Rudolf Serkin Appreciation Thread

[Holden]

Has anyone here heard his live Appassionata from Lugano 1957 on Ermitage? It seems to be something special.

Yes, I just listened to it via the web. It is certainly a different take on the work and Serkin seems to have sound all of his own. However, for me it will not replace Richter (any of the 3 recordings from 1960) Gilels from 1961 or Rubinstein from 1945. That said, this is an excellent performance of this sonata.

George - you may want to listen to your CD and comment.

[George]

Yes, I just listened to it via the web. It is certainly a different take on the work and Serkin seems to have sound all of his own. However, for me it will not replace Richter (any of the 3 recordings from 1960) Gilels from 1961 or Rubinstein from 1945. That said, this is an excellent performance of this sonata.

George - you may want to listen to your CD and comment.

Will do. That Gilels is tremendous BTW. I've yet to hear the Rubinstein, but of course the Richters very special.

[Todd]

I think he did a mono and a stereo set with Ormandy, right?

I don't know if there's a stereo set or not.  The mono is at MDT.  It may be in one of the many repackagings out there too.

[George]

I don't know if there's a stereo set or not.  The mono is at MDT.  It may be in one of the many repackagings out there too.

Thanks. I just ran a search and unfortunately only came up with the Serkin/Ormandy PC5:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//RET031.htm

[George]

Yes, I just listened to it via the web. It is certainly a different take on the work and Serkin seems to have sound all of his own. However, for me it will not replace Richter (any of the 3 recordings from 1960) Gilels from 1961 or Rubinstein from 1945. That said, this is an excellent performance of this sonata.

George - you may want to listen to your CD and comment.

Ok, here's my two cents. If only the first movement weren't so rushed and matter of fact, this one would be great. Instead, I think it's good. The central movement is played well and the finale is perfectly paced and the recorded sound is fine, for the most part. This work never struck me as Serkin's forte, but as Holden says, this is a very different take on the work. Nice urgency and intensity, but his mono is certainly better.

[jwinter]

Yes, this set is a must have, especially since it is the only available set of Serkin playing these works.

Hi George, not a recommendation, but I assume you're aware of this?



I haven't heard it, but the few reviews I've seen suggest that Serkin was well past his prime, and Ozawa not particularly inspiring.  I'd be interested if anybody can report their first-hand impressions, though.

I agree his Beethoven is generally top-notch -- I had the old Moonlight/Pathetique/Appasionata set on cassette years ago and darn near wore it out.  His Brahms concerti with Szell were my introductions to those works, and I still like them a lot.

[George]

Hi George, not a recommendation, but I assume you're aware of this?



I haven't heard it, but the few reviews I've seen suggest that Serkin was well past his prime, and Ozawa not particularly inspiring.  I'd be interested if anybody can report their first-hand impressions, though.

Bogey has it, perhaps he will weigh in at some point tonight?

I agree his Beethoven is generally top-notch -- I had the old Moonlight/Pathetique/Appasionata set on cassette years ago and darn near wore it out.  His Brahms concerti with Szell were my introductions to those works, and I still like them a lot.

Yeah, with him, earlier is better in Beethoven anyway. Those Brahms concerti are excellent, as their styles seem to fit like a glove.

[Bogey]

Hi George, not a recommendation, but I assume you're aware of this?



I haven't heard it, but the few reviews I've seen suggest that Serkin was well past his prime, and Ozawa not particularly inspiring.  I'd be interested if anybody can report their first-hand impressions, though.

I agree his Beethoven is generally top-notch -- I had the old Moonlight/Pathetique/Appasionata set on cassette years ago and darn near wore it out.  His Brahms concerti with Szell were my introductions to those works, and I still like them a lot.

I will give it a try George, but this set is a difficult one to assess IMO.

I only have No. 5 from this set.  Here is why:

I do not know if the orchestra is not inspiring here JW, as I actually find their playing quite plesant.  Granted, nothing to write home about, but very nice none the least.  However, I have always thought that the recording of their playing sounded a bit muffled, while Serkin's was very clear and wonderful.  It is sort of like that they took a very good 50's recording (the BSO in this case) and spliced it with a more modern recording of Serkin's.

Now, having stated the above, I still have not ruled out an entire set because Serkin is that good on my 5th.  I have tried other recordings and though this has this glaring flaw to my ears (and many disagree with my assessment), it is still one of the best I have heard.  When in comes to complete cycles, of which I have not chosen one yet, I have narrowed it down to these two:

 


Also, JW, with the Beethoven collection that you have already put together, I cannot see this set hurting your collection.  It will add to it, but just may not get the playing time you are hoping for due to the fact that Serkin is the soloist and that may not be enough in this case.

[Renfield]

I have the 2nd and 4th concerto, from the Serkin/Ozawa cycle on Teldec.

And indeed, I rather like that disc. I can't say it goes right to the top of my "favourite Beethoven concerto recordings" (where Kempff, and also Perahia generally rule supreme), but it is certainly a disc I enjoyed!


One thing to note, though, is that if you don't like the "Ozawa" sound (slightly indistinct, somewhat "curvy" rather than "angular" - similar to the Tchaikovsky concerto with Mullova on Philips, or the Swan Lake on DG), that might be a problem.

So the orchestral contribution is certainly a bit idiosyncratic: I liked it, but YMMV, as they say. As for Serkin's playing, and even though I haven't heard him in the concertos from another source, I think he does pretty alright.

(In other words, I didn't find his playing anything but splendid.)


Edit: Typo. I meant Perahia, though I do very much want to hear Arrau in the 4th concerto.

[Bogey]

Good to know this Renfield.  One more reason why I might not jump at the entire set unless it comes from a used shop at a decent price.

[bassio]

I admire his virile yet somehow restrained approach to Beethoven. I only have an RCA CD of the 4 named sonatas, and I was searching for a discography of his - you know, for the Beethoven Sonatas. All I know that he did not record a complete set.

Still have not heard the concertos.

[George]

I admire his virile yet somehow restrained approach to Beethoven. I only have an RCA CD of the 4 named sonatas, and I was searching for a discography of his - you know, for the Beethoven Sonatas.

Here's a discography of Serkin's recordings:

http://my.dreamwiz.com/fischer/Serkin/discography-serkin.htm#Beethoven