LvB Op 101

[Holden]

Based on the LvB cycle thread I've decided to carry on with the series of threads on all the individual PS which I started nearly two years ago (and has now vanished)

I thought I'd begin with a sonata I love very much and of which I have a number of excellent  recordings. To save a lot of bombast and rhetoric I want you to nominate only ONE recording of this work and if you could say why, it would add considerably to the process.

I'll leave my own nomination until the end

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, I only have about 15 or so recordings, I certainly haven't heard all the possibles, but the one I chose was Grigory Sokolov. Like all Beethoven sonatas, this one has a blend of power and poetry, and Sokolov nails them both very well in this recording. In the first movement, Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung, the poetic sensitivity is right out on his sleeve. I think too many pianists have a hard time hitting this one, usually seeming to be unable to find the right blend without going overboard.



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Listening to:
Ronald Brautigam - Op 010 #3 Sonata #07 in D 2nd mvmt - Largo e mesto

[Josquin des Prez]

Gilels and Feltsman for me. When it comes to Beethoven's late works, i prefer a more Apollonian approach to the usual Dionysian treatment of this composer.

[Todd]

Kovacevich on EMI. 

[PSmith08]

Pollini - DG

Pollini's precision and textual fidelity carry the day as far as I am concerned. They also prove those who would say that Pollini is reserved and somewhat cold wrong: there is plenty of emotion here, but the listener is not slapped in the face with it.

[tab]

Richter of course. 

[George]

Annie Fischer - Gentle beauty in the first movement leads to barnstorming dynamics in the second. The third movement is played with a profound beauty and although the finale is not at the same level, I adore it nonetheless. Her interpretation overall is dramatic, beautiful and intense - just how I like my Beethoven.

Kempff's stereo recording gets an honorable mention here.

[Sergeant Rock]

Whenever I compare Grimaud's Beethoven (she's recorded very little so far) to the established big names, I find her comparable with the best and little touches often put her over the top and into the winners circle (her op.110 for one). Her recent recording of op.101 is of real stature. To me she's both yin and yang: always powerful and "masculine" when need be, but soft and delicate, sometimes achingly so, when the music calls for it.




I hope for a complete Beethoven cycle from her but it's not likely I'll ever see one. She seems to record only works she's really in tune with (like Richter?) and exhibits no need or desire for completion in the sense we collectors mean.

Sarge

[Josquin des Prez]

^ Eeewww, her Beethoven is dreadful. What the heck?

[Sergeant Rock]

^ Eeewww, her Beethoven is dreadful. What the heck?

You're being silly, Prez...or are you one of those insufferable dudes who think a pretty face can't be a genuine musical talent too?

Sarge

[Gurn Blanston]

You're being silly, Prez...or are you one of those insufferable dudes who think a pretty face can't be a genuine musical talent too?

Sarge

Actually, he's just one of those insufferable dudes.



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Listening to:
RV 354 Concerto in a for Violin Op 7 #4 - I musici / Accardo - RV 354 Concerto in a for Violin 3rd mvmt - Allegro

[val]

My favorite version of the opus 101:

Sviatoslav Richter (PRAGA), because of his dynamic and contrasts and because in the Adagio he shows a very natural phrasing and a pure and very touching emotion.

But Arrau and Gulda have also great qualities.

[DavidRoss]

Of the dozen or so recordings I have, Mr. Goode is the best, because of the bell-like clarity of each note and its thoughtful placement in relation to the others in micro-shadings of tone, timing, and dynamics.  Furthermore, the spell he weaves in the first movement is sustained in the second, rather than shattered by too forceful an entrance like most other pianists.  To me there's something mystical and almost other-worldly in Goode's performance of this piece.  He effin' A nails it.

[Josquin des Prez]

You're being silly, Prez...or are you one of those insufferable dudes who think a pretty face can't be a genuine musical talent too?

Sarge

As opposed to those insufferable dudes who have to elevate a pretty face to the status of a genuine musical talent out of misguided chivalry or a sycophantic sense of worship towards the female sex? You know who you are.

[Holden]

The list contains Sokolov, Gilels, Kovacevich, Pollini, Richter, Annie, Grimaud and Goode and only Richter got more than one vote. This doesn't surprise me as this is a very elusive work and definitive performances are hard to gauge and was also the reason I started with this sonata.

My favourite is the Praga Richter. Time for a new thread

[Rod Corkin]

Based on the LvB cycle thread I've decided to carry on with the series of threads on all the individual PS which I started nearly two years ago (and has now vanished)

I thought I'd begin with a sonata I love very much and of which I have a number of excellent  recordings. To save a lot of bombast and rhetoric I want you to nominate only ONE recording of this work and if you could say why, it would add considerably to the process.

I'll leave my own nomination until the end

There is only one choice for Op101 - Paul Badura-Skoda performing on his Graf fortepiano (Astree). But I doubt you can find this recording these days.

[rubio]

There is only one choice for Op101 - Paul Badura-Skoda performing on his Graf fortepiano (Astree). But I doubt you can find this recording these days.

I don't know if the complete Beethoven cycle of Badura-Skoda includes the same recording of Op101?

http://www.amazon.de/Die-Klaviersonaten-Paul-Badura-Skoda/dp/B0000669UV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1212835442&sr=1-1

[FideLeo]

I don't know if the complete Beethoven cycle of Badura-Skoda includes the same recording of Op101?

http://www.amazon.de/Die-Klaviersonaten-Paul-Badura-Skoda/dp/B0000669UV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1212835442&sr=1-1

No...BS did more than one LvB cycle, but only one of them is on period instruments (from which Rod
took his favourite). 

[Rod Corkin]

No...BS did more than one LvB cycle, but only one of them is on period instruments (from which Rod
took his favourite). 

Correct, the set on period instruments has not been available generally for years. It is a mixed bag, but the late sonatas are done nicely on the whole. The Graf sounds magnificent, I seriously recommend people forget Steinway for Beethoven's music.

[Todd]

I seriously recommend people forget Steinway for Beethoven's music.

Won't happen.  Shouldn't happen.