Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

[George]

I did some quick A/Bs between the MP3 Op 10/1 and the FLAC of the same from the Taub set.  (I've had volume two for a while.)  Sonically, the MP3 is a bit softer and less clear in high frequencies and dynamics sound more compressed.  In other words, more or less what usually happens.  The sound quality is more than good enough, though.  While doing the comps, I thought it might make sense to try some MP3s from Michael Ponti.

How about Taub's playing? Third tier?

[Todd]

How about Taub's playing? Third tier?

I'll have to listen to the whole set first.  I think it is safe to say that he will be neither top nor bottom tier, though.  I do look forward to listening to his Op 106, which is one of the fastest on record, both in the opening movement and overall.

[amw]

I'll have to listen to the whole set first.  I think it is safe to say that he will be neither top nor bottom tier, though.  I do look forward to listening to his Op 106, which is one of the fastest on record, both in the opening movement and overall.

It's fast only partly because of his tempi and mostly because he rushes through a lot of passages. Sloppy finger work, too. I would avoid.

[bwv 1080]

Damn, Taub comes in about 2 minutes faster than the versions I have.  Much of it does seem rushed or else he thinks he is playing Lizst. 

https://www.youtube.com/v/eJMyeB6nVUc

[Todd]

It's fast only partly because of his tempi and mostly because he rushes through a lot of passages. Sloppy finger work, too. I would avoid.

I already spent the one dollar, though.  I must listen!

[PerfectWagnerite]

I'll have to listen to the whole set first.  I think it is safe to say that he will be neither top nor bottom tier, though.  I do look forward to listening to his Op 106, which is one of the fastest on record, both in the opening movement and overall.

How about op 111? The fastest one I know is Nat at 19+ minutes.

[Todd]

How about op 111? The fastest one I know is Nat at 19+ minutes.

His Op 111 is a bit on the broad side at 28'+.

[Mandryka]

I want to make a list of op 106 recordings on authentic pianos. There's

Stephan Moeller
Peter Serkin
Paul Badura Skoda
Andrea Lucchessini (unpublished concert performance)
Andrew Willis
Malcolm Binns
Ronald Brautigam

Anyone else?

[Mandryka]

Did Peter Serkin record op 106 on a modern piano?

[amw]

Yes, he did: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Sonata-No-Hammerklavier/dp/B00080M8GG

Bit hard to come by these days though. I'd call it one of my reference 106s.

[Jo498]

I keep Peter Serkin's historical piano recording (of the last 6 sonatas) around in the hope that some day I might get over the atrocious sound of the instrument. But so far it is sufficiently distracting so often that I cannot really enjoy this set.

[king ubu]

Any opinions on Hans Richter-Haaser's Beethoven sonatas? Not a complete cycle, but there's plenty between these two sets here:

[asin]B008LAO868[/asin]
[asin]B0040UEI6I[/asin]
I've started listening in depth yet. Bought the Schubert disc that's available on EMI/Warner and liking it a lot, I went looking for what else is out there ... seems he even disappeared from the Joachim Kaiser's pianists book (Tully Potter in his very informative liners to the Decca/Eloquence set mentions that, I think ... he was in the sixties edition but then no longer turned up in later ones).

[Mandryka]

Yes, he did: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Sonata-No-Hammerklavier/dp/B00080M8GG

Bit hard to come by these days though. I'd call it one of my reference 106s.

Yes someone's let me have it, I don't know what to make of this sonata any more, I feel a bit disoriented by Stephan Möller on the Bosendorfer, which I like. But I like Backhaus too so . . . total confusion!

[Mandryka]

Any opinions on Hans Richter-Haaser's Beethoven sonatas? Not a complete cycle, but there's plenty between these two sets here:

[asin]B008LAO868[/asin]
[asin]B0040UEI6I[/asin]
I've started listening in depth yet. Bought the Schubert disc that's available on EMI/Warner and liking it a lot, I went looking for what else is out there ... seems he even disappeared from the Joachim Kaiser's pianists book (Tully Potter in his very informative liners to the Decca/Eloquence set mentions that, I think ... he was in the sixties edition but then no longer turned up in later ones).

I recall an exceptional op 2/something and an exceptional op 106 and the Diabelli Variations are good too. The op 110 really was the thing that put me on to him. I get the feeling he was an outstanding pianist, I've never met anyone who doesn't appreciate his art. He's Apollo not Dionysius.

[Holden]

My first recording of Op2/1, 2/2 were Richter-Haaser on LP and I imprinted on them and also thought they were excellent. The OP 77 G minor Fantasia was also included. Later on I bought the red box set and still think those three performances are great, especially Op2/2. The rest of his Beethoven is also very good. Not sure which tier Todd would put them on.

[Todd]

[asin]B0040UEI6I[/asin]

I've heard only the EMI, and I agree with Mandryka that the Op 2 sonatas are superb, and Op 31 is very good.  The late sonatas are a bit slow, and the 106 opener has the disadvantage of being slow and repeatless (don't let the timing mislead you into thinking the pianist hits Beethoven's metronome markings).  Definitely more classical than romantic in approach.  Based on what I've heard, third tier for me.

[Mandryka]

I've heard only the EMI, and I agree with Mandryka that the Op 2 sonatas are superb, and Op 31 is very good.  The late sonatas are a bit slow, and the 106 opener has the disadvantage of being slow and repeatless (don't let the timing mislead you into thinking the pianist hits Beethoven's metronome markings).  Definitely more classical than romantic in approach.  Based on what I've heard, third tier for me.

There's something touchingly naive about the way he plays the first movement of 110, I listened again to op 106/1 but didn't enjoy it - nothing follows. 

[Pat B]

I want to make a list of op 106 recordings on authentic pianos. There's

Stephan Moeller
Peter Serkin
Paul Badura Skoda
Andrea Lucchessini (unpublished concert performance)
Andrew Willis
Malcolm Binns
Ronald Brautigam

Anyone else?

John Khouri. I spotified the opening then turned it off.

The Möller was on my list for a while, so I just ordered it from cdbaby. I wasn't completely sold by the samples but his modern-piano recording (again via spotify) is excellent.

[Oldnslow]

Re:Richter-Haaser. Just listened to his Brahms 2nd with Karajan  and was mightily impressed with both the pianist and conductor. Look forward to listening to both the Eloquence and  French EMI Beethoven performances 

[Amore di Viola]

Ulysses spent ten years on his Odyssey. I spent ten months deep-diving into the 32. Ten months of almost daily listening, to the exclusion of everything else, reading the scores, dipping into Tovey's analyses, listening to Schiffs youtube commentaries - and, above all of course, listening to the recordings. I took an almost fully Hungarian approach, limiting myself to Schiff and Fischer's cycles (with Solomon joining for the late ones). I can kinda get my head around the early and middle sonatas, but the late ones are so dense, so textured and so varied that I think I will never tire of them.
Having Fischer's more romantic/dionysian approach juxtaposed to Schiff's more cerebral/Apollonian style was a huge advantage. Still I guess there is so much more to be found in other interpretations, so I would like to invite some comments, if possible:
1:Would you point to any interpretations of any specific sonatas that add something unique?
2: Or to any fortepiano recordings of the late sonatas where the interpretation is truly outstanding?
3: Anybody want to recommend recordings of the Diabelli variations? And the bagatelles?
4: And if I should ever find my way out of this vast landscape, where should I go? The string quartets? Brahms? More rhetorically, what can possibly follow op. 111??