Beethoven: Piano Sonata in B flat, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier" / Andante Favori, WoO 57

On this CD:

1. Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ("Hammerklavier") Op. 106
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Barry Douglas

2. Andante for piano in F major ("Andante favori") WoO 57
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Barry Douglas

Tracks:

Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1: Allegro
Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1: Adagio
Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1: Menuetto: Allegretto
Sonata No.1 In F Minor, Op.2 No.1: Prestissimo
Sonata No.2 In A Major, Op.2 No.2: Allegro vivace
Sonata No.2 In A Major, Op.2 No.2: Largo appassionato
Sonata No.2 In A Major, Op.2 No.2: Scherzo: Allegretto
Sonata No.2 In A Major, Op.2 No.2: Rondo: Grazioso
Sonata No.3 In C Major, Op.2 No.3: Allegro con brio
Sonata No.3 In C Major, Op.2 No.3: Adagio
Sonata No.3 In C Major, Op.2 No.3: Scherzo: Allegro
Sonata No.3 In C Major, Op.2 No.3: Allegro assai

Tracks:

Sonata No.5 In C Minor, Op.10 No.1: Allegro molto e con brio
Sonata No.5 In C Minor, Op.10 No.1: Adagio molto
Sonata No.5 In C Minor, Op.10 No.1: Finale: Prestissimo
Sonata No.6 In F Major, Op.10 No.2: Allegro
Sonata No.6 In F Major, Op.10 No.2: Allegretto
Sonata No.6 In F Major, Op.10 No.2: Presto
Sonata No.7 In D Major, Op.10 No.3: Presto
Sonata No.7 In D Major, Op.10 No.3: Largo e mesto
Sonata No.7 In D Major, Op.10 No.3: Menuetto: Allegro
Sonata No.7 In D Major, Op.10 No.3: Rondo: Allegro
Sonata No.22 In F Major, Op.54: In tempo di Menuetto
Sonata No.22 In F Major, Op.54: Allegretto - Piu allegro

Tracks:

Sonata No.4 In E Flat Major, Op7: Allegro molto e con brio
Sonata No.4 In E Flat Major, Op7: Largo con gran espressione
Sonata No.4 In E Flat Major, Op7: Allegro
Sonata No.4 In E Flat Major, Op7: Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso
Sonata No.9 In E Major, Op.14 No.1: Allegro
Sonata No.9 In E Major, Op.14 No.1: Allegretto
Sonata No.9 In E Major, Op.14 No.1: Rondo: Allegro comodo
Sonata No.10 In G Major, Op.14 No.2: Allegro
Sonata No.10 In G Major, Op.14 No.2: Andante
Sonata No.10 In G Major, Op.14 No.2: Scherzo: Allegro assai

Tracks:

Sonata No.11 In B Flat Major, Op.22: Allegro con brio
Sonata No.11 In B Flat Major, Op.22: Adagio con molta espressione
Sonata No.11 In B Flat Major, Op.22: Menuetto
Sonata No.11 In B Flat Major, Op.22: Rondo: Allegretto
Sonata No.12 In A Flat Major, Op.26: Andante von variazioni
Sonata No.12 In A Flat Major, Op.26: Scherzo: Allegro molto
Sonata No.12 In A Flat Major, Op.26: Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe: Maestoso andante
Sonata No.12 In A Flat Major, Op.26: Allegro
Sonata No.13 In E Flat Major, Op.27 No.1: Andante - Allegro
Sonata No.13 In E Flat Major, Op.27 No.1: Allegro molto e vivace
Sonata No.13 In E Flat Major, Op.27 No.1: Adagio con espressione - Allegro vivace

Tracks:

SONATA NO.8 IN C MINOR, OP.13 'PATHETIQUE': Grave - Allegro molto e con brio
SONATA NO.8 IN C MINOR, OP.13 'PATHETIQUE': Adagio cantabile
SONATA NO.8 IN C MINOR, OP.13 'PATHETIQUE': Rondo: Allegro
Sonata No.14 InC Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': Adagio sostenuto
Sonata No.14 InC Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': Allegretto
Sonata No.14 InC Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': Presto agitato - Adagio - Presto agitato
SONATA NO.23 IN F MINOR, OP.57 'APPASSIONATA': Allegro assai - Piu allegro
SONATA NO.23 IN F MINOR, OP.57 'APPASSIONATA': Andante con moto
SONATA NO.23 IN F MINOR, OP.57 'APPASSIONATA': Allegro ma non troppo - Presto

Tracks:

Sonata No.15 In D Major, Op.28 'Pastoral': Allegro
Sonata No.15 In D Major, Op.28 'Pastoral': Andante
Sonata No.15 In D Major, Op.28 'Pastoral': Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Sonata No.15 In D Major, Op.28 'Pastoral': Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
Sonata No.21 In C Major, Op.53 'Waldstein': Allegro con brio
Sonata No.21 In C Major, Op.53 'Waldstein': Introduzione (Adagio molto) - Rondo (Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo)
Sonata No.19 In G Minor, Op.49 No.1: Andante
Sonata No.19 In G Minor, Op.49 No.1: Rondo: Allegro
Sonata No.20 In G Major, Op.49 No.2: Allegro ma non troppo
Sonata No.20 In G Major, Op.49 No.2: Tempo di menuetto

Tracks:

Sonata No. 16 In G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 16 In G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: Adagio grazioso
Sonata No. 16 In G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: Rondo: Allegretto - Adagio - Presto
Sonata No. 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'The Tempest': Largo - Allegro
Sonata No. 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'The Tempest': Adagio
Sonata No. 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'The Tempest': Allegretto
Sonata No.18 In E Flat Major, Op.31 No.3: Allegro
Sonata No.18 In E Flat Major, Op.31 No.3: Scherzo: Allegretto vivace
Sonata No.18 In E Flat Major, Op.31 No.3: Menuetto: Moderato grazioso
Sonata No.18 In E Flat Major, Op.31 No.3: Presto con fuoco

Tracks:

Sonata No.24 In F Sharp Major, Op.78: Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo
Sonata No.24 In F Sharp Major, Op.78: Allegro vivace
Sonata No.25 in G major, Op.79: Presto alla tedesca
Sonata No.25 in G major, Op.79: Andante
Sonata No.25 in G major, Op.79: Vivace
Sonata No.26 In E Flat Major, Op.81a 'Les Adieux': Das Lebewohl (Les Adieux): Adagio - Allegro
Sonata No.26 In E Flat Major, Op.81a 'Les Adieux': Abwesenheit (L'Absence): Andante espressivo
Sonata No.26 In E Flat Major, Op.81a 'Les Adieux': Wiedersehn (Le Retour): Vivacissimamente - Poco andante - Tempo 1
Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90: Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90: Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen

Tracks:

Sonata No.28 In A Major, Op.101: Allegretto ma non troppo
Sonata No.28 In A Major, Op.101: Vivace alla Marcia
Sonata No.28 In A Major, Op.101: Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto - Tempo del primo pezzo - Allegro
Sonata No.29 In B Flat Major, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': Allegro
Sonata No.29 In B Flat Major, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': Scherzo: Assai vivace - Presto - Tempo 1
Sonata No.29 In B Flat Major, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': Adagio sostenuto
Sonata No.29 In B Flat Major, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': Largo - Allegro - Prestissimo - Allegro risoluto (Fuga a tre voci, con alcune licenze)

Tracks:

Sonata No.30 In E Major, Op.109: Vivace, ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo - Tempo 1
Sonata No.30 In E Major, Op.109: Prestissimo
Sonata No.30 In E Major, Op.109: Tema: Andante molto cantabile e espressivo - Variazioni 1-6
Sonata No.31 In A Flat Major, Op.110: Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo
Sonata No.31 In A Flat Major, Op.110: Allegro molto
Sonata No.31 In A Flat Major, Op.110: Adagio ma non troppo
Sonata No.31 In A Flat Major, Op.110: Fuga: Allegro ma non troppo - L'istesso tempo di arioso - L'istesso tempo della Fuga - Meno allegro
Sonata No.32 in C minor, op.111: Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Sonata No.32 in C minor, op.111: Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile - Variazioni

Customer Reviews:

Barenboim's Beethvoen.......2007-06-27

I heard Bachaus play all Beethoven recitals at Carnegie Hall, in NYC. At that time he was the acknowledged master of the Beethvoen Sonata. With Barenboim, the old order changeth, yielding place to new. These recordings have fire, tempestuousness and passion, all emotions that belong in Beethoven.

One of the very best ever.......2007-02-15

This set has to be experienced. The clarity of these performances is beyond belief. If it's not the best set of Beethoven Sonatas, it is certainly among the very best. Take for example the first movement of Sonata number 21. It is so easy to have a performer play all the notes just as Beethoven wrote them and yet leave the listener in a morass of confusion without the slightest idea of what he had in mind. Not here. The ideas pour forth in a white light that has to be experienced. It really has to be experienced!! I love these performances. I will play them until I die. Oh...and the recordings are technically excellent. At least when played through Levinson electronics and Maggies....superb!

dead in the water.......2007-01-12

Sorry, I just don't like Barenboim's renditions. Beethoven is my favourite composer, depending on my mood that is, and nothing moves me as his music can. But I just don't get Barenboim's renditions... doesn't do a thing for me. Something of Beethoven's depth and richness gets totally "lost in translation".

Better off finding a better performance of these if you really want to be "blown away". My favorite "Beethoven" conductor would have to be Herbert von Karajan; and as for individual pianists my all time favorite is Maurizio Pollini, whose performances are exquisite, in both technique and expression! If you are a music lover you should really check his work out if you haven't already. My favorite Beethoven CD by him is "Die Spaten Klaviersonaten" (Beethoven) by Deutsche Grammophon in their "legendary recordings" series. It is a real gem! (the sound quality is excellent also)

Sublime expression nourished by a colossal vision!.......2006-03-23

Thanks to this immense and untiring activity in the field of the orchestral direction, his vision as pianist has enriched himself quite a lot: Barenboim performs these well known Sonatas with a splendid architectural construction; according Schnabel `s tradition.

And that is a very remarkable good point in this musical moment where the pianist technique is eclipsing and even annulling the personal approach in the most of pianists all over the world. Honesty, conviction, vision and commitment dress those interpretations loaded of expression and personality.

In the great tradition of the great Beethovenian keyboard giants of the past, Daniel explores and plays every little bar with that well felt intensity of someone who in Beethoven `s there is much more than simple music. In Beethoven the music is not a goal by itself; but a revelation superior to any philosophy; all his musical legacy possess values that are placed of the standards. There is not art without second intention and that is precisely what Barenboim has made with this fabulous cycle of Beethoven Sonatas.

If you really want to listen remarkable performances far beyond of the trivial conventionalisms, go for this record.

Performed with great enthusiasm.......2004-05-16

This is classic early Barenboim (he was just 24 when he started recording this set in 1966). He is very enthusiastic and expressive (if you don't like him, he "takes liberties" and "shows off"). The slow movements are veerrry slow, and the fast ones really rip. Pianissimo is extremely soft, and fortissimo rattles the windows! [My wife insists that I wear headphones for late-night listening.]

Tracks:

Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 1. Allegro - Beethoven
Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 2. Adagio - Beethoven
Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 3. Menuetto. Allegretto - Beethoven
Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 4. Prestissimo - Beethoven
Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 1. Allegro vivace - Beethoven
Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 2. Largo appassionato - Beethoven
Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegretto - Beethoven
Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 4. Rondo. Grazioso - Beethoven
Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 1. Allegro con brio - Beethoven
Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 2. Adagio - Beethoven
Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegro - Beethoven
Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 4. Allegro assai - Beethoven

Tracks:

Sonata No. 5, Op. 10 In C Minor: 1. Allegro molto e con brio - Beethoven
Sonata No. 5, Op. 10 In C Minor: 2. Adagio molto - Beethoven
Sonata No. 5, Op. 10 In C Minor: 3. Finale. Prestissimo - Beethoven
Sonata No. 6, Op. 10 In F Major: 1. Allegro - Beethoven
Sonata No. 6, Op. 10 In F Major: 2. Allegretto - Beethoven
Sonata No. 6, Op. 10 In F Major: 3. Presto - Beethoven
Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 1. Presto - Beethoven
Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 2. Largo e mesto - Beethoven
Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 3. Menuetto. Allegro - Beethoven
Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 4. Rondo. Allegro - Beethoven

Tracks:

Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 2. Largo, con gran espressione
Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 3. Allegro
Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 4. Rondo. Poco allegretto e grazioso
Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 'Pathetique' In C Minor: 1. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio
Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 'Pathetique' In C Minor: 2. Adagio cantabile
Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 'Pathetique' In C Minor: 3. Rondo. Allegro
Sonata No. 9, Op. 14 In E Major: 1. Allegro
Sonata No. 9, Op. 14 In E Major: 2. Allegretto
Sonata No. 9, Op. 14 In E Major: 3. Rondo. Allegro comodo
Sonata No. 10, Op. 14 In G Major: 1. Allegro
Sonata No. 10, Op. 14 In G Major: 2. Andante
Sonata No. 10, Op. 14 In G Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegro assai

Tracks:

Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 1. Allegro con brio
Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 2. Adagio con molta espressione
Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 3. Menuetto
Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 4. Rondo. Allegretto
Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 1. Andante con Variazioni
Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 2. Scherzo. Allegro molto
Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe
Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 4. Allegro
Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 1. Andante - Allegro - Tempo I - attaca:
Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 2. Allegro molto e vivace - attaca:
Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 3. Adagio con espressione - attaca:
Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 4. Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 'Mondschein-Sonate' In C Sharp Minor: 1. Adagio sostenuto - attaca:
Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 'Mondschein-Sonate' In C Sharp Minor: 2. Allegretto - attaca:
Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 'Mondschein-Sonate' In C Sharp Minor: 3. Presto agitato

Tracks:

Sonata No. 16, Op. 31 In G Major: 1. Allegro vivace - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 16, Op. 31 In G Major: 2. Adagio grazioso - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 16, Op. 31 In G Major: 3. Rondo. Allegretto - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 'Sturm-Sonate' In D Minor: 1. Largo - Allegro - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 'Sturm-Sonate' In D Minor: 2. Adagio - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 'Sturm-Sonate' In D Minor: 3. Allegretto - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 1. Allegro - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 2. Scherzo. Allegretto vivace - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 3. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 4. Presto con fuoco - L.V. Beethoven

Tracks:

Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 1. Allegro
Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 2. Andante
Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 4. Rondo. Allegro, ma non troppo
Sonata No. 19, Op. 49 In G Minor: 1. Andante
Sonata No. 19, Op. 49 In G Minor: 2. Rondo. Allegro
Sonata No. 20, Op. 49 In G Major: 1. Allegro, ma non troppo
Sonata No. 20, Op. 49 In G Major: 2. Tempo di Menuetto
Sonata No.21, Op. 53 'Waldstein-Sonate' In C Major: 1. Allegro con brio
Sonata No.21, Op. 53 'Waldstein-Sonate' In C Major: 2. Introduzione. Adagio molto - attaca:
Sonata No.21, Op. 53 'Waldstein-Sonate' In C Major: 3. Rondo. Allegretto moderato
Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Apassionata' In F Minor: 1. In tempo d'un Menuetto
Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Apassionata' In F Minor: 2. Allegretto

Tracks:

Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Appasionata' In F Minor: 1. Allegro assai
Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Appasionata' In F Minor: 2. Andante con moto - attaca:
Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Appasionata' In F Minor: 3. Allegro, ma non troppo - Presto
Sonata No. 24, Op. 78 In F Sharp Major: 1. Adagio cantabile - Allegro, ma non troppo
Sonata No. 24, Op. 78 In F Sharp Major: 2. Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 25, Op. 79 In G Major: 1. Presto alla tedesca
Sonata No. 25, Op. 79 In G Major: 2. Andante
Sonata No. 25, Op. 79 In G Major: 3. Vivace
Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a 'Les Adieux' In E Flat Major: 1. Das Lebewohl (Les Adieux): Adagio - Allegro
Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a 'Les Adieux' In E Flat Major: 2. Abwesenheit (L'Absence): Andante espressivo
Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a 'Les Adieux' In E Flat Major: 3. Das Wiedersehn (Le Retour): Vivacissimamente
Sonata No. 27, Op. 90 In E Minor: 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
Sonata No. 27, Op. 90 In E Minor: 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen

Tracks:

Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung: Allegretto, ma non troppo
Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 2. Lebhaft, marschmassig: Vivace alla Marcia
Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll: Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto - attaca:
Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 4. Geschwinde, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit: Allegro
Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 1. Allegro
Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 2. Scherzo. Assai vivace
Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 3. Adagio sostenuto. Appasionato e con molto sentimento
Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 4. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Tracks:

Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 In E Major: 1. Vivace, ma non troppo - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 In E Major: 2. Prestissimo - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 In E Major: 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo) - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 In A Flat Major: 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 In A Flat Major: 2. Allegro molto - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 In A Flat Major: 3. Adagio, ma non troppo - Fuga. Allegro, ma non troppo - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 In C Minor: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato - L.V. Beethoven
Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 In C Minor: 2. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile - L.V. Beethoven

Amazon.com

Wilhelm Kempff was the premier German pianist of the postwar period, so it's no surprise that he was considered one of the supreme interpreters of Beethoven. He recorded complete sets of the sonatas and concertos twice, and just about all the rest of the chamber music with piano as well. Kempff was a classicist by nature, and his approach to Beethoven was clear and poised rather than impulsive, but it was never lacking in sheer power or virtuosity when necessary. His last cycle of Beethoven sonatas is rightly regarded as his musical testament. Even if the mono recordings offered a few more exciting moments in a couple of works, you can't go wrong here--there isn't a dud in the lot. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

The final testament of a great classicist.......2005-11-10

I waited a long time before finally buying this. I already had Gilels, Barenboim, Schnabel, Richter(for almost all),Annie fischer(a damn fine set also!) Brendel, and Arrau. I have always held gilels monumental set in the highest regard for its mixture of respect and power, beauty and ferocity. I knew that the Kempff box had ggod things, but after all these former sets, what knew could be said(similar to what i thought about michelangeli before i heard his op 2\3 and debussy preludes) But this set kept popping up in my life. Over and over respectable musicians kept hinting that this was the set to go for, a modern answer to schnabel's initial recording. Finally I bought it and my only regret is that i didnt succumb to it sooner. Kempff is, in my mind, not the most exciting of pianist's, but he everything that our modern school is not, in the best sense of the word. His sound and touch is crystalline, his authority over the notes unequalled. There isnt any of these sonata's i dont turn to when i want to investigate them for myself with score at hand, which in a word, can be described as revelatory. Dont hesitate like I did. Who knows maybe, in this age of classical deprecation, it may disappear before you had the chance. It is the end all of Beethoven interpretation. It lacks the machismo of Gilels, and Richter for that matter, but what it lacks in the thunder it makes up for in the calm of the storm.

Wilhelm Kempff Plays the Beethoven Piano Sonatas.......2005-08-17

Beethoven's "Tagebuch" includes the following famous entry: "The starry heavens above, the moral law within -- Kant!" Beethoven was alluding to Kant's statement in the "Critique of Practical Reason" of the two things that filled him with awe. But, in a simple way, Beethoven's statement could be read to show two related ways of understanding his music: the first as heroic, heaven-storming, and outwardly directed, and the second as inward, reflective, and meditative. Some of Beethoven's music can be seen as occupying on or the other end of the polarity. Much of the music somehow occupies both ends.

The same holds true as a rough approach to the performance of Beethoven's music -- including the 32 piano sonatas. Some artists emphasize the dramatic, rugged and virtuosic characteristics of the sonatas while others focus upon the music's inward and introspective qualities. The great German pianist Wilhelm Kempff's classic recording of the complete piano sonatas is clearly within the latter approach. Kempff (1895 -- 1991) recorded the complete Beethoven sonata-cycle twice, the first time in the 1950s and the second time in the 1960s. I had the original version on LP and purchased the CD set when LPs became obsolete. I recently had the opportunity to relisten to Kempff's renditions of the sonatas in their entirety.

Kempff's readings of the sonatas are highly personal and introspective. His tempos tend to be slow and fluid, the pedal is used a great deal, phrasing is highly legato, and volume is, for the most part, subdued and restrained. He offers a metaphysical, thoughtful reading of Beethoven which probes within. It is a moving and convincing way of rendering the sonatas, and I came away from my experience with the set over the past several days with a renewed devotion to this music. I have attempted about half of the sonatas myself over the years on the piano.

Beethoven's sonatas date from his youthful years in Bonn before his 1792 move to Vienna (the two sonatas of opus 49) to about 1822 (opus 111), five years before the composer's death. Thus, they occupied Beethoven for almost the entirety of his creative life. In listening to this complete set, the listener can follow Beethoven's development essentially chronologically and learn more first-hand about the sonatas and about the changes in Beethoven's styles of composition than can be gained from reading many studies.

Listeners interested in a complete set of the Beethoven sonatas will probably have some familiarity with some of the better-known
named sonatas, such as the "Pathetique", opus 13, the "Moonlight" opus 27 no. 2, the "Waldstein", opus 53, or the "Appassionata", opus 57. After falling in love with some of these works, it will be time for the listener to explore the entire series.

Kempff brings his own personal and introspective readings to each of these familar works. I think he does best with the rondo finale of the "Waldstein," with the "Moonlight" sonata, and with the two final movements of the "Tempest", opus 31 no. 2. His readings of these familiar works on the whole will offer fresh insight into these great sonatas.

But the greatest attraction of this set is the opportunity it provides to explore some of Beethoven's less frequently performed works. Again, Kempff is at his best in works of an introspective character. Thus, those coming to the sonata-cycle for the first time will enjoy his performances of the opus 26 sonata, with the opening variations and the celebrated funeral march, of opus 78, 79, and 81a ("Les Adieux"), of opus 90, and of opus 101, 109, 110, and the great end to the series, opus 111. Opus 90, 101, and 109 are particular favorites of mine, and Kempff plays them beautifully.

There is yet another group of sonatas that also receive excellent readings on the set. This group includes two excellent ambitious early works, opus 2 no. 3 and opus 7 (another favorite), the three sonatas of opus 10, the under-appreciated opus 22, the companion to the more famous "Moonlight" sonata, opus 27 no. 1, opus 31 no. 3 and the enigmatic opus 54, sandwiched between the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata". The magisterial and heroic "Hammerklavier" sonata, opus 106, is in a class by itself. Each listeners's choices and fovorites among the 32 will vary and change with time and repeated hearings. This collection is an excellent introduction to all of them.

There are many recordings of the set of 32 sonatas and many approaches to the interpretation of Beethoven. His music is broader and deeper than any single reading. I have lived with my set of Kempff for a long time and am still moved and inspired by his playing of this inexhaustible music. Listeners wanting to get to know this great body of work will find much to cherish in these performances by Wilhelm Kempff.

Robin Friedman

full of artistry, very nice........2005-06-06

Among the great pianists who played Beethoven's sonatas, I love Kempff and Gilels most. Kempff's play is colorful(also with cleaness), while Gilels's play is clean. Of course,if you only prefer highly keyboard technique, Pollini is a better choice.

I think, Kempff was born not only as a great pianist, but also as a musical artist. listen to Kempff just like listen to a small orchestra(among instruments, only piano can do this). His left hand accompanied very well and his right hand song nicely. Some one may say Kempff lacks energetics, but I prefer his style---just like a stream flows naturally, accompanied with birds and flowers.

unlike some energetically played pianists, I never get tired in listening to Kempff. Though those CDs was recorded in 60s, the sonic quality is good enough. highly recommended.

Which One To Get, That Is The Question.......2005-02-10

For those who are not too familiar with Kempff, he is generally regarded as one of the most reputed Beethoven interpreter after Schnabel. Gulda was supposed to succeed them and was somehow stopped short. In Kempff, just like most pianists of the older generation, there is a strong element of improvisation, an element in the making of music which make him sound so fresh and spontaneous which left even Brendel way behind. Furthermore, his playing is so inspired that it never fails to remind us of some transcending church music.

Having said that, Kempff even in the 50s, was never quite as dynamic as Gulda; whereas some may instead find Schnabel's Beethoven even more instructive and not at all less inspired. But Schnabel's are all historic recordings. My no.1 choice for these sonatas is always Backhaus (Decca, in wonderful stereo sound), for some may find Arrau's early Beethoven sonatas boring and Gilel's (which is not exactly a whole cycle in any event) not soulful enough, however much conviction he had for them. And to be honest, I have never finished Brendel's and I have never even tried Ashkenazy's Beethoven except his piano trio with Perlman and Harell and somehow I just stopped there...

Roughly speaking, Kempff's 50s cycle is more energetic, fiery and forceful, wheras his 60s is more colourful, more sublime, and with more subtleties. But that doesn't mean he was off his peak or insufficiently fiery (unlike Schnabel whose first cycle is more preferable than his second cycle recorded in the 50s). Being a complete musician as well as a remarkable composer, there was still some obvious development in his music making even between these two cycles which makes him fairly and squarely an authoritative alternative even to Backhaus: another reason that we should try to listen to both.

And as far as the recorded sound is concerned, there is the difference of more than one whole generation, so that the ordinary music lovers may not find the 50s recording delightful or acceptable at all; whereas few could really complain against the sound of the 60s.

So, if you are a pianist, or if you are a fan of Kempff, you probably will get both his 50s and 60s recordings: for like most great pianists or indeed most great musicians, every time they play, it is going to be different and they are all instructive and inspiring in their own way. I myself grapped both. But if your emphasis is on the early sonatas or just for general enjoyment or even for the last sonatas, it is better to get the 60s.

essential.......2004-06-02

what else can you say about kempff that isn't said before? this is the best beethoven ever record, he has a magic touch and this sets clearly shows it off. i have both recordings of his beethoven sonatas (1951 & 1964) as well as his schumann, brahms, schubert, bach, mozart, liszt etc and would recomand them all... enjoy the piano master

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Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!
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Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Life and Works of Ludwig van Beethoven
What to Listen for in Music
Study of Orchestration, Third Edition
The Life and Works of Frédéric Chopin

ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Sonate No. 28 A-dur, op. 101: Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto, ma non troppo
Sonate No. 28 A-dur, op. 101: Lebhaft, marschmig. Vivace alla Marcia
Sonate No. 28 A-dur, op. 101: Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto - attacca:
Sonate No. 28 A-dur, op. 101: Geschwinde, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro
Sonate No. 29 B-dur, op. 106 - Grosse Sonate Fur Das Hammerklavier: 1. Allegro
Sonate No. 29 B-dur, op. 106 - Grosse Sonate Fur Das Hammerklavier: 2. Scherzo. Assai vivace
Sonate No. 29 B-dur, op. 106 - Grosse Sonate Fur Das Hammerklavier: 3. Adagio sostenuto. Appassionato e con molto sentimento
Sonate No. 29 B-dur, op. 106 - Grosse Sonate Fur Das Hammerklavier: 4. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Tracks:

Sonate No. 30 E-dur op.109: Vivace, ma non troppo
Sonate No. 30 E-dur op.109: Prestissimo
Sonate No. 30 E-dur op.109: Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo)
Sonate No. 31 As-dur op.110: 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
Sonate No. 31 As-dur op.110: 2. Allegro molto
Sonate No. 31 As-dur op.110: 3. Adagio ma non troppo - fuga, ma non troppo
Sonate No. 32 c-mol op.111: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Sonate No. 32 c-mol op.111: 2. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Amazon.com essential recording

Pollini's performances of Beethoven's last five piano sonatas have assumed almost legendary status, and this reissue at midprice in improved sound ought to win them many new friends. Sometimes considered a cold interpreter, Pollini here pays scrupulous attention to Beethoven's instructions, an attention that never gets in the way of sincere expression. There's a lot to be said for approaching this music with a maximum of clarity and simplicity, and a minimum of Romantic panting and heaving. In fact, Beethoven's instructions are so detailed, and the music itself is often so elaborately developed, that it's all most pianists can do to play it as he wrote it. Pollini does that, and much more. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

A must have set for any Beethoven fan.......2006-07-11

Giving a hearty recommendation to this recording would not do it justice. The sound is quite good and the performances are simply spectacular. I'm lucky enough to have complete works by Kempff, Claude Frank, Bernard Roberts, and Ashkenazy (excerpts). They are most worthy masters in their own right but for me, this set really speaks from the heart. There is incredible intensity in some passages combined with a poignancy that is difficult to ignore. I am rather puzzled that theses works are viewed by some as cold and overly technical. Though technically superb, I would not refer to this work as cold by any standard. Listen to to the Adagio Sustenuto on sonata 29 and decide for yourself. Possibly the finest recording I have yet heard of that piece. Upon an initial hearing I had to replay it two more times to believe my ears.

One of the most enjoyable features of this recording is the tempo of the pieces. The quicker passages have all the necessary flair and the slower movements are played with a deft touch. I have tried, desperately at times, to find renditions of the sonatas that capture the essence of the work. This set is a veritable gold mine and a purchase you can make without fear. You will be pleased with your decision for a long time.

Probably the most deeply satisfying interpretation of Beethoven's Late Sonatas .......2006-03-26

Forget about the debate on whether or not Pollini has the highest dynamic control and technical facility among all living pianists, as when it comes to this partcicular set of recordings (made in June 1975 for op. 109 and 110, Sept. 1976 for op.106, Jan. 1977 for op. 101 and 111) this debate is completely irrelevant.
What a sublime, intense and wondefully heart-warming interpretation of Beethoven's late sonatas. A sprititual experience. Please do listen to other greats like Brendel, Arrau, Kempff, Rubenstien, and then listen to Pollini's; in these particular works, Mr. Pollini will make you forget that you have ever heard these pieces before. The music flows as new and fresh as it must have sounded in the great composer's head.

What a delicious op. 101.
What an unforgetable performance of the Hammerklavier, with its slow movement so deeply medidative and its third movement almost rising to other-wordly dimensions. And for the first time, you will thoroughly enjoy the Fugue. You will never get enough of the elegance and beauty of op. 109, 110. As for op. 111, words do not rise to the occasion. Pollini's interpretation leaves one speachless: dramatic, deeply felt, highly noble, and yet spontaneous and flowing like un unstoppable stream. As another reviewer put it: Perfect...a fitting performance of Beethoven's last piano sonata.

Some may not know that Mr. Pollini is also a humble and approachable artist. If you hear his interviews or talk to him after a concert, he will tell you that he records pieces only after having played them extensively in public performances. What an impressive artist: the magical journey of discovery he produced in the 70's with this recording set is being produced again with new ones, such as the Apassionata recording released in March 2003.

Peak Performances.......2005-07-16

I understand the controversy that surrounds some of Pollini's recordings of 19th century music. He's known for being a bit clinical or emotionally aloof. It's been said that his interpretive approach is often at odds with works that demand a more direct emotional involvement and "heart-on-sleeve" style from the performer. If one compares some of his recordings of "Romantic" era piano literature with those done by much older (or earlier) artists, it's apparent that only people like Backhaus (sp?) seemed to share Pollini's affinity for Stravinsky's dictum: "just play what's in the score, and the rest will speak for itself."

Not surprising then, that this pianist excells so much in repertoire like Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and other 20th century composers, and even gives such music a powerful emotional pull that (arguably) exceeds what he's able to do with the Romantics. Perhaps he's more comfortable with works of a certain unique complexity, compositions that already give so much detail through the score, that there's little more for the artist to add? One of the few Romantics he's truly celebrated for playing has been Chopin, a composer who himself, was not a great lover of Romantic music (HIS heros were Bach and Mozart). Pollini addresses that Chopin when he plays, the enigmatic, reserved, "unknowable" side of Chopin, the one who never gives all his secrets. There too, Pollini hits his emotional stride, and merges well with works like the piano concertos, and other similar pieces.

So why Beethoven? Why particulary the late piano sonatas? How did one of the all-time interpreters of 20th century piano music come to record one of the most discussed and listened-to sets of these particular works in all recorded history? Perhaps much of the answer lies in the very nature of these pieces, the last of their kind that Beethoven would ever write. The old master by this time in his life had already written plenty of barnstormers like the sonata "Appassionata", the "Waldstein", the "Emperor Concerto", and other such works, as well as the quieter and more lyrical piano pieces like the "Pastoral" sonata and 4th concerto. These compositions, for all their differences, are bound together by a singular emotional directness, a sense of the composer speaking to the listener "with both feet planted firmly on the ground". This dialog between Beethoven and the listener was to change radically by the time the last 5 sonatas (and quartets, incidently) were being written. After a 5 year period of relatively little creative activity, and many turbulant personal changes, a very enigmatic, less earthbound creative voice emerges. Gone are the trappings of his earlier style, with the narrative forms, and the 'epic' battles between darkness and light. Even "melodies" and "main themes" are replaced a good deal of the time by improvisational-sounding sequences and shifting blocks of abstract line and harmony (particularly in the first movements of the E major and A flat sonatats, and in the transition between the 3rd and 4th movements of the "Hammerklavier"). Sonata form has been discarded in favor of fantasia, fugue, and theme-and-variation. Even the parameters between some of the sonata movements themselves, have been blurred beyond recognition. With all this, the dialog has ended, and we are now simply overhearing the composer's thoughts.

So who better to traverse this maze of musical thought than Pollini? Other pianists favored more by a couple of the other reviewers do indeed imbue their performances with a greater emotional directness, at least when the music grants the oppertunity. However, when the music decides to shift into the abstract, and the lyrical moments give way to the more jagged, expressionistic episodes, some of these same celebrated artists seem-well...a bit lost. Hearing Serkin, for instance, play the "Hammerklavier" makes me love his courage more than anything else. Perhaps Schnabel, out of all the older pianists (even with his weaker chops) has the most success with it all. But then again, Schnabel was also an atonalist composer who created some of the most fiendishly complex abstract music for piano of the early 20th century.

So again, who better to interpret this music than someone who has the sense of detail and insight (and grasp of the musically obtuse) of a Schnabel, but with the technique and command of phrase and color of...maybe Hofmann(?), and finally the emotional commitment of a Richter (another pianist who knew how to express with great intensity and reserve at the same time)? There is not a single page of this music that he has not found a way to get inside of, and the stickier the passage, the more he seems to rise to the occasion in every way, and makes you "get it". Far from being "dry", the interpretation, like the music itself speaks to the listener from beyond the realm of simple earthly passion, and even the pain in it seems as if filtered through a profound state of spiritual bliss.

Dry? Clinical? Not if Pollini is heard in just the right repertoire, and with completely open ears.

A compelling and controversial classic.......2004-11-21

I fondly remember the time I bought the distinctive green LP box set of these recordings in the late 1970s.

I was not very familiar with the Beethoven piano sonatas. I made many attempts to try them out by auditioning the local library copies by well known artists, or whatever there was in the scant record collection at the college radio station music library. All to no avail. The music just didn't click for me.

I read some of the rave reviews about these Pollini recordings for a few months, so one day I just decided to bite the bullet and buy the LP box set. I was determined that if I'd give all the works in it enough thorough and attentive listening, I would understand why the music is so loved by so many.

Well, it didn't take much determination. From the first beat of op. 101, I got hooked. Pollini's unusual combination of high energy and contrasting effective tenderness made the music come alive for me.

When I got to the famous op. 106 "Hammerklavier", I must have replayed it 4 times the first night.

The LPs were worn out quickly. Actually, I liked them so much I took even more care than I normally would, and I was pretty picky about LP care in those days. I was not about to see these LPs get thrashed!

Time has brought me around to appreciate the Beethoven 32 in ways that I never thought I could. I now treasure such notables as Kempff, Arrau, Brendel, and many more. Pollini seems somewhat excessive in comparison to most of the artists I now revere in this reportoire. But there is room for much interpretation in Beethoven, and I find myself returning to these Pollini recordings often just to remeber how much more there is to these pieces than is often rendered in more "classical" and accepted interpretations.

Severely disappointed was I when these recordings first appeared on CD in the 1980s. The first CD versions were dreadfully riddled with a resonant twang that marred virtually every movement in every sonata at some point. The LPs were OK, but this music, especially with the high dynamic contrast of Pollini's playing, demand hushed quiet to be appreciated. CDs psomised some that hushed quietness, being free from crakcles, hiss, and so on. But the timber of the piano was very unnatural. Listening to those CDs was very painful.

Once again, DG have redeemed themselves by remastering these spectacular analogue recordings in the late 1990s to give us what have before us now. The Originals series continually give us CDs that approach the warmth and naturalness of analogue LPs. Thanks Universal. Give us more.

After reviewing many releases in the Originals series though, it is time I do criticize DG about one aspect in their reissues that is not "Orgiinal". The liner notes. Like most of the other releases in the series, there are virtually no notes about the works themselves. The only notes are about the performer, in this case Pollini, and perhaps the performers' affinity for the music on the disk, or something special about the particular recording. In this case, the original LP box set had excellent essays about the late sonatas. I read them several times, and picked more insights with each reading. The lack of notes about the works on the disk make it difficult to recommend any items in the Originals series as first choices for collectors that are not going to buy multiple versions. But that is exactly what these should be. So get with it, Universal, and next time give us ALL of the Originals, inculding the notes.

You call THIS unemotional???.......2003-12-24

First of all, if you're a Beethoven neophyte still trying to pick up the basics and wondering whether his late sonatas are worth getting, I have one thing to say to you: drop EVERYTHING. You need his late piano sonatas, and you need them now. Not only are these works profoundly emotional in the way his late work almost always was, but they're technically dazzling and so inventive that later composers were still exploring the avenues he'd opened up for almost a century. In the monumental Opus 106 "Hammerklavier", Beethoven managed not only to write a piece so difficult that even the great virtuosi (except for Pollini, and that's one of the many reasons to buy this recording) tend to make a few mistakes, but also to practically invent Chopin in the process. In the Opus 111, the very last one, not only does Beethoven bare his soul with as much emotion as this tormented composer ever revealed, but in the process he blows apart sonata form altogether, does some things with rhythm in the second movement that wouldn't get picked up again until jazz came along(check out about 6:30 into track 8 if you don't believe me), and makes a shimmeringly gorgeous farewell, making those 20 minutes the best 20 minutes of piano music I'm aware of.

Pollini, never faulted for his almost-inhuman technique (as I said before, check out the Hammerklavier), is sometimes called unemotional because his playing is so razor-sharp, and because he refuses to let his playing fall into the trap of over-sentimentality. There are times this is true, mostly when he plays late Romantic works, which are SUPPOSED to be a little schlocky. Beethoven, though, is a different story: the paradoxical composer who managed to have all the power over structure of the Classical era before him, while using that incredible control (much like Pollini) in ever-more-innovative and personal ways to produce works evoking depths of emotion beyond anything that had been heard before.

Tracks:

De Profundis - Nova Schola Gregoriana
Alleluia - O Virga Mediatrix - Oxford Camerata
Gloria - Oxford Camerata
Pavane - Red Byrd
Canon - Capella Istropolitana
Vivace - Grave - Capella Istropolitana
Prelude - Laurence Cummings
Allegro - Takako Nishizaki
Adagio - Miroslav Kejmar
Air On The G String - Capella Istropolitana
Hallelujah Chorus - Scholars Baroque Ensemble
Menuetto: Allegretto - Capella Istropolitana
Andante - Failoni Orchestra
Allegro - Capella Istropolitana
Adagio - Jeno Jando
Andante - Ernst Ottensamer
Quis Est Homo - Hungarian State Opera Chorus

Tracks:

Ave Maria - Ingrid Kertesi
Un Bal - Pinchas Steinberg
Wedding March - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Minute Waltz - Idil Biret
Larghetto - Alexander Rahbari
Ride Of The Valkyries - Uwe Mund
Prelude - Alexander Rahbari
Hungarian Dance No.3 - Budapest Symphony
Scene - Ondrej Lenard
Slavonic Dance No.1 - Balazs Szokolay
Nimrod - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Clair De Lune - Keith Clark
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Opening) - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Prelude In C Sharp Minor - Idil Biret
Fountain Of The Villa Medici At Sunset - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Overture - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
O Fortuna - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Playful Pizzicato - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Violin Concerto - Adele Anthony

Amazon.com

Is it a two-CD set with a particularly thick booklet, or a 562-page book with a compilation album attached? Either way, the unpretentious text by Keith Anderson offers an introduction to the lives and works of dozens of composers, together with recommended recordings from the Naxos and Marco Polo catalogs. Anderson includes a useful 59-page glossary of musical terms and an extensive listing of classical pieces used in films. The odd thing about the 36 extracts and complete pieces on the CDs is that they do not form an A-to-Z at all. Rather, they are arranged chronologically, from 1,000-year-old Gregorian chant to the opening movement of contemporary composer Philip Glass's Violin Concerto. Between these two points is the early music of Palestrina and Byrd; the Baroque glories of Vivaldi and Bach; the 19th-century Romantic masters, from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky; and such 20th-century greats as Rachmaninov and Stravinsky. Opera, song, and chamber music are barely represented, but only so much can fit into 151 minutes. Essentially a deluxe sampler of the vast Naxos catalogue, the discs offer a good introduction to some of the most famous and melodic music ever composed, while the book will be very useful to newcomers to the potentially confusing world of classical music. --Gary S. Dalkin

Album Description

A-Z of Classical Music is a remarkable 562-page, illustrated bok, detailing the lives of all the great composers as well as many less known, but equally fascinating, musical masters. Like the Naxos range of recording itself, A-Z of Classical Music is a rich source of inspiration for anyone either just embarking on a lifetime of musical enjoyment or for whom classical music has long been a way of life. Included within is an extensive glossary of musical terms plus a unique guide to classical music used in acclaimed films. Two-and-a-half hours of the finest music from across the centuries are contained in the accompanying CDs.

Customer Reviews:

LETTER PERFECT CLASS(ICAL) ACT!.......2003-01-19

It's only natural we sometimes hit the high seas....make that Cs. This is one box set about which we sing praises. This set features more than two hours of the finest music from across the centuries by such composers as Schubert, Chopin, Mozart, Handel, Stravinsky and Glass. The set also comes with a 562-page illustrated book, detailing the lives of hundreds of composers, a
glossary of musical terms and a unique guide to the classical music used in 360 top films.

Great Tracks -- Great Value -- Great Book, Who Can Complain?.......2002-08-30

Naxos is a fabulous label -- you will not get samples of the best classical music through the ages at no better price. These tracks are as good as any of the over-priced major orchestras and in some cases better. This is a great starter set for a beginner or anyone who just wants to "taste" the classics. If you prefer Opera I would suggest the A to Z of Opera -- most of the tracks on A to Z Classical are orchestral. I was so impressed with this collection that I purchased the Discover the Classics Vol's 1-3 which will give you a more detailed look at the great classics. Take a look at the Naxos web site at NAXOSUSA.COM -- what you will see will blow your mind -- there are literally thousands of pieces that you could listen too!

At this price, how can one complain?.......2001-09-30

This is pretty much a CD version of a mini-Naxos and Marco Polo catalog. All the pieces and extracts are ordered chronologically on the 2 CDs and are of very acceptable quality, but don't expect excellence in every track. Personally, I was particularly disappointed with one of my favourite Pachelbel pieces. The Naxos Canon & Gigue lacks all the emotion of my favourite versions.

Still, any possible weaker performances are of little importance after you get your hands on the fat booklet with over 500 pages. The booklet offers a short intro about the great composers, a glossary of musical terms, a list of works used in films and dozens of illustrations of several composers.

Overall, at this price, this is a must-have pack for any beginner, and might be useful for the occasion "quick check" of the work of many composers. Do not expect many detail, nor references to all the works of some composers; I often got frustrated with the lack of detail in some cases, but in general, the booklet is very effective for a quick reference.
You will need more titles that offer more complete information, and you won't truly learn to love classical music just by reading it, but it is small and compact.

It really puzzles me why Naxos did not include a full index of composers, a serious omission. To find a particular composer you will have to look for it yourself in over 500 pages. Also, the separation of the text is not so good, making the search even a bit slower. The lack of the index is truly annoying and I am sure it will be corrected in future editions.

Even with a few weaker pieces and the lack of the index, at this price, there isn't much to argue about. This is truly a bargain that you should not miss. I would also recommend the A-Z of Opera, which offers a bigger booklet with over 700 pages, focusing on opera works and mentioning several composers that are absent from the A-Z of Classical. That other booklet has a very complete index, and much clearer text layout and separation, that's the way both booklets should have been designed.

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 1 Allegro
Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 2. Adagio
Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 3. Menuetto. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: 4. Prestissimo
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 1. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 2. Largo appassionato
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 3. Scherzo. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 2 In A, Op. 2 No. 2: 4. Rondo. Grazioso
Piano Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
Piano Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: 2. Adagio molto
Piano Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: 3. Finale. Prestissimo
Piano Sonata No. 19 In G Minor, Op. 49 No. 1: 1. Andante
Piano Sonata No. 19 In G Minor, Op. 49 No. 1: 2. Rondo. Allegro

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 2. Adagio
Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 3. Scherzo. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.3 In C, Op.2 No.3: 4. Allegro assai
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 2. Largo, con gran espressione
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 3. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.4 In E Flat, Op.7: 4. Rondo. Poco allegretto e grazioso
6 Piano Veriations In F On An Original Theme, Op.34

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2: 2. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.6 In F, Op.10 No.2: 3. Presto
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 1. Presto
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 2. Largo e mesto
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 3. Menuetto. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.7 In D, Op.10 No.3: 4. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 'Pathetique': 1. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 'Pathetique': 2. Adagio cantabile
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 'Pathetique': 3. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.2: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.2: 2. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.9 In E, Op.14 No.2: 3. Rondo. Allegro comodo

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2: 2. Andante
Piano Sonata No.10 In G, Op.14 No.2: 3. Scherzo. Allegro assai
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 2. Adagio con molta espressione
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 3. Minuetto
Piano Sonata No.11 In B Falt, Op.22: 4. Rondo. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 1. Andante con Variazioni
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 2. Scherzo. Allegro molto
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 3. Marcia Funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe
Piano Sonata No.12 In A Flat, Op.26: 4. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79: 1. Presto alla tedesca
Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79: 2. Andante
Piano Sonata No.25 In G, Op.79: 3. Vivace

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 1. Andante - Allegro - Tempo I
Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 2. Allegro molto e vivace
Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 3. Adagio con espressione
Piano Sonata No.13 In E Flat, Op.27 No.1: 4. Allegro vivace - Tempo I - Presto
Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': 1. Adagio sostenuto
Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': 2. Allegrettro
Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': 3. Presto agitato
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 2. Andante
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 'Pastorale': 4. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No. 22 In F, Op.54: 1. In Tempo d'un Menuetto
Piano Sonata No. 22 In F, Op.54: 2. Allegretto

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1: 1. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1: 2. Adagio grazioso
Piano Sonata No.16 In G, Op.31 No.1: 3. Rondo. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 'Tempest': 1. Largo - Allegro
Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 'Tempest': 2. Adagio
Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 'Tempest': 3. Allegretto
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 2. Scherzo. Alllegretto vivace
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 3. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso
Piano Sonata No.18 In E Flat, Op.31 No.3: 4. Presto con fuoco

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.21 In C, Op.53 'Waldstein': 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Sonata No.21 In C, Op.53 'Waldstein': 2. Introduzione. Adagio molto - Rondo. Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo
15 Piano Variations And Fugue In E Flat, Op.35 'Eroica' Variations: Inroduzione col Basso del Tema. Allegretto vivace
15 Piano Variations And Fugue In E Flat, Op.35 'Eroica' Variations: Variazioni I-XV
15 Piano Variations And Fugue In E Flat, Op.35 'Eroica' Variations: Finale. Alla Fuga. Allegro con brio - Andante con moto
32 Piano Variations In C Minor On An Original Theme, WoO 80
Rondo In G, Op.51 No.2

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 'Appassionata': 1. Allegro assai
Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 'Appassionata': 2. Andante con moto
Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57 'Appassionata': 3. Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.24 In F Sharp, Op.78 'For Therese': 1. Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.24 In F Sharp, Op.78 'For Therese': 2. Allegro vivace
Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 1. Das Lebewohl. Adagio - Allegro
Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 2. Abwesenheit. Andante espressivo
Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 3. Das Wiedersehn. Vivacissimamente
Piano Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90: 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
Piano Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90: 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
Piano Sonata No.20 In G, Op.49 No.2: 1. Allegro, ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.20 In G, Op.49 No.2: 2. Tempo di Menuetto

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto, ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 2. Lebhaft. Marschmassig. Vivace alla Marcia
Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 3. Langsam, und sehnsuchtsvoll. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto
Piano Sonata No.28 In A, Op.101: 4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 1. Allegro
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 2 Scherzo. Assai vivace - Presto - Prestissimo - Tempo I
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 3. Adagio sostenuto. Appassionato e con molto sentimento
Piano Sonata No.29 In B Flat, Op.106 'Hammerklavier': 4. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.30 In E, Op.109: 1. Vivave, ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo - Tempo I -2. Prestissimo
Piano Sonata No.30 In E, Op.109: 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 2. Allegro molto
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 3. Adagio ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat, Op.110: 4. Fuga. Allegro ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No.32 In C Minor, Op111: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Piano Sonata No.32 In C Minor, Op111: 2. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Tracks:

33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Tema : Vivace - Variation I. Alla marcia maestoso
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation II Poco allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation III L'istesso tempo
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation IV Un poco piu vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation V Allegro vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation VI Allegro ma non troppo e serioso
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation VII Un poco piu allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation VIII Poco vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation IX Allegro pesante e risoluto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation X Presto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XI Allegretto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XII Un poco piu moto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XIII Vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XIV Grave e maestoso
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XV Presto scherzando
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XVI Allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XVII
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XVIII Poco moderato
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XIX Presto
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XX Andante
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXI Allegro con brio - Meno allegro - Tempo I - Meno allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXII Allegro molto alla 'Notte giorno faricar' di Mozart
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXIII Allegro assai
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXIV Fughetta. Andante
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXV Allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXVI
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXVII Vivace
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXVIII Allegro
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXIX Adagio ma non troppo
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXX Andante sempre cantabile
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXXI Largo, molto espressivo
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXXII Fuga. Allegro - Poco adagio
33 Piano Variations In C On A Waltz By Anton Diabelli, Op.120: Variation XXXIII Tempo di minuetto moderato

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.1 In C, Op. 15: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.1 In C, Op. 15: 2. Largo
Piano Concerto No.1 In C, Op. 15: 3. Rondo. Allegro scherzando
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.19: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.19: 2. Adagio
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.19: 3. Rondo. Molto allegro

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 1. Allegro con brio
Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 2. Largo
Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37: 3. Rondo. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.4 In G, Op.58: 1. Allegro moderato
Piano Concerto No.4 In G, Op.58: 2. Andante con moto
Piano Concerto No.4 In G, Op.58: 3. Rondo. Vivace

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat, Op.73 'Emperor': 1. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat, Op.73 'Emperor': 2. Adagio un poco mosso
Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat, Op.73 'Emperor': 3. Rondo. Allegro
Triple Concerto For Piano, Violin And Cello In C, Op.56: 1. Allegro
Triple Concerto For Piano, Violin And Cello In C, Op.56: 2. Largo
Triple Concerto For Piano, Violin And Cello In C, Op.56: 3. Rondo alla Polacca

Amazon.com

Claudio Arrau played with seriousness of purpose that could make other pianists seem like dilettantes and with respect for the composer's score that bordered on veneration. He had nothing but scorn for pianists who played the opening of Beethoven's Opus 111 with two hands instead of one because there were fewer risks. If something was technically difficult, Arrau assumed that the composer had written it that way because the difficulties had an expressive value that it was the interpreter's duty to find.

Arrau's devotion to Beethoven is memorialized by this budget-priced, 14-CD collection of his recordings, mostly from the 1960s, of the composer's 32 sonatas, five concertos (with Bernard Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam), and most important sets of variations. His Beethoven is not always successful. His sometimes ponderous seriousness keeps early works, such as the Sonata No. 3 and the Concerto No. 2, from smiling, and his lack of spontaneity makes the whimsy in Sonata No. 26 and the "Diabelli Variations" sound labored. But in the composer's weightiest works, Arrau can produce revelations. Certainly, no one plays Sonata No. 32 better. The first movement sounds like thunder that comes ever closer and the finale's chains of trills, played with exquisite finish and expressive perfection, transport the listener to a higher realm. If Arrau could be single-minded in his devotion to the composer's score, he also believed that music could encompass everything. When Arrau was at his best--as he frequently is in this set--it does. --Stephen Wigler

Customer Reviews:

The one collection I cannot imagine being without.......2007-01-30

It would be absurd to recommend recommending one Beethoven cycle to the exclusion of all others, yet it is Arrau's cycle to which I repeatedly return, despite some flaws mentioned by other reviewers.

They are flaws which can be forgiven. Scherzi which would be brimming with mirth & vitality in the hands of others may come up short, but it is more than compensated for by the revelations to be found as Arrau explores every aspect of Beethoven at his most profound. There always seems to be something new to be discovered. Flabby? It is hard to imagine how someone could come to this conclusion.

Even the sound quality for recordings dating back into the 1960's has been remastered so as to be acceptable to all but the most spoiled of listeners, who apparently are satisfied only with the most seamless homogenized studio sound. Those who can't get past the slightly imperfect sound quality are focusing on the wrong details.

If the greatness of the performance were not enough, the price should be enough to convince any serious music lover to add these to a CD collection. One cannot overstate how rewarding this collection will be to anyone who does not yet know the artistry of Arrau.

MASTERY.......2007-01-26

One man's viewpoint: Arrau amazes me as he sets the notes down with such clean deliberation! Total command. No matter how fast Beethoven is charging along. And as Arrau gets every note, we find the real Beethoven genius shining through - after all, as raw material, this is some of the finest piano music anywhere. Of course, this playing delivers passion and heart-and-soul communication too. And a sense of commitment and strength.
I suggest this set - with about nine stars! Mastery in art. *** For a lighter, more joyful touch - and great tone - ALSO get hold of O'Conor's set of the 32. I suggest this set - with about nine stars!

Magisterial... mystical.......2006-11-03

I've been listening to Beethoven's sonatas for fifty years and have heard all of them by some, and some of them by all the available recorded performers. Overall, Claudio Arrau is my favorite interpreter of the sonatas. To me he has an inner affinity with Beethoven that is uncanny. Beethoven was a man of great character. And that greatness, detached from his person in the form of musical ideas, enters the listener through intermediaries such as Arrau. When it is done right, it works a sort of righteous therapy, and makes the listener a better person for the hearing.

Arrau describes Beethoven's greatness in his essay "Thoughts on Beethoven" in the 33 1/3 Philips LP edition. "Beethoven has always stood for the spirit of man victorious. His message of endless stuggle concluding in the victory of renewal and spiritual rebirth...his life was an existential fight for survival...In the sense that he mastered both his life and his art to reach the ultimate heights of creation and transfiguration, he will last as long as man's spirit to prevail lasts on this earth." Part of the greatness of Beethoven's character came from his ability to be intimately close and at the same time at an infinite distance above his listener. Arrau possesses this same character, and his qualities as a man and artist are why he is able to so aptly render the greatness of Beethoven.

A book titled "Conversations with Arrau" was written by Joseph Horowitz to celebrate the artists's 80th birthday in 1982. I've only read the extracts published with the Philips edition, but there is enough information to get a feel for Arrau's character. He guarded the purity of his environment. He shunned parties and avoided small talk. He never drank or smoked, never learned to drive a car, boil an egg, or even operate a phonograph. His only hobby was gardening. Horowitz describes him as the embodiment of the nineteenth-century model of the artist as solitary, suffering hero. He was small (5'6") and frail, but in 1982 at age 80 he was still playing more that 70 concerts a season.

Rather than launch a discussion of his individual works (this has been done admirably by many of the reviewers) I will remark on just a few. I never properly appreciated the Fourth and the Seventh Sonatas until I heard Arrau's reading of these works. His Fourth takes 31 minutes, 30 seconds. Annie Fischer, another great interpreter of Beethoven, plays it in 27 minutes, 30 seconds. And Ms. Fischer does not play at a hurried tempo.

Yes, Arrau plays the sonatas at a slower tempo than any other interpreter. He also achieves a mystical quality in his interpretations that is unmatched. The second movement of the Seventh comes in at 10 min, 30 seconds. It is the greatest 10 1/2 minutes of piano music ever conceived. When interpreted by Arrau it becomes a microcosm of Beethoven's life and work. The second movement of the Appassionata is a sacred hymn.

Arrau's five piano concertos are splendid. I've heard no other renditions of the concertos with slow movements that equal Arrau's. No one plays the middle movements with his expressiveness and sense of the numinous. And his rendition of the "Eroica Variations" is on a par with the top few recordings of this piece.

If you have any interest in Beethoven, at whatever level, this bargain is outstanding.

Beethoven + Arrau = Divinity.......2006-10-29

If you love Beethoven, Arrau's interpretation will certainly be a joyful addition to your classical music collection. For me, his is the definitive Beethoven.

Though some will likely disagree, I have listened to many other great pianists' recordings of Beethoven sonatas, and they are great (don't get me wrong). Yet Arrau is unique in his ability to bring to light subtleties in the melodies that no one else can, and these often turn out to be the most enlightening and resonant of passages. His Op. 111 is indeed unparalleled, and his recording of the 2nd movement is one of my favorite pieces in the world. On top of that, his rendition of the Moonlight Sonata, his Waldstein, his Concertos, every recording on this boxed set is a testament to the depth Arrau worked diligently and consciously to achieve; depth that transcends technical showmanship and for the intuitive listener can certainly elicit fleeting glimpses of divine ecstasy.

At any price, it's a steal - beauty of this magnitude is all too rare.

Beethoven himself would be proud........2006-06-19

This is a masterpiece. Don't listen to the one negative review, as this guy is tone deaf. This compilation of Beethoven's music is a treasure to behold. A bargain at twice the price, this is well worth the money. Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

Average customer rating:

Beautifully musical
The earlier the composition the better the playing
why!?
Elevator Music
Richard Goode Plays Beethoven Sonatas

Beethoven: The Complete Sonatas
Ludwig van Beethoven , and Richard Goode
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000005J2D
Release Date: 1993-10-05

Tracks:

Allegro
Adagio
Menuetto: Allegretto
Prestissimo
Allegro Vivace
Largo appassionato
Scherzo: Allegretto
Grazioso
Allegro con brio
Adagio
Scherzo And Trio: Allegro
Assai Allegro

Tracks:

Allegro molto e con brio
Adagio Molto
Finale: Prestissimo
Allegro
Allegretto
Presto
Presto
Largo e mesto
Menuetto: Allegro
Rondo: Allegro

Tracks:

Allegro molto e con brio
Largo, con grand' espressione
Allegro
Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso
Allegro
Allegretto
Rondo: Allegro comodo
Grave, Molto allegro e con brio
Adagio cantabile
Rondo: Allegro

Tracks:

Allegro
Andante
Scherzo: Assai allegro
Allegro con brio
Adagio con molto espressione
Menuetto
Rondo: Allegretto
Andante con Variazioni
Scherzo: Allegro molto
Marcia funebre (Sulla morte d'un Eroe)
Allegro

Tracks:

Andante, Allegro, Andante
Allegro molto vivace
Adagio con espressione
Allegro vivace
Adagio sostenuto
Allegretto
Presto agitato
Allegro
Andante
Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

Tracks:

Allegro vivace
Adagio grazioso
Rondo: Allegretto
Largo, Allegretto, Allegro
Adagio
Allegretto
Allegro
Scherzo: Allegretto vivace
Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso
Presto con fuoco

Tracks:

Allegro con brio
Introduzione: Adagio molto
Rondo: Allegretto moderato
In tempo d'un Menuetto
Allegretto
Allegro assai
Andante con moto
Allegro non troppo

Tracks:

Andante
Rondo: Allegro
Allegro ma non troppo
Tempo di Menuetto
Adagio cantabile; Allegro ma non troppo
Allegro vivace
Presto alla tedesca
Andante
Vivace
Adagio: Allegro (Les Adieux)
Andante espressivo (L'Absence)
Vivacissimamente (Le Retour)
Vivaciously And With Feeling And Expression Throughout
Not Too Quickly And Very Songfully

Tracks:

Somewhat Lively And With Deepest Feeling
Lively. March Tempo
Slow And Yearning; Tempo Of The First movement; Swiftly, But Not Too, And With Determination
Allegro
Scherzo: Assai vivace
Adagio sostenuto
Largo; Fuga; Allegro risoluto

Tracks:

Vivace, ma non troppo, Adagio espressivo
Prestissimo
Tema; Molto cantabile & espressivo; Variazioni I-VI
Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo
Allego molto
Adagio ma non troppo; Arioso dolente; Fuga; Allegro, ma non troppo; L'istesso tempo di Arioso; L'inversione della Fuga
Maestoso, Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Arietta; Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Amazon.com essential recording

It's interesting that the great Beethoven sonata cycles are seldom the ones by the big-name virtuosos. Horowitz never attempted one. Neither did Rubinstein. Ashkenazy recorded them all, but with only partial success. Richter never managed all 32 works at one time, and Gilels died before completing his cycle. The most successful complete recordings--Schnabel, Kempff, Arrau, and Backhaus--are all by pianists with a solidly intellectual mindset, however powerful their technique. Goode joins this select company, turning in performances of uncompromising integrity and musical strength. Of course, his reputation as a musician's musician precedes him: here is a player sensitive to Beethoven's every nuance, presenting the composers thoughts with exemplary clarity and taste. This is the the Beethoven cycle for the '90s. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully musical.......2007-05-04

I have been thoroughly enjoying Goode's recordings, not because they are the most precise or powerful of the recordings (Perahia and Gilels are in my opinion the real stand-outs under those criteria), but rather because they are beautifully musical. Most of the pianists who have published recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas are technically proficient enough to do a passable job, but not all of the recordings are actually interesting to listen to. From this perspective, Goode's recordings are among my favorite.

The earlier the composition the better the playing.......2007-04-25

Richard Goode's Beethoven sonata traversal is impressive, no doubt about that. His technique is clean and his attention to dynamics and other score markings is impeccable. Goode emphasizes the classicism of the composition, and to the extent that the sonatas are strictly classical (100% correspondence through #21, opus 53, the "Waldstein")

Oddly, perhaps, I listened to this complete sonata set in reverse, starting with opus 111 and ending with opus 2. This way of hearing the evolution of the sonatas in reverse gave me a certain perspective on the issue of classical versus nonclassical (Romantic, content no longer matched equally with form) that sort of jumped out at me. As structures and compositional methods simplified (in backwards time) the essence of Beethoven's thinking became more clear, making the earliest sonatas seem more powerful and intense than they usually tend to be. (Or maybe it is Goode's playing of them, after all.)

The three sonatas that make up opus 2 (f minor, A major, C major) have probably never been played or thought through so well as in this set. The excellence continues unmitigated through sonata #21 (the "Waldstein"). In fact, Goode's rendering of the "Waldstein" is as good as it gets and, as it were, knocked my socks clean off technically (blazing speed with clarity) and interpretively. Other great Beethoven players such as Rudolf Serkin, Kempff, Arrau, and Barenboim may bring this or that in varying degrees to the table, but none has any overall advantage over Goode for sonatas #1 through #21. Then, to my mind, things change. The playing remains clean and highly literal to the end of the cycle but the nobility and imagination required to present the later sonatas is lacking. Goode made me wonder why Beethoven wrote #29 (the "Hammerklavier"), for example, and left me wanting substance in opera 109, 110, and 111.

However, there are precious few complete sets of these benchmarks of Western cultural achievement, so one should not be overly harsh with any that are for the most part successful, as this set by Goode undoubtedly is. One other thing: The recorded sound is sub-par, somewhat muffled and lacking presence. Once can train oneself to ignore this but why should one have to when alternatives with outstanding recorded sound exist. Goode should have been better served in this regard.

Bottom line: Serious Beethoven people should experience this set. Those who only buy one set might consider Kempff or Barenboim instead.

why!?.......2007-03-08

I can't understand why all the fuss about this item. The authors of the penguin guide accorded such distinctions to Goode's recording of Beethoven's sonatas that I decided to give it a listen and finally discover what new ground it was breaking. As I turned off my stereo and absent-mindedly put the cds back in their beautiful cases I began to feel that disturbing anguish which often arises from having spent too much money on a basically dull and disappointing item. Germans poetically call it Gewissensbisse, literally ''bites on the counsciousness''; we call it ''remorse''. Goode adds nothing new to our understanding of Beethoven's music, nor does he disclose new aspects of the sonatas which could have been overlooked by those who trod this path before him. If a pianist is intent on treading a path which has already been followed thousands of times before, he's expected at least to justify why he thinks his particular take on the work in question should be heard by the average listener who's already acquainted with it through the recordings of eminent figures like Kempff, Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Arrau and many others, and why a newcomer to Beethoven's music should buy his performance rather than the hundreds of others that are already available on the market. To sum up, he's expected to provide something different and relevant. Goode unfortunately fails to meet all these conditions.

Elevator Music.......2006-12-07

I tried to like this set- I really did. This was my first set of Beethoven's complete sonata's - it got great reviews and I was excited to get it but try as I might I had trouble enjoying it. Where was the passion, the dynamism, the creativity I associated with Beethoven? It was work getting through it - the music seemed dull, lacking in profundity and spontaneity. There was a kind of elegaic beauty to it to be sure but Goode seemed to me to be connecting with this music as from a great distance, as if it was a story he was telling about long, long ago.

Then I picked up the Gulda set and there it was; the power, the dyanmism, the felicity, poetry and spontaneity of Beethoven. I tried Goode again, I thought maybe I had missed something but no, while it was pretty and elegant, the magic of Beethoven was gone again. For me this was homogenized Beethoven.

Richard Goode Plays Beethoven Sonatas.......2006-11-04

Richard Goode Plays Beethoven's Thirty-two Sonatas for Piano

I was looking through my mementos for the concert programs they used to have in St Paul's and Trinity Church down on Wall Street during lunch hours. For two days a week back in the 1970's, `80's and 90's when I was on Wall Street these sister Episcopalian churches would have noonday concerts. In fact, that's what they were called, Noonday Concerts. I remember that I had not previously heard Richard Goode play, but I had heard of him, and when Trinity Church announced that he was to play some Beethoven sonatas at the Noonday Concerts I thought I'd go hear him. Back in those days these concerts were free, and they frequently had distinguished, well-known artists . I was with my first wife when I first went to hear him. I mention this because it wasn't until years later, when I was with my present wife, that I discovered that my teacher, John Kamitsuka, was a student of Goode's.

The first time I saw RG, he came out of the left side of the Trinity Church altar at a fairly brisk pace, with a shy but friendly smile on his face, went to the piano, took a short bow, looked once around the audience, and promptly seated himself at the piano. He took some time to adjust the bench and then rubbed his hands together, looked up briefly, and then he launched into the Beethoven. More than launched, actually, he recreated the Beethoven. I didn't know it at the time, but he was in the midst of a ten year project to record all thirty-two sonatas and he was playing three or four a year in these concerts. I don't remember what he played that day or on the two or three more occasions I had over the next few years to hear him play, but I was so pleased with his performance that I tried not to miss any opportunity to hear him play.

I had bought this set some years ago and have had the occasion recently to study it. (I'm on this jag to start enjoying all the good stuff I have while I'm still kicking.) After listening to the set a few times, I felt that I had this bag of jewels and I could put my hand in and out would come this jewel or that jewel and each jewel was as beautiful as the others. In this set, there's not a bad jewel in the bunch.

So now, quoth he, what about this set? You will find that Goode has an impressive dynamic range and that the architecture of his interpretations is very cohesive: he's put a lot of thought into structure and the results are very convincing. His playing is pellucid, with hardly any blurring due to pedal. When he does blur, it's clearly for effect. He has a magnificent technique and he plays with the energetic forthrightness that is required by the music, but his playing is not strident. He prefers subtle coloring effects and precise rhythms to express the deeper dimensions of these pieces. One thing you will notice is that his hands are absolutely independent. For example, he does this trick throughout: he'll begin a crescendo, but the right hand will `crescend' sooner than the left- and the left may actually get louder and softer while the right hand continues. It makes the playing very colorful.

And now some specifics: (things that I especially like)
Sonata #2, third mvt, Scherzo
#5, third mvt, Finale (here is one place that I really get the sense of the terrific architectural coherence of his playing)
#6, third mvt, Presto: fun
#'s 10,11, 12- three gems.
#10, first mvt, Allegro
#10, third mvt, Allegro assai: perfection.
#12, fourth mvt, Allegro
#13, second mvt, Allegro molto vivace: specifically timing/rhythm
#15
#18, first mvt, Allegro
#21, last two mvts, very contemplative interpretations, different. I think I prefer Schnabel here, especially last mvt.
#26, Das Lebwohl, Les Adieux. I think this is my favorite performance of this sonata, especially the last mvt. RG brings out all the joy that Beethoven must have felt on the return of his friend and patron.
#29, fourth mvt, Fuga. Very powerful reading. (Aside: compare the music here with the Grosse Fuge, Op 133 String quartet.)
#30, another great reading. I especially like the third mvt, variations #'s II & IV
#31 L'inversione della fuga: very powerful reading

Back in the days when I was working with Kamitsuka, I asked him who his favorite living pianists were. He said Martha Argerich was `pretty good'. That's about as high a compliment as he was willing to make for any living pianist. (He had a lot to say about bad pianists.) Then some time later RG came out with a Brahms CD. I said to Kamitsuka, `You know, John, Richard Goode just came out with a cd of Brahms late works.' He looked at me briefly and then looked away out the window that had a view of the Palisades in New Jersey and said, `Oh yeah? Hmm... it must be pretty good.'

So, hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

Average customer rating:

Superb music - lousy packaging
AMONG THE BEST
Excellent bargain
So wonderful that these have been re-released
Deep and thoughtful

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas
Beethoven , and Frank
Manufacturer: Music & Arts Program
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Beethoven: The 10 Sonatas for Violin & Piano
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Beethoven`s Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion
Beethoven: The Piano Trios

ASIN: B000063DK9
Release Date: 2006-01-01

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Menuetto: Allegretto/Trio
IV. Prestissimo
I. Allegro
II. Adagio Grazioso
III. Rondo: Allegretto
I. Allegro Assai/Piu Allegro
II. Andante Con Moto Allegro, Ma Non Troppo/Presto

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Allegretto/Maggiore
III. Rondo: Allegro Comodo
I. Largo/Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto
I. Vivace, Ma Non Troppo/Adagio Espressivo
II. Prestissimo
III. Gesangvoll, Mit Innigster Empfindung (Variations 1-6)

Tracks:

I. Allegro Molto E Con Brio
II. Adagio Molto
III. Finale. Prestissimo
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Allegro Vivace/Trio
IV. Rondo: Allegro, Ma non Troppo/Piu Allegro Quasi Presto
I. Presto Alla Tedesca
II. L'Absence: Andante Espressivo/Le Retour: Vivacissimamente

Tracks:

I. Allegro Con Brio
II. Adagio
III. Scherzo: Allegro/Trio/Coda
IV. Allegro Assai
I. In Tempo D'Un Menuetto
II. Allegretto/Piu Allegro
I. Allegro
II. Allegretto
III. Presto
I. Moderato cantabile, Molto Espressivo
II. Allegro Molto
III. Adagio, Ma Non Troppo/Fugue: Allegro, Ma Non Troppo

Tracks:

I. Grave/Allegro Di Molto E con Brio
II. Adagio Cantabile
III. Rondo: Allegro
I. Presto Alla Tedesca
II. Andante
III. Vivace
I. Adagio Cantabile/Allegro, Ma Non Troppo
II. Allegro Vivace
I. Allegro
II. Scherzo: Allegretto Vivace
III. Menuetto: Moderato E Grazioso/Trio
IV. Presto Con Fuoco

Tracks:

I. Andante
II. Rondo: Allegro
I. Allegro, Ma Non Troppo
II. Tempo Di Menuetto
I. Allegro
II. Scherzo: Assai Vivace
III. Adagio Sostenuto
IV. Largo/Allegro Risoluto

Tracks:

I. Presto
II. Largo E Mesto
III. Menuetto/Allegro/Trip
IV. Rondo: Allegro
I. Mit Lebhaftigkeit Und Durchaus Mit Empfindung Und Ausdruck
II. Nicht Zu Geschwind Und Sehr Singbar
I. Allegro Con Brio
II. Introduzione: Adagio Molto
III. Rondo: Allegretto Moderato

Tracks:

I. Allegro Molto E Con Brio
II. Largo, Con Gran Espressione
III. Allegro/Minore
IV. Rondo: Poco Allegretto E Grazioso
I. Andante Con Variazione
II. Scherzo: Allegro Molto/Trio
III. Marcia Funebre Sulla Morte D'un Eroe
IV. Allegro
I. Etwas Lebhaft Und Mit Der innigsten Empfindung
II. Lebhaft, Marschmassig
III. Langsam Und Sehnsuchtvoll/Geschwinde, Doch Nicht Zu sehr, Und Mit Entschlossenheit

Tracks:

I. Allegro Vivace
II. Largo Appassionato
III. Scherzo: Allegretto
IV. Rondo: Grazioso
I. Allegro Con Brio
II. Adagio Con Molta Espressione
III. Menuetto/Minore
IV. Rondo: Allegretto
I. Adagio Sostenuto
II. Allegretto
III. Presto

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Scherzo: Allegro Assai
I. Andante/Allegro/II. Allegro Molto E Vivace/III. Adagio Con Espressione/IV. Allegro Vivace/Presto
I. Maestoso/Allegro Con Brio Ed Appassionato
II. Arietta: Adagio Molto Semplice E Cantabile

Customer Reviews:

Superb music - lousy packaging.......2007-03-30

The playing and sound is superb and the price is right. I have one big complaint, though. My set came with no liner notes whatsover, not even a listing of the pieces and which of the ten CDs they are on. This information is found only printed on the CDs themselves, which means you have to rummage through them to find a particular sonata. And even then the track listings are not given, so unless you have memorized how many movements each sonata has you are out of luck on finding where a particular one begins. Quite an oversight - I would gladly have paid a few dollars more if they had included a brochure with complete track information.

AMONG THE BEST.......2006-11-28

One man's viewpoint:
I have three other sets of the 32, and love them all. I must say that Frank can really cut it - great agility, a bit of rubato, and a sense of true comprehension and mastery of the music. His Hammerklavier surprised me: It's one of the most thoughtfull I own.
*** Frank can--in some pieces--transport us in ways we hadn't expected. When I bought this, I paid an amazing low price. Now, to my ears, it's worth triple that amount. Get this set and the O'Conor set. Fall in love twice.

Excellent bargain.......2006-07-26

I agree with the positive comments of all the reviewers below. A couple of points that that might interest prospective purchasers:
1. Most of the repeats, but not all, are observed.
2. Although I agree that the level of playing and interpretation is VERY high, I found Frank's mannerism of anticipating the right hand with the left occurred often enough to be annoying.
That said, this set will give a great deal of pleasure, but I agree that I wouldn't want it to be the only one in my collection.

So wonderful that these have been re-released.......2006-03-27

I "grew up" with these recordings, bought the set on vinyl in college. I was thrilled to find they'd been re-released on CD; like the Guarneri recordings of the Beethoven string quartets. There is a world of thought and care and joy here.

Deep and thoughtful.......2006-01-12

This is a marvelous set of the piano sonatas. I learned about the set from Professor Greenberg's lecture series on the Beethoven piano sonatas (also worth getting from The Teaching Company). Greenberg uses this set to illustrate his lectures.

Yes, it's true that one can find flashier performances of a few of the pieces elsewhere (I've heard the Waldstein much more fiery), but these performances fit together nicely as a deep reading of the whole set. They are invariably beautiful and thoughtful. A few are, to me, mind-blowing (the Les Adieu, the Pathetique, second movement of the Opus 111, several of the scherzi).

Also, the sound on the CD is terrific. Hightly recommended.

Alfred Brendel plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

Average customer rating:

A huge dissapointment
Underrated Early Brendel
lukewarm
Best Bang for the Buck
Great Value, Great Performances

Alfred Brendel plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Alfred Brendel Plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2
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Alfred Brendel Plays Beethoven, Vol. 4
Beethoven: Variations & Vignettes
Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas

ASIN: B000001K2I
Release Date: 1992-11-04

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Scherzo
III. Adagio Sostenuto
IV. Largo; Allegro Risoluto
I. Maestoso; Allegro Con Brio E Appassionato
II. Arietta: Adagio Molto, Semplice E Cantabile

Tracks:

I. Allegretto Ma Non Troppo
II. Vivace Alla Marcia
III. Adagio Ma Non Troppo Con Affetto; Presto
I. Vivace Ma Non Troppo; Adagio Espressivo
II. Prestissimo
III. Tema Con Variazioni
I. Moderato Cantabile, Molto Espressivo
II. Allegro Molto - III. Adagio Ma Non Troppo
Fuga: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
I. Mit Lebhaftigkeit Und Durchaus Mit Empfindung Und Ausdruck
Nicht Zu Geschwind Und Sehr Singbar Vorzutragen

Customer Reviews:

A huge dissapointment.......2006-11-10

I am big fan of Brendel. However, these CDs are a huge dissapointment. The sounds is very metallic and high pitched, whether it is due to the recording or the piano, I do not know. Brendel's interpretation is nowhere near the the subtlety, perfection and beauty I am used to. This is probably due to the fact that the recording was made in the early 60' when Brendel was still young and his play not as mature and experienced as it became later. i deeply regret purchasing these CDs (and Vol 2 too!).

Underrated Early Brendel.......2006-10-30

I think that Brendel's early Beethoven recordings are underrated and have not been given the credit they deserve. Some of the bad reviews here at Amazon are unwarranted. Brendel's playing here is excellent. I compared these recordings with Goode's "Late Sonatas" CD and found Goode to be lacking in every respect. Brendel has a wonderful understanding of all the nuances of the score, and contrary to what Brendel's detractors say, his playing is not cold and aloof. To the contrary, I found his playing lively and great attention to detail is seen throughout this entire cycle. The numerous shifts in tone and feel that Beethoven put into each peice are picked up by Brendel. The sound is very good also. The mic is close to the piano and there is hardly any echoing, which means the sound is clear and direct. Everyone may not like this set, but I am very happy with it and I believe it is one of the best Beethoven cycles around.

lukewarm.......2005-01-14

For late Beethoven piano sonatas, Pollini and Solomon far excel Brendel, although Solomon's recordings are often of terrible sound quality. But Brendel's playing of Beethoven verges on urbane. Perhaps his predisposition to Mozart slightly infected his interpretation of other composers. Indeed, Brendel is best for Mozart and Schubert, not for Beethoven.

Best Bang for the Buck.......2000-12-10

The question is what you are after. If it's bang for the buck you are after, look no further. If it's the bang that you are after, read on. These 1962 recordings of Beethoven's late sonatas are Brendel's first. He was already a great pianist but what he learned since then is immeasurable! Since then he recorded Beethoven's late sonatas 2 more times; in the seventies (which I have not listen to) and then in December of 1995 (by Philips). His 1995 recording is the closest to perfection you would ever get. A great pianist is one who never stops learning. Brendel is exactly that.

Great Value, Great Performances.......2000-07-03

I have all 3 volumes in this cycle of Beethoven Sonatas recorded in the early 60's by Brendel. They are truly an exceptional value as each package contains 2 discs worth of music. The sound is very good overall and the performances are masterful. This particular volume offers Beethoven's late Sonata's along with the tour-de-force Hammerklavier. The riches unfold with each hearing and the performances of all these great works is at a very high level. A great purchase!

Average customer rating:

A good reference copy
Lowest-cost complete set
A very good bargain buy for Beethoven Sonatas
YOu get what you pay for...and in this case,,,a pinch more.
Great Bargain - Great Playing - So So Sound Quality

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas

Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I & II
Beethoven: Complete String Quartets
Mozart: Piano Sonatas
Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet
Mozart:The Complete Piano Sonatas and Variations

ASIN: B0000037B3
Release Date: 1997-10-07

Tracks:

Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: I. Allegro
Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: II. Adagio
Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: III. Allegretto
Sonata No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1: IV. Prestissimo
Sonata No. 22 In F Major, Op. 54: I. In Tempo dnuetto
Sonata No. 22 In F Major, Op. 54: II. Allegreto
Sonata No. 23 In F Minor, Op. 57 'Appassionata': I. Allegro assai
Sonata No. 23 In F Minor, Op. 57 'Appassionata': II. Andante con moto
Sonata No. 23 In F Minor, Op. 57 'Appassionata': III Allegro ma non troppo

Tracks:

Sonata No. 2 In A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: I. Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 2 In A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: II. Largo appassionata
Sonata No. 2 In A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: III. Scherzo: Allegretto
Sonata No. 2 In A Major, Op. 2 No. 2: IV. Rondo: Grazioso
Sonata No. 24 In F Sharp Major, Op. 78: I. Allegro ma non troppo
Sonata No. 24 In F Sharp Major, Op. 78: II. Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 28 In A Major, Op. 101: I. Allegretto, ma non troppo
Sonata No. 28 In A Major, Op. 101: II. Vivace alla marcia
Sonata No. 28 In A Major, Op. 101: Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto - Allegro

Tracks:

Sonata No. 3 In C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: I. Allegro con brio
Sonata No. 3 In C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: II. Adagio
Sonata No. 3 In C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: III. Scherzo: Allegro
Sonata No. 3 In C Major, Op. 2 No. 3: IV. Allegro assai
Sonata No. 19 In G Minor, Op. 49 No. 1: I. Andante
Sonata No. 19 In G Minor, Op. 49 No. 1: II. Rondo: Allegro
Sonata No. 21 In C Major, Op. 53 'Waldstein': I. Allegro con brio
Sonata No. 21 In C Major, Op. 53 'Waldstein': II. Introduzione - Rondo

Tracks:

Sonata No. 4 In E Flat Major, Op. 7: I. Allegro molto e con brio
Sonata No. 4 In E Flat Major, Op. 7: II. Largo, con gran espressione
Sonata No. 4 In E Flat Major, Op. 7: III. Allegro
Sonata No. 4 In E Flat Major, Op. 7: IV. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso
Sonata No. 10 In G Major, Op. 14 No. 2: I. Allegro
Sonata No. 10 In G Major, Op. 14 No. 2: II. Andante
Sonata No. 10 In G Major, Op. 14 No. 2: III. Scherzo: Allegro assai
Sonata No. 26 In E Flat major, Op. 81a 'Les adieux, l'absence et le retour': I. Adagio - Allegro
Sonata No. 26 In E Flat major, Op. 81a 'Les adieux, l'absence et le retour': II. Andante espressivo
Sonata No. 26 In E Flat major, Op. 81a 'Les adieux, l'absence et le retour': III. Vivacissimamente

Tracks:

Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: I. Allegro molto e con brio
Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: II. Adagio molto
Sonata No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1: III. Prestissimo
Sonata No. 6 In F Major, Op. 10 No. 2: I. Allegro
Sonata No. 6 In F Major, Op. 10 No. 2: II. Allegretto
Sonata No. 6 In F Major, Op. 10 No. 2: III. Presto
Sonata No. 7 In D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: I. Presto
Sonata No. 7 In D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: II. Largo e mesto
Sonata No. 7 In D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: III. Menuetto: Allegro
Sonata No. 7 In D Major, Op. 10 No. 3: IV. Rondo: Allegro

Tracks:

Sonata No. 11 In B Flat Major, Op. 22: I. Allegro con brio
Sonata No. 11 In B Flat Major, Op. 22: II. Adagio con molto espressione
Sonata No. 11 In B Flat Major, Op. 22: III. Menuetto
Sonata No. 11 In B Flat Major, Op. 22: IV. Rondo: Allegretto
Sonata No. 20 In G Major, Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro, ma non troppo
Sonata No. 20 In G Major, Op. 49 No. 2: II. Tempo di minuetto
Sonata No. 15 In D Major, Op. 28 'Pastoral': I. Allegro
Sonata No. 15 In D Major, Op. 28 'Pastoral': II. Andante
Sonata No. 15 In D Major, Op. 28 'Pastoral': III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 15 In D Major, Op. 28 'Pastoral': IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

Tracks:

Sonata No 25 In G Major, Op. 79: I. Presto alla tedesca
Sonata No 25 In G Major, Op. 79: II. Andante
Sonata No 25 In G Major, Op. 79: III. Vivace
Sonata No 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'Tempest': I. Allegro
Sonata No 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'Tempest': II. Adagio
Sonata No 17 In D Minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'Tempest': III. Allegretto
Sonata No. 15 In E Flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3: I. Allegro
Sonata No. 18 In E Flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3: II. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 18 In E Flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3: III. Menuett: Moderato e grazioso
Sonata No. 18 In E Flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3: IV. Presto con fuoco

Tracks:

Sonata No. 13 In E Flat Major, Op 27 No. 1: I. Andante
Sonata No. 13 In E Flat Major, Op 27 No. 1: II. Allegro molto e vivace
Sonata No. 13 In E Flat Major, Op 27 No. 1: III. Adagio con espressione
Sonata No. 13 In E Flat Major, Op 27 No. 1: IV. Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 29 In B Flat Major, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier': I. Allegro
Sonata No. 29 In B Flat Major, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier': II. Scherzo: Assai vivace
Sonata No. 29 In B Flat Major, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier': III. Adagio sostenuto
Sonata No. 29 In B Flat Major, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier': IV. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Tracks:

Sonata No 9 In E Major, Op. 14 No. 1: I. Allegro
Sonata No 9 In E Major, Op. 14 No. 1: II. Allegretto
Sonata No 9 In E Major, Op. 14 No. 1: III. Rondo: Allegretto
Sonata No. 16 In G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: I. Allegro vivace
Sonata No. 16 In G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: II. Adagio grazioso
Sonata No. 16 In G Major, Op. 31 No. 1: III. Rondo: Allegretto
Sonata No 30 In E Major, Op. 109: I. Vivace ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo
Sonata No 30 In E Major, Op. 109: II. Prestissimo
Sonata No 30 In E Major, Op. 109: III. Gesangvoll mit innigster Empfindung

Tracks:

Sonata No 5 In A Flat Major, Op. 26: I. Andante con variazioni
Sonata No 5 In A Flat Major, Op. 26: II. Scherzo
Sonata No 5 In A Flat Major, Op. 26: III. Marcia funebre
Sonata No 5 In A Flat Major, Op. 26: IV. Allegro
Sonata No 14 In C Sharp Minor, Op 27 No 2 'Moonlight': I. Adagio sostenuto
Sonata No 14 In C Sharp Minor, Op 27 No 2 'Moonlight': II. Allegretto
Sonata No 14 In C Sharp Minor, Op 27 No 2 'Moonlight': III. Presto
Sonata No 31 In A Flat Major, Op 110: I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
Sonata No 31 In A Flat Major, Op 110: II. Allegro molto
Sonata No 31 In A Flat Major, Op 110: III. Adagio, ma non troppo
Sonata No 31 In A Flat Major, Op 110: IV. Fuga: Allegro ma non troppo

Tracks:

Sonata No 8 In C Minor, Op 13 'Pathetique': I. Grave - Allegro molto e con brio
Sonata No 8 In C Minor, Op 13 'Pathetique': II. Adagio cantabile
Sonata No 8 In C Minor, Op 13 'Pathetique': III. Rondo: Allegro
Sonata No. 27 In E Minor, Op. 90: I. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfinding und Ausdruck
Sonata No. 27 In E Minor, Op. 90: II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
Sonata No. 32 In C Minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
Sonata No. 32 In C Minor, Op. 111: II. Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Amazon.com

Rather than present the sonatas in chronological order, each disc is refreshingly arranged as a mini-program that juxtaposes contrasting works. While Bernard Roberts doesn't quite command the flexible technique of Sviatoslav Richter or the individual point of view set out in cycles by Schnabel, Arrau, Kempff, or Yves Nat, those wishing a super-bargain Beethoven cycle will not be disappointed. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

A good reference copy.......2006-11-10

Bernard Roberts is what I'd call a "journeyman pianist". That's not a negative, its a recognition that he's a master craftsman who can be relied on to give a good interpretation of the works without taking them over. These recordings may feel a bit 'flat' or colorless as a result but it allows you, the listener, to delve a bit deeper into the music rather than the performance. This will be especially important if you are interested in studying or performing these works. (Indispensable accessory is the score, BTW -- also available from Amazon!)

Lowest-cost complete set .......2006-02-10

If you are looking for your first COMPLETE set of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, you've just found the LOWEST COST set available. But is it "the best" or a good one?? Depends on a lot of course. Beethoven's Piano Sonatas are one category in classical music brimming with an abundance of quality choices - both historic and modern - and begs the obvious question, "Which set to chose?" With Kempff we have a "gentleman's Beethoven" ... with Pollini a surgical precision ... Alfred Brendel gives wonderfully conceived masterpieces ... with Goode comes some very poised playing in the classical tradition ... and with Richter, Nikolavia or Kovacavich some fire. (Kovacavich's cycle is my personal favorite). One can spend hours and hours comparing performers and recordings work-by-work and still not really have a solid feel for which one is "the best" - at least for you. And in doing so, the focus can become overly weighted on the finding the elusive "ideal" recording that one can miss the importance of just sitting down with one of the many great recordings available and revelling in the depths of Beethoven's piano music.

All things considered, Bernard Robert's complete cycle here is a solid choice - not overly "poetic" ... nor overly "Romantic" or brash. In addition to Bernard Roberts set here, a similar "super budget" set from Claude Frank was re-released on the Music & Arts label (about $59). Other sets will cost $100 and up typically. Both Frank and Roberts give simimlarly compelling, musically rich and interpretatively balanced readings. Frank's style is more lucid and refined where Roberts brings more intensity. Such complete sets as these form a solid reference point to understand and appreciate the other historic performer's interpretive artistry (as most connoisseurs have several sets eventually). At some point of one's musical journey, it becomes enlightening to listen to historic greats as Schnabel, Kempff, Arrau, Serkin, Goode, Gilels, Kovacavich ... but early on it is probably more important just to hear Beethoven-for-Beethoven and focus less on the performer. And these inexpensive sets allow that for the budget buyer.

But don't let the price or lack of popularity make you think either of these budget sets are sub-standard performances either. Bernard Roberts is well known and much admired in his native England while German-born Claude Frank's Beethoven's recordings were, according to music writer and pianist David Dubal, "highly prized." Both get good reviews (both on Amazon and music press) and both represent Beethoven faithfully and with much artistry. Where Frank's cycle is a more closely-miked sound environemnt, Robert's recordings have a more resonant ambiance. If price is the main consideration, Roberts set is unbeatable and the best way to begin the journey to explore the 32 sonatas.

A very good bargain buy for Beethoven Sonatas.......2005-12-06

Bernard Roberts may not be a name widely known in the USA, but his recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas for Nimbus dating from the mid 1980s are very good. If you are not a diehard fan of Richter, Rubinstein, Horowitz, Kempff, or Backhaus and absolutely MUST have their recordings, Roberts is worth considering. He has fine technique, but never shows off, pounds or distorts anything in the music to bring attention to himself; in short, Beethoven is served, not pianist Bernard Roberts.

I have about 80% of these recordings on separate Nimbus releases, and can only say I am very pleased with both recorded sound and playing. Of course with complete sets of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, there are always some performances superceded by individual ones of other pianists, but these should please most anyone who doesn't require a recording of one of the above listed pianists.

Budget price + fine recorded sound + great playing = a successful recording set which I am pleased to recommend.

YOu get what you pay for...and in this case,,,a pinch more........2005-12-01

I bought this set when i was younger, less knowledgeable about the individual qualities an individual may bring to a performance. I thought, hey, they all play the same notes, right. So to get all Beeth sonata's at such a cheap price, i thought sure.
I already had the named sonata's by Serkin, whom my father recommended as his supreme beethoven player, and to this day I still hear them the way he played them, and Roberts is no serkin.
Again, this being before i realized how much the performer mattered, i was disappointed on the whole with the sonata's, feeling that maybe the serkin disc was enough in that all the "good" named sonata's were there.
Every day i listened to one or too discs in a sitting, making sure i missed nothing.
Disappointment is what i felt.
Now that i am older, and more intelligent in the method of performing, and an accomplished performer my self, one able to provide their own mark to their own performance, one with the ability to understand what one is doing, and how to do it, i have numerous collections of this set. Schnabel was the first "historical set i bought" with much the same reaction in terms of sound as i had to the playng of the roberts set.
I now own Gilels, Barenboim, Schnabel, Richter(in most), Fischer(annie) Roberts, brendel, arrau, and kempff. and have listened to, as i did with roberts to Goode(a very decent account), and Kovavich(though i dont own them.
The top of my list is most suredly Kempff(60's), but it was not always so. as my respect for the performance grew, so did my taste for kempff. Brendel always bored me, as did Barenboim(i found myself passing out-which i never do). Fischer and Gilels are both extremes, that at first hearing are truly exciting and fresh(despiite a repeated claim about Gilels lack of soul). The Backhaus was, for me, a surprisingly excellent set and the Arrau had much going for it in the latter half. I adore richter, but his beethoven is usually hit or miss, but when its a hit it is top of the mountain. So that leads us back to Roberts. There are many things that i actually like here, such as his performance of op 10\3 final mvmt. He plays it with minimal pedal, letting the voices speak for themselves, there is only one version i enjoy more, and that, surprisingly is John o'Connor(or just connor)?-though i hate his cycle-or what i have heard. Overall, for the money, depending on how serious you are, like for instance, if you are not satisfied are you going to go out and spend more money, then i would save it the first time and go for Kempff. But if you are young, as i was, and must hear them, but dont have the money, first go to your library and see if they have an aforementioned copy and burn it, and if you want to own it for cheap, you cant do much better than this for the price. Another thing you could do is buy artur schnabel's account on naxos for 6.99 a disc, but know beforehand that the sound is variable(the recordings are from the 30's) but give it a chance and you will learn to appreciate the playing itslef and not what today's engineers have to say about the music. This ability to listen in spite of the engineers is somehing that will enable you to enjoy so much music that most will not-i.e cortot, rach, moiseiw, hofman, etc.

Great Bargain - Great Playing - So So Sound Quality.......2005-08-10

This is the only complete set of the Beethoven Sonatas that I own, and so far I have been very happy with it. First off, the price is excellent. I know for a fact that I probably NEVER would have purchased my first complete set if I had to pay close to $100 for it! This is a great way to get introduced to the complete set.

I've heard a few sonatas on other CDs by other players, but for the most part, this is the only version I've heard of most of these sonatas, so I can't really compare them to other players. However, as a music collector and pianist, I can recognize good piano playing when I hear it, even without another version for comparison. Robert's playing is clean and accurate and stylistically very appropriate. Every phrase and passage is well thought out and shaped, enhancing the music without distracting from it.

The only complaint that I would have is that sometimes the sound has a little too much reverb for my tastes, which can affect the clarity of some passage (particularly those written in the lower range of the keyboard).

As others have said, this is a great starter set for anyone wanting to get all the sonatas at a great price. My advice would be to get this nicely priced set, then if there are certain sonatas you really love and want other versions, perhaps buy only those. While all the sonatas are well written, I don't love them all enough to warrant purchasing multiple versions. However, this set has allowed me to find those sonatas which really speak to me, so that I can then pursue those further without having to pay an arm and a leg buying all 32 over again. Enjoy!

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