Jenő Jandó plays Beethoven

[Todd]

I've reached the point where readily available, reasonably priced complete Beethoven sonata cycles are almost non-existent.  Peter Takács' upcoming cycle fits the bill, but it keeps getting delayed, and I had a hankerin' for a new cycle, so I decided to finally go for Jenő Jandó's cycle from the earliest years of the HNH empire.  I've hesitated to buy this cycle for a couple reasons.  First, Naxos prices keep going up, even for their old stuff, so Jandó's cycle is now not competitively priced unless it is on sale.  (Fortunately, I bought it on sale.)  Second, and more important, Jandó doesn't leap to mind when I think of compelling pianists.  He's most decidedly talented, but some of the recordings I've heard reveal him to be a competent, middle-of-the-road pianist who doesn't take many chances.  That's not always bad, and he does have at least one extraordinary recording to his credit (Bartok chamber works), but in Beethoven I generally want a bit more.

Suffice it to say, Jandó's cycle is pretty much what I thought it would be.  Start to finish, he plays the pieces well and takes a middle-of-the-road approach.  On the plus side, there are few or no eccentricities.  Jandó does not take anything too fast.  Nor does he take anything too slow.  Dynamics are not exaggerated.  Phrasing is almost universally safe and predictable.  On the negative side, there's very little in the way of individuality.  Almost nothing stands out.  The middle-of-road-approach generally works best in the earlier sonatas and results in less than compelling late sonatas, and that is certainly the case here.  The late sonatas are not really bad, and one gets a sense of how great they can be, but one must listen elsewhere for great renditions of the works. 

All that written, there are a couple of highlights.  For some reason, Jandó fires on all cylinders in Op 26.  There is an urgency and intensity largely missing in most of the other works.  The funeral march is powerful and displays individual character; no one else plays it quite like him.  A few times in the piece Jandó's phrasing is stiff, but it is done purposely, to good effect.  It's really quite good.  Also surprisingly good is the Les Adieux sonata.  Well played and both demonstrative and restrained, it strikes a nice balance.  Indeed, volume 2, which has Opp 51, 31/2, and 81a is a pretty good disc all around. 

A quick word on sound: it's not what I feared it would be.  Many old Naxos recordings, especially orchestral recordings, sound rather poor, being opaque, distant, and glassy all at the same time.  The recordings here are a bit close, a bit brittle, a bit glassy, and definitely bass shy, but they withstand comparison to many contemporaneous piano recordings.

So, I've finally heard Jandó's cycle, and it is the competent, middle-of-the-road affair I thought it would be.  For someone coming new to these works, it wouldn't be a horrible choice, as Jandó plays well enough, but I can't say that I find it to be a first choice.  I'd put it somewhere in the 31st – 40th choice range, better than quite a few, but not quite as good as quite a few others. 

[Brian]

As a quick update, Amazon is offering the full MP3 download of Jeno Jando's cycle - without the electoral sonatas and with Op 27 No 1 given the nickname "Der Vampyr (The Vampire)" - for just $7.99. At that price I'm considering downloading just for Opp 26 and 81a.

I also downloaded "Gangnam Style" for $0.50, so feel free to question my taste. 

[mc ukrneal]

I also downloaded "Gangnam Style" for $0.50, so feel free to question my taste. 

This could single-handedly offset all of your good qualities!

[Todd]

...with Op 27 No 1 given the nickname "Der Vampyr (The Vampire)"

Er, um, huh?

[Opus106]

"Gangnam Style"

Congratulations on being the first person to use that phrase in this forum.

[springrite]

Er, um, huh?

If we do get the Marchner opera as part of the package, that makes the deal sweater.

[kishnevi]

 A search of the phrase "Beethoven Vampyr" shows the title popping up on a variety of listings for recordings--for instance, this one from CDUniverse:

and this one on Prestoclassical

but no hint of how the title got attached to the sonata
(and the title seems to show up only on the track listings, not the CD listings)

The Wikipedia article on the Marchner opera says there are references to Beethoven in the opera, but does not elaborate;  in the opera,  moonlight is a healing agent for the title character.  Perhaps there really is a link between Op. 27 and the opera?

[Gurn Blanston]

Hey. Jeffrey.

I can't tell anything about this disk by the little picture. Where you got it, was there any artist info etc.?

[xochitl]

Jando's Op.111 is among my top 5, and Op.53 not far behind

i love the mix of clarity, exactitude, and depth he achieves in these 2, especially in the allegro of Op.111 i think he matches Annie Fischer for fingers of steel-ism and drive.

[Marc]

Hey. Jeffrey.

I can't tell anything about this disk by the little picture. Where you got it, was there any artist info etc.?

http://www.amazon.com/John-Khouri-Plays-Beethoven-Sonatas/dp/B000007TS4

[Gurn Blanston]

http://www.amazon.com/John-Khouri-Plays-Beethoven-Sonatas/dp/B000007TS4

Ah, thanks, Marc!  Khouri? Great! 

[Brian]

Ah, thanks, Marc!  Khouri? Great! 

Here's the link to its listing with vampiric subtitle at Presto!

[admiralackbar]

Not to hijack the thread, by any means, but what's your impression of Jando's Haydn Sonatas, Todd?

[DavidA]

For something different, Glenn Gould's incomplete Beethoven sonatas are available at super-budget price.