Another LvB Sonata Cycle To Completed This Month

[Todd]

Ikuyo Nakamichi's Beethoven sonata cycle will be finished off this month with the release of the last three sonatas.  I still have to pick up volume 10 as well, but I'll definitely be capping off the cycle.  I recently picked up five other volumes to complement the four I had previously, and Nakamichi's playing in all nine sets varies a bit in quality.  I will say that her volume 2 is a superb set, with her Pastorale being especially good.  (The two-disc set includes a 20 minute discussion of the work in Japanese.)  Her 27/1 is as good, and her Op 57 is surprisingly effective.  I tend to prefer faster, more intense takes on this work, but she plays with enough weight and power to pull it off well.  I'm definitely looking forward to her take on 110. 

RCA Japan is also reissuing a good chunk of her back catalog – mostly Chopin, with some Schumann and Grieg thrown in.  I may have to sample that, too.

The downside to all this is that these discs are only available in Japan (volume 1 of the LvB cycle aside), so the cost is a bit high.