Violin Sonatas 5, 8, & 9

Beethoven (Composer), Artur Rubinstein (Performer), Henryk Szeryng (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Artur Rubinstein, Henryk Szeryng
• Composer: Beethoven
• Audio CD (February 15, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FL4
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,492 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sonata No. 5 In F Major, Op 24, 'Spring': Allegro

2. Sonata No. 5 In F Major, Op 24, 'Spring': Adagio molto espressivo

3. Sonata No. 5 In F Major, Op 24, 'Spring': Scherzo: Allegro molto

4. Sonata No. 5 In F Major, Op 24, 'Spring': Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

5. Sonata No. 8, Op. 30, No. 3 In G Major: Allegro assai

6. Sonata No. 8, Op. 30, No. 3 In G Major: Tempo di minuetto, ma molto moderato e grazioso

7. Sonata No. 8, Op. 30, No. 3 In G Major: Allegro vivace

8. Sonata No. 9, Op. 47, 'Kreutzer': Adagio sostenuto: Presto

9. Sonata No. 9, Op. 47, 'Kreutzer': Andante con variazioni

10. Sonata No. 9, Op. 47, 'Kreutzer': Presto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two masters play Beethoven, January 14, 2000

By 

Christopher Bonds - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Violin Sonatas 5, 8, & 9 (Audio CD)

I had this recording back in the 50s when it first came out. It's a great pity they never recorded all the Beethoven sonatas (at least that I know of) because the sense of ensemble musicianship is here at its highest. You have the aged Rubinstein teaming up with the (then) fairly young Henryk Szerying, surely one of the great violinists of his time (listen to that sense of pitch!) on some of the greatest violin-piano music ever written. This is a partnership of equals which exhibits the "balanced passion" that is apparently the hallmark of a bygone era, a kind of golden age between the sentimentalizing early years of the 20th century and the grandstanding virtuosity of the 21st (are we there yet?). If you're looking for the "real" Beethoven of these sonatas look no further.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An early recording featuring the great Henryk Szeryng, November 20, 2005

By 

D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Violin Sonatas 5, 8, & 9 (Audio CD)

Henryk Szeryng was one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. But his budding career was interupted by WW II and for several years after that war he disappeared from the international concert scene and instead taught violin in Mexico City. Fortunately, he was discovered there by Rubinstein during one of his concert tours. After hearing Szeryng play, Rubinstein pronounced him to be one of the greatest violinists in the world (a highly accurate assessment) and arranged with RCA to record this set of sonatas to enable Szeryng to gain the exposure he so richly deserved. Quite frankly I have never been an ardent fan of Rubinstein's playing, but I am deeply grateful to him for having rescued this great violinist from undeserved obscurity. Apart from serving as Szeryng's recording debut on a major label, these performances are outstanding. On these performances, I am a Rubinstein fan; the collaboration between Szeryng and Rubinstein is almost intuitive and quite wonderful to hear. No matter what other recordings you may have of these sonatas, please treat yourself to these.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, April 1, 2008

By 

B. Tupper (Ramona, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Violin Sonatas 5, 8, & 9 (Audio CD)

This is a marvelous recording. The young master Szeryng and the old master Rubinstein in a delightful musical dialog--obviously having a lot of fun tossing the music back and forth to each other. The Spring Sonata, No. 5, gets played by everyone--and nearly destroyed in the process. But Szeryng and Rubinstein make it new and fresh again. I find it interesting how they handle the score, ignoring some repeats and inventing others of their own. The effect is good. I think Beethoven would not object.

One of the great musical tragedies of the 20th century is that the young Szeryng was shunted out of public view by the circumstances surrounding the war and never was given adequate opportunity to present his talent to a wider public. Another great tragedy is that this album is hard to find. Hunt for it, and grab it wherever you find it, no matter how much it costs.