Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

[Todd]

I know Solomon only recorded 18 of them, but I am curious where you'd place him.

I've heard only a handful of the sonatas.  I didn't particularly care for them, so I never pursued listening to the rest.  As a result, I can't really assess the overall quality of the recordings.

[George]

I've heard only a handful of the sonatas.  I didn't particularly care for them, so I never pursued listening to the rest.  As a result, I can't really assess the overall quality of the recordings.

Thanks, I haven't heard them in awhile. I bought them years ago and plan to give them another shot soon.

[Holden]

I quite like Backhaus in that mono cycle's op. 111. Ernst Levy (composer/pianist/musicologist) was also loose with tempo, I prefer him in the Hammerklavier and late sonatas. Levy would probably make my top 5 for late Beethoven interpreters.

What do you make of Backhaus in the Hammerklavier?

Of the late sonatas this is probably the best. The opening movement comes off well and I liked the slow movement. But then again I've heard much better from the likes of Solomon, Sokolov (a Moscow recording not easily attainable now) and Pollini.

[San Antone]

In listening to some Rachmaninoff from Maurizio Zaccaria I discovered that he has a complete Beethoven cycle, which I don't think was on Todd's list.



I'm assuming it is complete since there are 10 volumes.

Sounds pretty good to me.

[AnotherSpin]

In listening to some Rachmaninoff from Maurizio Zaccaria I discovered that he has a complete Beethoven cycle, which I don't think was on Todd's list.



I'm assuming it is complete since there are 10 volumes.

Sounds pretty good to me.

If it's not on Todd's list, then scientifically it doesn't exist.

[Kit]

In listening to some Rachmaninoff from Maurizio Zaccaria I discovered that he has a complete Beethoven cycle, which I don't think was on Todd's list.



I'm assuming it is complete since there are 10 volumes.

Sounds pretty good to me.

It is complete. As far as I know it was released as 12 installments or 3 volumes of 3 albums each approximately 2 years ago. Including Zaccaria, I think I currently have 133 complete, almost complete (i.e. Gilels) and mixed (i.e. Bilson) cycles in total, and might post the inventory here later on for future reference.

[Todd]

It is complete. As far as I know it was released as 12 installments or 3 volumes of 3 albums each approximately 2 years ago. Including Zaccaria, I think I currently have 133 complete, almost complete (i.e. Gilels) and mixed (i.e. Bilson) cycles in total, and might post the inventory here later on for future reference.

Please do.  I assume you collect both LP and digital cycles.  If you have Riefling or Varinska or Steinberg, may I inquire where you purchased them?

[Todd]

Riefling from a friend in Paris

Your friend was very generous to ship LPs from Paris, unless you paid for shipping.

Steinberg was some sort of a flea shop in Berlin I believe

I didn't think the Steinberg got international distribution.  I guess someone took it back to Germany and dumped it at a flea market.

Varinska should be online order from Japan.

Last I saw, it was available from Tower Japan only, and did not ship outside Japan unless one used White Rabbit or a similar service.  I believe it has been OOP for years now.

[prémont]

Including Zaccaria, I think I currently have 133 complete, almost complete (i.e. Gilels) and mixed (i.e. Bilson) cycles in total, and might post the inventory here later on for future reference.

This would interest me very much.

[Todd]

Evidently your world of imagination differs from the normal and sane people's, which we call 'the reality'.

Please clarify.  Are you asserting that Riefling made it to CD, that Steinberg received international distribution, or that Varinska is not OOP or that it was widely available at non-Tower Japanese vendors within the last decade?

[Todd]

Listen, I have seen some of your posts. You are obviously a textbook troll and I find it tragic that you have not been moderated for some 24000 posts. But, hey, surprise, some people travel from one country to another and some people have connections (which requires going out and knowing people). I really wish someone stopped you so that at least new people could share their knowledge, post some facts and express their respectful opinions. I'm putting you on my ignore list.

An intriguing response.

[ritter]

We ask all our esteemed fellow GMGers to please maintain the conversation civil and not resort to personal attacks or snarky derogatory comments. This is a topic that interests many members, and to which some clearly have valuable contributions to make. Thanks!

[Kit]

We ask all our esteemed fellow GMGers to please maintain the conversation civil and not resort to personal attacks or snarky derogatory comments. This is a topic that interests many members, and to which some clearly have valuable contributions to make. Thanks!

Could you be clear?

[ritter]

Could you be clear?

I find it hard to believe that my post requires any clarification...

[Kit]

I find it hard to believe that my post requires any clarification...

Well that explains it.

[Todd]

54.   Dirk Herten (2019)

There's a new name for me.  I wonder if it's a legitimate cycle, or if it is like Alicja Kot, Giancarlo Andretti, and a few others.  Amazon lists it on Amazon Music, though it cannot currently be streamed or purchased.  That's never a good sign.  A pianist named Dick Herten does have endorsements on LinkedIn, so that may be a good sign.

It's nice to see Kladetzky's name, though that is another of those cycles that has been gone for many more years than it was ever available.  One must be very intrepid to purchase all the volumes in that set.

[Kit]

This would interest me very much.

My apologies. I've made a mistake, I won't be sharing.

[prémont]

My apologies. I've made a mistake, I won't be sharing.

Why not?

[AnotherSpin]

My apologies. I've made a mistake, I won't be sharing.

There's no need to take offence at Todd. He's just the way he is, like everyone else. You'll get used to him and you'll stop taking it to heart.

[Brian]

It is hard to interpret tone on the internet, but even so, I don't understand what went wrong here. As a keen listener but not a huge collector (I probably only have 8-10 cycles - a lot for a "normal" person but not on GMG), I've streamed some Robert Riefling recordings and enjoyed them all. The lost-ish LP Beethoven cycle has become a "white whale" for me. Todd has also posted about his interest in the past.

Nobody asked for filesharing. Nobody even asked for evidence of your possession. We just love Beethoven and we're curious. Maybe better questions are: do you like the Riefling set? How often have you played it? Are the records in good condition?