Blind Comparison LIGHTNING ROUND: Beethoven's 'Waldstein'!

[Ken B]

Can hear the crickets chirping over here ...

[Brian]

Like the comparisons to Gould, the Kempff/Brendel thoughts also apply to a brand-new recording - so, naturally, I find them fascinating.

[Ken B]

Like the comparisons to Gould, the Kempff/Brendel thoughts also apply to a brand-new recording - so, naturally, I find them fascinating.

Well mine at least, about 2, was not that it sounded like either. I love both and rated 2 lowest. I just don't want to end up looking like a TOTAL doofus.

That's James's job.

[kishnevi]

Perhaps I'm not made for comparison listening.

I did all five Friday afternoon, and the differences seemed so insignificant to me that I saw no sense in commenting, and no reason to prefer one over the other.

ETA:  for some reason Nos. 4 and 5 seemed to have tinnier sounding sonics,  but that could easily be due to several factors, one of which might be ear fatigue.

[Pat B]

I did all five Friday afternoon, and the differences seemed so insignificant to me that I saw no sense in commenting, and no reason to prefer one over the other.

I listened on Friday, had a slight favorite, but basically thought the same thing. Then, I listened to them again just now (in reverse order) and noticed lots of differences. I still have the same favorite.

Favorite: #5
I really shouldn't like this. Tempos are constantly being pushed and pulled. It feels slow even though it's actually the second fastest. The word that kept popping into my head was "impressionist," and isn't that just wrong for Beethoven? Yet despite all logic, I liked it a lot. On the second go-around it wasn't really close.

Runner-up: #1
Aside from some mild agogics towards the end of the clip, I thought this was a relatively straightforward reading, but very well done. The slow movement had a good sense of arc.

#3
I didn't notice any audience noise, but the recording had a live feel, which I liked. The performance is the sort whose fans call it "subtle" and whose detractors call it "underplayed." If Richter had played the Waldstein, this is what it would have not sounded like. Is this Kempff?

#6
There were some things I liked here, a sense of delicacy (making it my other guess for Kempff), but there were some choices of dynamics and sustains that didn't make any sense to me.

#2
In my notes I wrote "something is missing here" 3 different times. This was the first one where I noticed rushed entries in the soft-loud section towards the end of the clip, though some other performers were just as bad.

#4
As with #5 I noticed lots of tempo fluctuations and hesitations, but on this one, they didn't work for me at all.

5 > 1 > 3 > 6 > 2 > 4

[Pat B]

Sinking feeling of inadequacy?  I chose 5 as my favorite, and it's near or at the bottom of everyone else's list! The thing is, I listened to them all again and I still place 5 near or at the top! I'm an amateur and certain I have the least experience of anyone around here, but can't help but like what I hear.  Like you, I feel fortunate to be able to have the opportunity to participate in an exercise like this.  My advice:  don't worry about it.

Well, I liked #5 the best too... and I said "relatively straightforward" about the one that two people (who probably know more than me about piano) thought was Gould... and I may have riled Cosi by mentioning Kempff for #6 -- though he should be happy that #6 seems to be winning.

[aukhawk]

One thing I've noticed about performing artists (and I've worked with a few) is that, they really don't like repeating themselves.  And the higher up the scale you get towards 'genius', the more this seems to be the case.

[Brian]

Quick reminder that about 26 hours remain. Believe it or not, 5 of the 6 pianists have been named either in this thread or in PMs to me.

[amw]

Quick reminder that about 26 hours remain. Believe it or not, 5 of the 6 pianists have been named either in this thread or in PMs to me.

Wow! The remaining pianist must be really obscure!

[Brian]

Wow! The remaining pianist must be really obscure!

Well, three of the six were "identified" only on the technicality that Todd knows who recorded sonatas in 2013 

[amw]

I'm surprised that Todd had to figure it out by the recording dates, rather than instantly identifying the performer from the first few seconds of each excerpt. He clearly needs to listen to more Beethoven cycles.

[Brian]

I'm surprised that Todd had to figure it out by the recording dates, rather than instantly identifying the performer from the first few seconds of each excerpt. He clearly needs to listen to more Beethoven cycles.

He hasn't voted, so he may not have listened. If he does he could probably ID at least 4, possibly 5 of the recordings, and guess the sixth.

[Ken B]

He hasn't voted, so he may not have listened. If he does he could probably ID at least 4, possibly 5 of the recordings, and guess the sixth.

This is what I love about this place. Most people consider me a fanatic, but around here...

[Bogey]

6,5,2,1,3,and 4.

Thanks, Brian.

[DavidW]

I like #3 the most.  The others are okay.  The descriptions of these pieces are all over the place.  What is cold to one listener is overly loud to another is understated to another etc etc

3 > (1=2=4=5=6)

[Carnivorous Sheep]

Listened through each of them once, starting from 6 and working up to 1.

Ranking:

6 > 1 = 2 > 3 > 5 > 4

Thanks for putting it together, eager to see the results.

[NJ Joe]

This is what I love about this place. Most people consider me a fanatic, but around here...

+1

[springrite]

This is what I love about this place. Most people consider me a fanatic, but around here...

There are enough fanatissimos around here that you barely register.

[Brian]

With a few hours left...

- nobody has chosen pianist #1 as their favorite OR their least favorite
- pianists 2, 3, and 4 have been listed in every single ballot spot; pianist 5 has been in every spot except (s)he is nobody's third-place choice
- over half of voters chose pianist #6 as their first place
- one of my all-time favorite Beethoven cycles, by pianist #4, is taking a beating
- pianists 2 and 3 are tied

[San Antone]

I listened to them right after the cips were posted and then skimmed them again Sunday.  Here's my recollections, ranked in order of preference:

#1 - Seemed to stick out as more enjoyable for me than the others
#4 - Also very strong, #4 and #1 were very close, in my estimation
#6 - Also, very close in my memory to the first two, as far as enjoyment
#5 - not memorable
#3 - not memorable
#2 - This is the only one I did not find very enjoyable