Artur Schnabel

[Mandryka]

I have loved this pianist all my life – when he's at his best he plays with  such life and  joy and spontaneity  that he's irresistible.

His Beethoven and Schubert are famous of course – from the Beethoven sonatas I would single out all the Opus 10s, The Waldstien and Opus 111. There are many other good ones.

His Bach is special to – I had forgotten how special until recently when I dusted down a Pearl CD and listened again. I've included a sample of him playing part of the Italian Concerto in case you don't know it.

And I like his  interpretation of Mozart Concerto #27, with Barbirolli.  He takes the middle movement very slowly –justifiably IMO as  it's one of the rare times  Mozart marks a concerto  movement  'Larghetto'.  Mostly the slow movements are Andante.


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[dirkronk]

It was Schnabel's rendition of Mozart Piano Cto. 20 with Susskind--on an old Vox LP transfer of a 1948 EMI original--that helped me crack through the "audiophile sound only" barrier I'd erected for myself in the early 1980s and realize that there was a universe of really superb interpretations waiting to be heard in those historic old pre-hifi mono recordings.

Dirk

[George]

I started a Schnabel thread on the old GMG:

Schnabel's Beethoven Getaway

Since then I have heard more of his stuff, namely the Schubert on M&A. Mark Obert Thorn, who worked wonders with the incredible Beethoven set on Naxos, mastered it. 

[val]

To me Schnabel was not only the first to record Beethoven's complete Sonatas, but he also imposed a style and musical choices that were followed by many interpreters, including Claudio Arrau.
As an example: the way he phrases and the accentuation he gives to the 2nd theme of the first movement of the Sonata 2/2, may seem strange compared to Brendel or Kempff. But in fact it seems the best choice. Arrau, with a slower tempo, did exactly the same accentuation as Schnabel.

Sometimes I disagree with his choices. His version of the opus 57, the last movement of the 31/2 are not the best moments of his version.

But, his energy, sense of accentuation, phrasing in the slow movements - the Largo e mesto of the opus 10/3 is unique - show all the greatness of his vision.

One of my three favorite versions of the complete Sonatas, with Backhaus (an extraordinary sense of the architecture of each work) and, obviously, the great Friedrich Gulda, perhaps the most perfect of all. 

[Coopmv]

I am about to place my order for Schnabel's Beethoven Sonatas on the Historical Naxos label, probably this coming weekend.  This will be my sixth set.  While this may not sound like a big deal to our Richtervangelist, it is a big deal for someone like me who does not have his primary focus on piano works ... 

[George]

While this may not sound like a big deal to our Richtervangelist, it is a big deal for someone like me who does not have his primary focus on piano works ... 

On the contrary, purchasing the first set of Beethoven Sonatas ever recorded, as transferred by the great Mark Obert Thorn, couldn't be anything less than a big deal. 

[Coopmv]

Among some of Schnabel's students were Lili Kraus, Rudolf Firkusny and Karl Haas.  Karl Haas was well known for his radio commentaries on classical music.  It looks like Haas never had a recording career ...

[SonicMan46]

Among some of Schnabel's students were Lili Kraus, Rudolf Firkusny and Karl Haas.  Karl Haas was well known for his radio commentaries on classical music.  It looks like Haas never had a recording career ...

Well, another student of Schnabel was Claude Frank, who also recorded the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas a while ago (I own only 2 complete sets, i.e. Frank & Annie Fischer) - Frank is a good choice for the price w/ excellent recommendations - CHECK HERE - even our own Scott Morrison makes the statement "They are, in fact, rather close in approach to that of Schnabel, but without the ancient sound and missed notes. His approach is rather gentler than some; he seems attuned to Beethoven's lyricism more than some. "

I do not own Schnabel in these works, mainly because of such reviews that the sound is 'ancient' and interfers w/ the appreciation of the music - I just tend to favor more modern recordings w/ better sound reproduction in classical music (now, I own TONS of older jazz, blues, & country music from the past but that is a different matter, i.e. the same performers do not re-interpret their music decades later) - so despite the comments on this performer, he likely will not be on my 'radar screen' - I'll be lookin' for newer interpretations, and also a more 'complete' HIP performance - but hey just me! 

[Mandryka]

His recorded output is extremely limited. Hardly any Mozart solo piano music, no Haydn, no Chopin, no Liszt, no Debussy, no Ravel, no Bussoni, no serial music, no Brahms solo piano music, hardly any Schumann, no Scarlatti, hardly any Bach keyboard music.

What's going on here -- did he play this stuff biut not record it? Or did he choose to ignore the greater part of the core piano repetoire?

Anyways, he must be the most limited great pianist ever -- his repetoire is even smaller than Gould's!

[George]

His recorded output is extremely limited. Hardly any Mozart solo piano music, no Haydn, no Chopin, no Liszt, no Debussy, no Ravel, no Bussoni, no serial music, no Brahms solo piano music, hardly any Schumann, no Scarlatti, hardly any Bach keyboard music.

What's going on here -- did he play this stuff biut not record it? Or did he choose to ignore the greater part of the core piano repetoire?

I am not sure of the full extent of his repertoire, but I recall reading that he had to ask for years before getting to record the Schubert works in his repertoire and Schubert was reportedly his favorite composer. 

[dirkronk]

His recorded output is extremely limited. Hardly any Mozart solo piano music, no Haydn, no Chopin, no Liszt, no Debussy, no Ravel, no Bussoni, no serial music, no Brahms solo piano music, hardly any Schumann, no Scarlatti, hardly any Bach keyboard music.

Hmmm. I think we need to consult a discography. I just checked Amazon and I see no CDs of Schnabel doing solo Brahms and Mozart popping up, you're right--BUT I have an LP at home called "The Art of Artur Schnabel", an old Seraphim, which IIRC is all solo piano music and has at least two or three Brahms pieces along with some Mozart and other composers. Maybe someone else here has it and can be specific as to the pieces played; if not, I'll check when I get home and post what I find.

OTOH, you are certainly correct about the paucity of Schnabel recordings outside of Beethoven and Schubert and a handful of Mozart and other piano concertos. Glad we have what we have, but it would be nice to have more.


Dirk

[Herman]

I think it would indeed be a safe bet that Schnabel did not play any serial music.

[Mandryka]

Hmmm. I think we need to consult a discography. I just checked Amazon and I see no CDs of Schnabel doing solo Brahms and Mozart popping up, you're right--BUT I have an LP at home called "The Art of Artur Schnabel", an old Seraphim, which IIRC is all solo piano music and has at least two or three Brahms pieces along with some Mozart and other composers. Maybe someone else here has it and can be specific as to the pieces played; if not, I'll check when I get home and post what I find.

OTOH, you are certainly correct about the paucity of Schnabel recordings outside of Beethoven and Schubert and a handful of Mozart and other piano concertos. Glad we have what we have, but it would be nice to have more.


Dirk

I have him doing a handful of Mozart solo pieces on Pearl I think -- I'll have to listen again but one sonata was outstanding (just can't remember which!) I'd be very keen to hear that Brahms.


From Wikipedia


Schnabel was best known for his devotion to the core German composers, especially the Viennese classics of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. He was also renowned for his playing of works by Brahms and Schumann. He also played and recorded works by Bach.



. . . However, his repertoire was wider than that. During his young virtuosic years in Berlin, he played works by other composers including Liszt, Chopin and Weber. On his early American tours, he programmed works such as the Chopin Preludes and the Schumann Fantasy in C.[4]. Among other works that he played, as recalled by those such as Claudio Arrau and Vladimir Horowitz who had heard Schnabel in the 1920s, were Chopin's E minor Piano Concerto and the B-flat minor Piano Sonata No. 2, and Weber's Konzertstück and Piano Sonata No. 2.[5][6] Schnabel himself mentioned that he had played the Liszt piano sonata in B minor "very often", as well as the Liszt E-flat piano concerto.[1]

It is not clear why Schnabel dropped those from his performing repertoire in the 1930s, after his final departure from Germany. He claimed that it was because he decided that he wanted to play only "music which is better than it could be performed".[1] However, it has been suggested by some that "Schnabel, uprooted from his native heritage, may have been clinging to the great German composers in an attempt to keep his cultural origins alive".[7]

I think it would indeed be a safe bet that Schnabel did not play any serial music.

Again from Wikipedia

Despite his performing repertoire being concentrated largely on the works of Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart and Brahms, almost all of his own compositions (none of which are in the active repertoire) are atonal. (It is interesting, in this regard, to note that Schnabel was a close friend of Arnold Schoenberg, his Austrian-American compatriot, who was famous as a pioneering composer of atonal or twelve-tone music.)

They are "difficult", yet fascinating and complex works, and are marked by genuine originality of style. The composer, Ernst Krenek, has commented that they show signs of undoubted genius (see biography of Schnabel by Cesar Saerchinger). Schnabel's list of compositions eventually included three symphonies, a piano concerto and five string quartets amongst various smaller works.

[jwinter]

Well, another student of Schnabel was Claude Frank, who also recorded the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas a while ago ...

That is an excellent set, underrated IMO.  As a side note, Frank's set is the one used to illustrate the Teaching Company's Beethoven Sonatas course -- I think it's a very good choice for a moderately interpreted, well-played set that lets the music speak for itself (which sounds like faint praise, but it's really quite enjoyable). 

That said, Schnabel is of course the bee's knees.  I have the Beethoven sonatas and a few LvB and Brahms concertos on Naxos, and have been eyeing his Schubert for a while. 

[rubio]

There are some solo piano Mozart in this 5CD Music and Arts set.

http://www.amazon.com/Artur-Schnabel-Plays-Mozart-recordings/dp/B000M5B3NQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1239295284&sr=1-1

[B_cereus]

Schnabel did play solo Brahms.... I have a CD with:

Intermezzo in Eb, op.117, no.1
Intermezzo in A minor, op116, no.2
Rhapsody in G minor, op.79, no.2

and he did play Mozart sonatas, e.g. I have a CD of him playing the Bb sonata, K570.

[Holden]

Hmmm. I think we need to consult a discography. I just checked Amazon and I see no CDs of Schnabel doing solo Brahms and Mozart popping up, you're right--BUT I have an LP at home called "The Art of Artur Schnabel", an old Seraphim, which IIRC is all solo piano music and has at least two or three Brahms pieces along with some Mozart and other composers. Maybe someone else here has it and can be specific as to the pieces played; if not, I'll check when I get home and post what I find.

OTOH, you are certainly correct about the paucity of Schnabel recordings outside of Beethoven and Schubert and a handful of Mozart and other piano concertos. Glad we have what we have, but it would be nice to have more.


Dirk

Dirk, You are right. I own this CD



Mozart; Rondo in a minor K511
            sonata in F K332
Schumann: Kinderszenen
Brahms: Rhapsody in G minor Op 79/2
             Intermezzo in E flat Op 117/1
             Intermezzo in A minor Op 116/3
Weber: Invitation to the Dance

[Coopmv]

I have a number of CD's by Lili Kraus, another student of Artur Schnabel ...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artur_Schnabel

[Bogey]

Love the Pearl set I have thanks to a generous and kind member here at GMG....usually maintains a Richter avatar.

[rubio]

Dirk, You are right. I own this CD



Mozart; Rondo in a minor K511
            sonata in F K332
Schumann: Kinderszenen
Brahms: Rhapsody in G minor Op 79/2
             Intermezzo in E flat Op 117/1
             Intermezzo in A minor Op 116/3
Weber: Invitation to the Dance

It seems interesting. How do you rate it?