhere in wartime Munich (and, worse, you can hear Nazis coughing!). People should be prepared for the problems inherent in live recordings and be willing to put up with them in order to hear fine spontanous performances. One should think of them as sort of like, well, being at a live concert for real. The late Ms. du Pre's playing is so ear-catching I'd be willing to put up with a recording of her performing in a rail yard. It's hardly an issue.

The other reviews cover the merits of this set well. 'Nuff said.

Maybe after listening to an allegedly more rejuvenating recording, Tortelier's in the previous reviewer's case, even this recording could sound a little too tamed. Having said that, it is completely wrong to say this recording is just another dull and grim, all-too-serious set of Beethoven Sonatas.

Firstly, if one finds no joy and vitality in this recording, I do not know where one possibly can. Do they really play "as if they are going to church for solemn mass"? I would take it as a profoundly sarcastic joke. Compared with any other popular sets, this album definitely stands out mostly for its energy and the "fun" of the interpretations. It's a live recording all right, from performances given at the 1970 Edinburg Festival which were brocast on BBC3 that same year. So there is no deniyng that there's plenty of the live concert excitement, either.
Secondly, the "light-hearted give-and-take" is what the couple's ensemble is all about. I find it even comical that one would use such an expression to describe them otherwise. True, maybe the cello is brought out a little more at places, but that still does not make Barenboim "colourless" and "monotous"ly unmusical. There is glowing intimacy in the rapport between the two performers. Barenboim's ability to support the sometimes whimsical and over-the-top twists and turns of Du Pre, only comes from the intense musical trust and understanding of each other.

One may as well skip this set, and maybe seek out that allegedly finer recording by Tortlier and Heidsieck; I have not listented ot the recording, so I cannot comment on that. But two stars for this recording? That's only extreme, either. Ma/Ax recordings also display awesome display of musicianship and intimacy, full of that covetted "light-heartedness" in this often gravely interpreted music. However, they are spanned over three separate albums, and if I had a choice once again to choose between that and this complete Beethoven set, I would go for this CD without second thoughts. I give it five stars, and I do so with conviction.

I have bought and very intently listened to recordings of theses works performed by Rostropovich, Ma, Fouriner and Casals. I very much appreicate the classical and noble interpretaions of Rostropovich and Fouriner, and Ma's more lively and captivating performance with its simplicity and perfect unity with Ax has been, without a doubt, my favourite of all time: until I happened to listen to the G minor Sonata(No.2) on this set. Given the fact that the first two sonatas were written for PIANO AND CELLO(as opposed to the latter three written for CELLO AND PIANO), the main focus of the music on piano rather than on cello, the G minor sonata couldn't be said to be the most exciting and cellistic out of the five. The melodies can easiliy sound boring and repetitive and dull, but being the most natural singer on this instrument that she is, Jacquline Du Pre makes it sound the most entertaining and beautiful piece existing on the earth. The percussionstic accompaniment parts are played with such vigour, and never once does she miss the opporunity to sing out in the occassional lyrical passages, making every note come alive with a strikingly beautiful and appropriate tone colour. Listening to this album is a true musical experience, each time I listen to it the pieces come through with more profundity and even more beauty. The temperament and loftiness of Beethoven seems to be the perfect match for Jacquline Du Pre.

One of the major disgraces suffered in the music during the second half of the century was the premature death of Jacqueline Du Pré . She and Cristina Walewska were the two most raising promises in the female cello world.
Du Pré owned that sound so pure and crystalline , lyrical warmth and dramatic boldness , majestic expression and superb articulation . She was one of the most beloved musicians of Pau Casals .
This set is deeply ravishing and reveals the status of his craft as no other else . To face the serious commitment and triumph to play the Beethoven Cello Sonatas demand a scrupulous study and detailed analysis of Beethoven path through his different stages . Since the first two Sonatas were written in 1805 , the third in 1807 and the the two latest in 1815 that involves three crucial creative periods of Bonn genius. The crown jewel in my opinion is the glorious performing of the Second Sonata loaded with aristos approach .
You can notice however the honest virtuousness but hold by a visible force and radiant energy .If you want to have an album which clasps the essential facets of that colossal artist , acquire these recordings which date from November and December 1970 in live sessions . Barenboim is splendid as partner , he never will shade her , both musicians knew the huge problems of balance these works contain .

The Sonatas are wonderfully spontaneous (especially in the No.2 Sonata), with du Pre and Barenboim capturing the humour in the last movement of the first Cello sonata. It is a little rough at times, but it is all offset by the directness of du Pre's playing. The Variations are a joy to listen to, because the level of communication between du Pre and Barenboim is at its peak in the Variations. The only complaints are that tempos are generally on the slow side, and the piano sound is too loud, compared to the cello. Remastering hasn't improved much from the first CD issue of 1989. But it is the playing that ultimately counts, and this issue certainly is worthy of being in any CD collector's library

The performances are very nice, very subtle, but it's a live recording and there is coughing in the background that I found annoying. I prefer chamber music recorded in a chamber-sized space (not a concert hall), and while I can put up with Glenn Gould's singing and Keith Jarrett's moaning in the background, I don't want to hear audience coughing. I wish one of the other reviewers mentioned it, but I didn't see it.

This may be one of the dullest CDs in my collection. Like so many who tackle these works, Du Pre and Barenboim approach the cello sonatas like they're going to church for a solemn mass. There's no joy here and much "grimness" or at least dutifulness in this playing. The variations, featherweight music by Beethoven's standards, become insufferable if there isn't the light-hearted give-and-take of the best chamber performances. And these aren't the best chamber performances. Barenboim plays with a uniformly colorless touch, rarely rising above mezzo-forte, downplaying accents, maintaining a monotonous medium tempo throughout. Du Pre's early recordings were often spectacular (bordering on hysterical sometimes...her Brahms Cello Sonata No. 2 with Ernest Lush is a hoot) but here she seems held down to earth by her husband. Most of her later recordings, were she frequently collaborated with hubby, are bland--compare her two recordings of Elgar's cello concerto, first with Barbirolli then with Barenboim, and hear a world of difference. The same is true of these recordings, where she plays notes but doesn't make her instrument sing, doesn't make sense of the notes Beethoven wrote. For an amazing contrast, and for two performers who *get it* in this music, compare these readings to Paul Tortelier/Eric Heidsieck on EMI. You won't believe your ears, and you'll see what you've been missing for years with these works--color, humor, energy, interplay, sorrow and joy. Even the much-venerated Richter/Rostropovich set on Philips is dull. It's hard to find performances of the cello sonatas that aren't like eating your vegetables, "good for you" but little else. This set does nothing to dispell that tendency. Fortunately there's plenty of other Du Pre out there that's great. These you can skip.