Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

[Turner]

In my general experience (not speaking of this set specifically):
with some patience one will eventually find offers with lower prices of the recordings on one´s want-lists,
or they will be released on a budget label.

BTW there are cheaper prices for the box set, just to illustrate my point

http://www.sunrisemusic.com.hk/page.php?title=middle-03-sales&offset=30 ($85)
https://www.amazon.co.jp/Beethoven-Complete-Sonatas-Andrea-Lucchesini/dp/B00IFCWDSW ($155)

If you already have a considerable music- or Beethoven collection, no additional recording is worth $800, unless money isn´t really a problem at all, IMHO.

[Jo498]

I think I got that big Beethoven box a few years ago for 40 or 50 EUR which was a pretty good deal. I am not that wild about the Cluytens  and the concerti could probably obtained separately by the same artist (LvB #4 is Gilels/Ludwig, Vandernoot only conducts 1+2). I am not even through with the Heidsieck (and not quite sure I share the enthusiasm). But it is certainly worth for getting Heidsieck (if one wants them) and the violin and cello sonatas are excellent (they can be had fairly cheaply from French EMI). There are too many great recordings of the quartets to make the Hungarian quartet stick out but they are definitely worthwhile. The string trios are also excellent, the piano trios good enough (although I wonder if they might have reversed channels or a strange seating, the violin seems to the right, not left) I'd also say that Giulini's C major mass is among the better recordings of this piece (for the Christ on the Mount of Olives there is even less competition). And the bunch of songs with the still young Fi-Di (late 50s recordings) are worth having as well.

[GioCar]

If you mean, it is worth it? Is the music making that good? If that is what you mean, then YES.

Yes, exactly, it's what I mean. Thanks!

[GioCar]

In my general experience (not speaking of this set specifically):
with some patience one will eventually find offers with lower prices of the recordings on one´s want-lists,
or they will be released on a budget label.

BTW there are cheaper prices for the box set, just to illustrate my point

http://www.sunrisemusic.com.hk/page.php?title=middle-03-sales&offset=30 ($85)
https://www.amazon.co.jp/Beethoven-Complete-Sonatas-Andrea-Lucchesini/dp/B00IFCWDSW ($155)

If you already have a considerable music- or Beethoven collection, no additional recording is worth $800, unless money isn´t really a problem at all, IMHO.

The Hong Kong deal looks very good, thanks! Just cannot find if they ship to Europe. Have you/anybody tried them?

[Turner]

The Hong Kong deal looks very good, thanks! Just cannot find if they ship to Europe. Have you/anybody tried them?

I´m afraid not.
I have good experiences with lesser known dealers in Europe.

[George]

The Hong Kong deal looks very good, thanks! Just cannot find if they ship to Europe. Have you/anybody tried them?

I haven't trued them, but I have had superb service from amazon.jp direct.

[SonicMan46]

I'm reading great things on Lucchesini's Beethoven in this thread, despite being the pianist quite unknown (well, if compared to Schnabel, Kempff, Gilels, and so on).
Anyway, I'm getting more and more curious, and I am really thinking of getting his Beethoven box set. The problem is...the price! $800.00 (used) on Amazon!

I still have some hopes: I also found out that the whole set is dowloadable from PrestoClassical for "only" £73.00 (CD quality FLAC) but my question now is: is it worth? I have never paid so much for a downloading. I already have many (at least for me) complete sets: Backhaus, Arrau, Annie Fischer, Barenboim, Goode, Lewis, Pollini, and I'n not so sure I'd pay about €90.00 (or $100.00) for another set, in FLAC files only.
But my curiosity is growing ... 

Hi GioCar - I've been 'eyeing' that Lucchesini set for a number of years but obviously OOP at those prices; even the DL price quoted above is exorbitant in my opinion as is the obvious 'rip off' used offering - plan to just wait, plenty of other great 'fish in the pond' to enjoy -   Dave

[NorthNYMark]

I'm reading great things on Lucchesini's Beethoven in this thread, despite being the pianist quite unknown (well, if compared to Schnabel, Kempff, Gilels, and so on).
Anyway, I'm getting more and more curious, and I am really thinking of getting his Beethoven box set. The problem is...the price! $800.00 (used) on Amazon!

I still have some hopes: I also found out that the whole set is dowloadable from PrestoClassical for "only" £73.00 (CD quality FLAC) but my question now is: is it worth? I have never paid so much for a downloading. I already have many (at least for me) complete sets: Backhaus, Arrau, Annie Fischer, Barenboim, Goode, Lewis, Pollini, and I'n not so sure I'd pay about €90.00 (or $100.00) for another set, in FLAC files only.
But my curiosity is growing ... 

In my sampling of various sets, none have stood out to me quite as much as Lucchesini's. No one sounds quite like him to me, though of the ones you have, it is probably closest in style to Goode. I feel like the "old master" artwork chosen for his set functions as a remarkably apt metaphor for his style--flowing, unbroken lines displaying an almost sensuous ebb and flow, conveying a strong, muscular subject with an almost liquid sense of delicacy. I feel like Lucchesini displays the lightness and elegance of touch associated with Kempff (and Goode, to some extent), but what strikes me as a greater sense of tension and urgency--I feel a stronger sense of narrative flow with Lucchesini than with many (even most) others. The biggest downside to me is the sonics. Others (including George) have praised the set for good sound, but I hear the live presentation as relatively woolly and reverberant--I wish I could hear him with the kind of sonics we get in Peter Takacs's (or even Backhaus's) studio recordings. Admittedly, this is through 320 kbs streaming on Spotify, but that usually presents a reasonably fair representation of the overall  CD sonics. In spite of my reservations about the sound, I too will be on the lookout for a good deal on this set, because I find the performances so extraordinary.

That said, I don't think I have the experience with the sonatas at this point to be a particularly reliable judge of performance quality. If you can find Todd's original, long review of the set, I think that would give you a great sense of whether or not it would be worth a certain price to you--his descriptions were incredibly detailed (and fit remarkably well with my own perceptions of the set). Unfortunately, I can't find a link by doing a search on "Lucchesini"--I believe the review was on an older (and non-searchable?) version of the site, and I stumbled across it indirectly via a link from another thread (that I don't recall). If anyone can help with the link (or a better way to search for it), that would be much appreciated.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Here is Todd's Lucchesini review on the old forum.

[GioCar]

Here is Todd's Lucchesini review on the old forum.

Oh, I didn't know there was an "old forum"... Thanks for the link 
I have some doubts re a re-issue of this set at a lower price...I know Stradivarius a bit (actually they have their offices and record store not far from where I live) and I don't remember of any reissues of their recordings. I think I'm going to buy the downloads from PrestoClassical. At least they are in CD quality.

[Jo498]

I tend to agree with NorthNYMark wrt sonics on the Lucchesini although it does not bother me that much and while somewhat too reverbrant it is a beautiful and fairly realistic sound, I'd say.
It is a worthwhile set but I would not go out of my way and pay big bucks (that is, considerably more than another newish recording would cost) for it.

Another nitpick is that I find him very inconsistent in obeying repeats (I can be somewhat anal about that). I find the first movement of the first sonata simply too short without any repeats and I generally cannot understand why he plays some repeats and skips others. It might have to do with the live setting sometimes but hardly in the case of op.2/1i where this is just two pages or about a minute of music (he does play the repeat in op.106i...)

[hpowders]

For me, the great Hungarian pianist Annie Fischer, in her complete set, scales the heights more consistently than any other pianist I have ever listened to.

I enthusiastically recommend the set.

[SonicMan46]

For me, the great Hungarian pianist Annie Fischer, in her complete set, scales the heights more consistently than any other pianist I have ever listened to.

I enthusiastically recommend the set.

Well, since you're new to the forum - the Annie Fischer recommendation is one all of us know (I own the set convinced to purchase years ago by George) - if you search this particular thread w/ her name (which I just did), there are 141 hits!  Included in those hits is Todd's (one of our most esteemed Beethoven piano sonatas experts) listing (top ten shown below - if interested in those below this listing, check the date of his post).  Dave

Top Tier – The Holy Tetrarchy
Annie Fischer (Hungarton)
Friedrich Gulda (Amadeo)
Wilhelm Kempff (DG, mono)
Wilhelm Backhaus (mono)

Top Tier – The Rest of the Top Ten (sort of in order)
Wilhelm Kempff (DG, stereo)
Eric Heidsieck
Russell Sherman
Andrea Lucchesini
Emil Gilels
Daniel-Ben Pienaar

« Message by Todd on January 31, 2015, 04:29:31 PM »

[Oldnslow]

For a current sonata cycle (not complete yet but surely will be) I very much like the one by James Brawn. I'm also fond of the Jumppanen set, which will be complete very soon.  Both in state of the art sound.

[Pat B]

That said, I don't think I have the experience with the sonatas at this point to be a particularly reliable judge of performance quality. If you can find Todd's original, long review of the set, I think that would give you a great sense of whether or not it would be worth a certain price to you--his descriptions were incredibly detailed (and fit remarkably well with my own perceptions of the set). Unfortunately, I can't find a link by doing a search on "Lucchesini"--I believe the review was on an older (and non-searchable?) version of the site, and I stumbled across it indirectly via a link from another thread (that I don't recall). If anyone can help with the link (or a better way to search for it), that would be much appreciated.

I appreciate Todd's posts too (and I trust him more than some of the people who get paid to write about music), but nobody is the be-all and end-all of judging performances for everybody else. Trust your own ears!

GioCar: Lucchesini is on spotify. I'd certainly check that out before dropping $100 for a download.

[Jo498]

I have never even heard of Sherman and Pienaar... these are eccentric choices and the Lucchesini is not well known or well distributed either. The list might be based on a lot of listening but it is certainly not a consensus. The most famous or  most frequently discussed/recommended Beethoven sonata cycles (these are not my recommendations but what one will find usually mentioned) are probably

Schnabel
Backhaus (any)
Kempff (any, probably slight edge to the mono)
Arrau (Philips 1960s)
Gulda (amadeo 1967)
Brendel (any, probably the 1970s is the best known)
(maybe) Annie Fischer (published late/posthumously and more of an insider rec)

Then probably the incomplete one by Gilels and whatever Serkin and Richter recorded of the sonatas

[GioCar]

GioCar: Lucchesini is on spotify. I'd certainly check that out before dropping $100 for a download.

Thanks. I'm still waiting for the price to go down, but your suggestion seems very wise.

[merlin]

They are all available at youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpSgjODwkQ&list=PLbaLbEeppLAvL1toxHx6QxfTHTPNyKlPd

[Holden]

They are all available at youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpSgjODwkQ&list=PLbaLbEeppLAvL1toxHx6QxfTHTPNyKlPd

They are also available on Spotify. I really like what I am hearing the more sonatas I choose to listen to.

[Madiel]

I just listened to the first movement of op.2/1... and there's no exposition repeat. Aargh.