Customer Reviews

Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm perplexed really. People here are complaining about how these two aren't strictly following the score, how they interpret freely. They do indeed, make no mistake about it. This is not the place for "textbook Beethoven." But when you already have dozens of such performances, what's the point? To put it another way, when the likes of Mengelberg, Furtwangler, Hefeitz and Bernstein did the same thing, back in the "golden age of classical music," they are lauded for their "interpretive insights," their "going beyond the score," their abhorrence of "pedanticism," their "urgent communicative qualities." We then bemoan the fact that "they just don't play music this way anymore, remember the good old days?" etc., etc. On these poseurs I would try an experiment: I would like to reprocess *these* recordings, taking away bass and treble, overmodulating, and adding surface scratch. Then I'd slap a black-and-white "historic-looking" cover on the CD set and say these are heretofore-undiscovered recordings from long ago. I'll bet you'd see five star ratings down this page. There is so much poetry in these readings it boggles the mind. Even what in the hands of others are commonplace phrases are treated to maximum expressive effect here. Mutter is a colorist like no one else playing today that I have heard. She has matured into possibly the most intelligent violinist performing right now. There's technique to burn, but it's never just for show (for a real roller coaster ride, hear her recording of the Berg Concerto on this label with James Levine). Rather than be relegated into the background, as one partner sometimes is in these works, Orkis is subtly her equal. The two of them interact almost telepathically at times. Together they extract some very deep meaning from these works we've all heard dozens of times. Most of the recordings are live, but the audience is quiet as church mice. DG's sound is crystal clear and ravishing in its beauty. This is a set for the ages, and while it may not be the *only* way I'd want to hear these works performed ever, it is no more "blasphemous" to the score than interpretations by many a virtuoso from past generations--the type of musicians classical aficionados are always complaining we don't have today.

For those of you who enjoy listening to Beethoven on period instruments (shudder), this is not the recording for you. Nor is it a good recording for those who like things buttoned down, straightforward, steady, restrained, and unemotional.

However, if you truly enjoy Beethoven and don't mind hearing new things, this recording is a must-buy. Mutter and Orkis bring a whole new perspective to the sonatas. Their wild tempi and dynamics are a little scary at first, but you'll soon fall in love with the powerful and lyrical interpretation of these sonatas and wonder what you did before you owned this wonderful collection.

Close attention was paid to the score: every one of Mutter's dynamic, phrasing, and articulation choices is supported by the music. This recording does not go against Beethoven, as some have said on this website, but actually bring's Beethoven's markings to the forefront.

The sound of the duo is just fantastic. No doubt this is the most romantic interpretation you'll ever hear. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. The living, breathing, luscious sound that Mutter brings to these sonatas is just unforgettable.

In my opinion, this is one recording you can simply can't do without.

I have listened to these recordings again and again, and find new richness in the performances with every listen. The violin sonatas are some of Beethoven's finest creations, and I would not hesitate to recommend this recording as the finest I know of these works. Mutter and Orkis are not eccentric, yet theirs is a highly individual approach, with choices of tempo and phrasing that cause one to take notice, but in a way that makes you rethink and rehear this music. Mutter's performance is highly nuanced, striving for expressiveness rather than beauty of tone, though she clearly is a virtuoso player. Her playing is matched, and it seems inspired, by Orkis's dramatic and expressive pianism. This is one occasion when a recording has caused me to wish I had been at the performance.

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis make gorgeous music. These four discs offer wonderful insight, passion and the sheer beauty of a Stradivarius played with stunning results by one of the violin's greatest living exponents. The accompanying Pluscore feature is fascinating: with four of the sonatas, listeners can follow the score while the music is performed, or practice it. There is also critical material accessible by computer, and photographs of the performers, of Beethoven, and of some of his contemporaries. I must admit I am still struggling with the interpretation of the Kreutzer (#9), which I found problematic. It lacks the spirit and vitality of the Francescatti/Casadesus version - my favorite - and seems so heavily mannered as to be ponderous at times. The other sonatas, however, are rendered with real beauty and a sheen derived from excellent sound and technique. The set is highly recommended.

Having had the distinct pleasure of attending all three San Francisco performances in May, I could not wait to hear the recording of the performances from later in the year. Worth the wait, and certainly more than worth Ms. Mutter's and Mr. Orkis's tremendous efforts. These are works that must be approached graudually, to truly get their depth. After several listenings, you can begin to comprehend the difficulty and satisfaction of the years of study and performance that went into this recording. Their musicianship and partnership has always been amonmg the greatest, but here there is a resonant emotive quality that is richly satisfying (also listen to the Berlin Recital). The Spring Sonata on disc two is a particular standout from the performances. Throughout, you can hear how Beethoven, as he progressed over the fifteen years or so in which he composed these sonatas, became more comfortable with the violin as an instrument, and gives it a more even pairing with the piano. Excellent-I highly recommend it. And I hope you enjoy it.

Part of the beauty of music is that it lends itself to many different interpretations. I have heard these recordings, and feel that most of the negative reviews stem from the proposition that there can only be one way to interpret this music - Beethoven's way. Personally, I disagree with this approach entirely and with all the reviewers who say that Beethoven was not well served. How would they know? By the interpretations they have heard? By their studying of the score in minute detail phrase by phrase? By their understanding of Beethoven's mind and soul and his life and what they thought he intended to portray through his score markings? How immensely arrogant it is to assume that we know the mind of Beethoven so well. Even if this may not have been something which followed every marking to the letter and nth degree of expression marking, that does not take away from the validity of the recording as an original act of musical interpretation in its own right, and one that quite possibly, may have presented the music in a different light to the composer himself and made him rethink the various possibilities available. Let us not create a shrine to classical music for veneration can stifle creativity. We may agree or disagree violently with Mutter's interpretation, but personally, I think that's the whole point and beauty of the exercise.

I actually downloaded this recording off iTunes to replace a recording of the Sonatas by Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy, which had a dated sound quality. Although I am generally a fan of Mutter, I was skeptical, as the Perlman/Ashkenazy performance is excellent. Somewhat surprisingly, I believe the Mutter/Orkis performance well exceeds the Perlman/Ashkenazy. As a former and still amatuer violinist, I know the works well. The Perlman/Ashkenazy performance delivers exactly what one would expect of the works as written. It's a straight-forward and well-executed take on the Sonatas. The Mutter/Orkis performance, however, sheds a bright new light on these works. Focusing particularly on Mutter, the approach to every note seems so thoughtfully considered. The range of dynamics, the weight of the sound, the distinctions between each passage and the next. Mutter's intelligence is part of what is, ultimately, a brave interpretation of the Sonatas, filled with sparkling insights into the minutiae of each Sonata. The skillfulness of the Mutter/Orkis rendering makes this brave interpretation work. In several of the Sonatas, particularly the "Kreutzer," significant artistic liberties are taken that, I must admit, threw me off on just a single listen. But, after repeated listening, it's completely clear that Mutter/Orkis have crafted together a remarkably deft performance of the Sonatas with an inspired interpretive spark.

The diversity of commentaries this set gave birth to in the amazon review constitute per se a testimony of the ambivalence that lies at the heart of this live performance and is an expression of the ambiguity that marks its reception.

Incidentally, I happened to buy this set after I spent one week listening to Kempf-Menuhin version of the fifth sonata (Spring). So my first reaction was to go to the second disc of the set to compare. As a result, I was troubled, haunted with mixed sentiments. Surely this was very musical, sensitive and I thought that this was how I would have wanted to play them myself, away of beaten tracks. Still, I was somewhat disturbed by the excessive use of rubato.

On the other hand, when I listened to the third disc of the set, I was totally conquered. This was truly authentic Beethoven played with such artistry, refinement, passion that I couldn't kept playing it again and again. Try this disc to begin with the set before forming a definitive impression.

I would give five stars to this set in spite of what I consider sometimes to be excessive because it really renews the way we have been listening to these pieces for years. The performance might be irritating at times based on our listening customs but treasures of pure art lie hidden under the surface.

I'm curious about these ... and I do have wonder that perhaps these reviewers who are attacking this album would not be criticizing this set so harshly had the exact same music been created by, say, Itzhak Perlman.

One word springs to mind when I listen to this new set of Beethoven violin sonatas: FRESH. You can hear that Mutter and Orkis have spent a great deal of time not only rehearsing, but researching, in order to bring out every nuance of the music and also to place their own spin on Beethoven.

I do not disapprove of the more "traditional" recordings - Gidon Kremer's readings are absolutely breath-takingly gorgeous. And frankly, I don't particularly care for Anne-Sophie Mutter. However, this recording just melted away all of my reticence. I could not help but fall in love with how she plays here.

Over the years I owed and listened to over 20 versions of Beethoven's violin sonatas. Some I admired for the technique, some for the partnership, some for the interpretation, and some for the machanical loyalty to the score. None so far made me jump out of my chair to cheer for its Romanticism, by which I refer to Wordsworth's famous descriptions of poetry: "spontaneous overthrow of powerful feelings" and "emotion recollected in tranquility." Mutter ignites Beethoven's Romantic fire.