Mozart piano sonatas

Started by Mark, September 20, 2007, 05:16:34 AM

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Todd




Though I've acquired far fewer sets of Mozart's sonatas than Mr Beetgarden's, I've reached a point where many of the remaining cycles are by pianists I've never heard of.  A case in point, Ms Gitti Pirner.  A German pianist of some experience, and who has played with some A-list artists in her time, she recorded the cycle in the mid-90s to early aughts.  While I cannot report that this cycle ranks among the greats, I can state that it is rather enjoyable.  Ms Pirner never makes an unattractive sound, and her style is both serious and decourous, if you will; a few times, her playing harks back to the dreaded (?) Dresden Doll style of Gieseking, but with more seriousness.  Her dynamics are somewhat limited, her tempi sensible though on the slightly leisurely side, her tone generally rich and a bit bass-light.  Sound is generally very good, if perhaps not state of the art in terms of clarity, detail, etc.  Hardly a must-hear, but one to enjoy a few times.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Mandryka

#421
I've been listening to sonata 6, k284. It's the one with the massive set of variations in the final movement. I know someone who was singing the praises of Arrau in the final movement, but for me the performance lacks tension, and isn't very interesting. I have a hard time staying the course with Arrau.

The two I found that I liked more than Arrau are Gould, because it's funny. And most of all Dezso Ranki, because he's taut and it's architecturally more convincing than Arrau. The cenral minor key variation is like a turn, a twist on an otherwise sunny road. And there's lots of different shades of sunshine on Ranki's road. The real climax for Ranki is in the cantabile variation, var 11.

Anyway this is hard music to pull off. I'm not sure if anyone I've heard makes it work. Maybe the problem is with Mozart, maybe he didn't leave so many really fine keynoard sonatas. Half a dozen max is my guess.

It's probably me who's the problem. I'm not a great fan of the theme and variations form.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Florestan

This is the only set I have and the only one I'll ever need, too. 




Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Florestan on January 11, 2013, 10:26:06 AM
This is the only set I have and the only one I'll ever need, too. 



I have always held that box in high esteem. Haebler was a star in her time, and her approach to Mozart is essentially ideal, IMO. Mine is on Philips, FWIW, but the same cover (the blue part, that is).  :)

8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Leo K.

Quote from: Florestan on January 11, 2013, 10:26:06 AM
This is the only set I have and the only one I'll ever need, too. 



I just got this not too long ago and will listen soon :)

Good to know its held in high regard here.

kishnevi

But is it primitive enough?


Seriously,  this is one set of works in which a PI performance (van Oort) has driven any modern piano performance I've heard into the shade.  Although I haven't heard Haebler, and Gould is awaiting a first listen.
(For complete, or more or less complete sets on modern piano, I've got Kraus and Uchida.)

George

Quote from: Leo K. on January 11, 2013, 11:07:17 AM
I just got this not too long ago and will listen soon :)

Good to know its held in high regard here.

But it's OOP.  :'(
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

mc ukrneal

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on January 11, 2013, 11:51:36 AM
But is it primitive enough?

Sorry - what do you mean by this? Are you talking about all the sonatas or one in particular?
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

kishnevi

Quote from: mc ukrneal on January 11, 2013, 11:59:53 AM
Sorry - what do you mean by this? Are you talking about all the sonatas or one in particular?

Sorry.  It's a joke at the expense of an Amazon review I mentioned in a post on the Purchases Today thread.
Reviewer claimed that  Mozart's music was "too primitive" for his taste.

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on January 11, 2013, 12:10:42 PM
Sorry.  It's a joke at the expense of an Amazon review I mentioned in a post on the Purchases Today thread.
Reviewer claimed that  Mozart's music was "too primitive" for his taste.

:)  Well, oddly, I have always liked this set because she has mastered the piano to an extent that she makes it sound more like a fortepiano than a modern Steinway type. Not all reverbalicious. So when you wrote 'primitive enough?', my first thought was 'yeah, just right!'.   :)

8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Coopmv

Quote from: Florestan on January 11, 2013, 10:26:06 AM
This is the only set I have and the only one I'll ever need, too. 




It is shocking to see Ton Koopman doing Mozart ...     :o

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Coopmv on January 11, 2013, 05:12:13 PM

It is shocking to see Ton Koopman doing Mozart ...     :o

Well, it must remain a mystery, I'm afraid. Despite the fact that Koopman's name appears on the cover, and on the front of every disk envelope inside, if you read the credits for each disk, and read the liner notes from one end to the other, it appears that he didn't actually play a single piece in the box!! The duets (mainly with Hoffman) are all denoted, as well as the sole duo by Skoda/Demus, but Koop remains an apparent non-factor. Strange....   :-\

8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Mandryka

#432
Quote from: Gurn Blanston on January 11, 2013, 05:29:57 PM
Well, it must remain a mystery, I'm afraid. Despite the fact that Koopman's name appears on the cover, and on the front of every disk envelope inside, if you read the credits for each disk, and read the liner notes from one end to the other, it appears that he didn't actually play a single piece in the box!! The duets (mainly with Hoffman) are all denoted, as well as the sole duo by Skoda/Demus, but Koop remains an apparent non-factor. Strange....   :-\

8)

So who's playing the harpsichord (k400 for example)? Or is that not in the box (it's on the spotify version)

Koopman's done quite a few Mozart symphonies and divertimenti, not just keyboard music.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

jlaurson

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on January 11, 2013, 05:29:57 PM
Well, it must remain a mystery, I'm afraid. Despite the fact that Koopman's name appears on the cover, and on the front of every disk envelope inside, if you read the credits for each disk, and read the liner notes from one end to the other, it appears that he didn't actually play a single piece in the box!! The duets (mainly with Hoffman) are all denoted, as well as the sole duo by Skoda/Demus, but Koop remains an apparent non-factor. Strange....   :-\

8)

Isn't there any of 'his' stuff included? The Koop ought to be on early and harpsichord works like K 1a-f, K 2-5, K9a, K33b, K94, K312, K394< K395, K399-401, K408/1, K453a, and the K460 Variations.


Gurn Blanston

Quote from: jlaurson on January 12, 2013, 12:46:09 AM
Isn't there any of 'his' stuff included? The Koop ought to be on early and harpsichord works like K 1a-f, K 2-5, K9a, K33b, K94, K312, K394< K395, K399-401, K408/1, K453a, and the K460 Variations.

It's all on the piano, and if it is Koopman, he isn't credited in the booklet or on the disk itself. I had actually figured out where to expect them, but Philips didn't deign to say.... :-\

8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Coopmv

Quote from: Gurn Blanston on January 12, 2013, 06:22:28 AM
It's all on the piano, and if it is Koopman, he isn't credited in the booklet or on the disk itself. I had actually figured out where to expect them, but Philips didn't deign to say.... :-\

8)

Could Philips, a Dutch company, do such thing to a fellow citizen?    :o

Todd




I wasn't sure why I kept buying recordings by Ikuyo Nakamichi.  I mean, don't get me wrong, she's a good pianist, but she's variable.  Her technique isn't ironclad, her interpretations aren't the best things going.  And the price of her discs is hideously high – twenty-five to thirty a pop, and dependent on exchange rates.  Well, after hearing her Mozart set, I now know why I kept collecting her recordings.  The other recordings kept me interested until this gem came along.  Her Mozart cycle is the best thing she's done, and that's after hearing her LvB, Debussy, and some Chopin and Schumann.  She's just got it down.  Her style is meticulous, and if perhaps one might say she is precious here and there, at times presenting Mozart in Dresden Doll fashion, she pulls it off.  Her tone here is absolutely gorgeous.  Her tempi are generally a bit on the broad side, but she never sounds slow.  She embellishes in a most delightful and charming manner.  She deploys a usually effective rubato.  The only snag in the set is a Heidi Lowy-esque misfire in the Alla Turca of K331.  Her rubato misses the mark, though she is definitely more tasteful and more fun to listen to than Ms Lowy.  To top it all off, she throws in a bunch of variations and single movements.  It's a super super complete set.  Ultimately, she does not join my elite players here – Endres, Klien, Kraus mono, and Pires on Denon – but she is essentially on par with the great Eric Heidsieck. 

As to sound, well, this is a Blu-Spec CD2 release, and sound is absolutely first rate.  I can't say whether that is due to the technology, but I rather have my doubts.  Ms Nakamichi is, in my experience, probably the best recorded pianist working today, and her best sounding earlier releases sound every bit as good, and those are old-fashioned CDs and hybrid discs. 
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

George

Todd, do you hear a great amount of differences between the Kraus mono and stereo sets? The last time I compared, I didn't see much of a difference between them.
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

Todd

Quote from: George on October 23, 2013, 07:43:47 PMTodd, do you hear a great amount of differences between the Kraus mono and stereo sets? The last time I compared, I didn't see much of a difference between them.


Not huge differences, but the later cycle sounds slightly more rigid and the sound, though newer and in stereo, strikes me as a bit harsher. 
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

George

Quote from: Todd on October 23, 2013, 07:46:04 PM

Not huge differences, but the later cycle sounds slightly more rigid and the sound, though newer and in stereo, strikes me as a bit harsher.

Ok, thanks.
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure