Beethoven: Diabelli-Variations [Box set]

On this CD:

1. Variations for piano in C major on a waltz by Diabelli ("Diabelli Variations"), Op. 120
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Alfredo Perl

Customer Reviews:

Get anything Grigory Sokolov recorded .......2006-07-29

Grigory Sokolov is definitely one of the most underrated pianist for the past few decades, and I truly believe he is the best still around.

Currently there are two CD boxes( each contains 5 CDs)and one DVD (Live in Paris) available in the market. This is one of the CD set.

CD1: Beethoven Diabelli Variations;
CD2 & CD3: Schubert D894, D960;
CD4: Chopin Sonata No 2 and Etude op25 ;
CD5: Scriabin Sonata No 3&9,Prokofiev Sonata No 8 and Rachmaninov Prelude op23 No 4.

Because of his reclusive personality and unwilling to record (perhaps due to perfectionism) , he never had contract with major labels and therefore lots of people were not aware of him. However, the one single DVD is good enough to do him justice--you have to see it to believe it.

He is one of the best classic pianists ever, along with Gilels, Richter, etc----definitely the best still around. If you have notheard of Solokov, get both CD sets and DVD--that will be the best investment for your classic music collection and years of enjoyment. And if one of us get lucky, we might still be able to see him one stage one day.

Alfredo Perl Plays Ludwig van Beethoven (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Give a gift to yourself and your friends
Honestly Beethoven (Beethoven honesto)
Very nice Box Set
Bravo to Perl! A Great Way to Experience Beethoven

Alfredo Perl Plays Ludwig van Beethoven (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Arte Nova Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Album Details

Ddd. Special Edition 10 CD Box-set Collection of Beethoven's Complete Piano Sonatas.

Customer Reviews:

Give a gift to yourself and your friends.......2002-01-30

Thanks to Arte Nova and the artists for giving us top-quality Beethoven performances (symphonies, string quartets, and piano sonatas) at below-top prices. The Perl piano interpretations are comparable to those of Kovacevich and Brendel. The sound quality of these CD's is excellent, and I feel Perl plays the lyrical and dramatic passages of the sonatas just right. If you are interested in getting acqainted with all the Beethovem piano sonatas and the Diabelli variations (op. 120), this is the set to buy. This collection also makes a great gift to a music-loving friend!

Honestly Beethoven (Beethoven honesto).......2000-07-12

I complete this set buying one by one, for the price, too, but i had a great suprise when I listened the vol. 2 (Moonlight sonata) and the Diabelli variations. Perl is relationed with th classic and romantic repertoires (hear his Liszt!), and in these interpretetions are in the spirit of Brendel, Pollini and Arrau, leaving to the climax of each sonata and give a timeless impression of the works. Maybe is not too fogous, but the music introduces in our souls forever, like all the music of Beethoven. Highlits: "Moonlight", "Waldstein", "Hammerklavier" and op. 109. Good price, and the only less positive point, is the recording. I'm sure that this interpretation will be better in the future. Listen to Beethoven. Note: En español, ver los volumenes en separado

Very nice Box Set.......2000-02-19

I have to admit I bought this because it is competitively priced, but I listen to all these discs becuase of the great interpretaitons.

I do not own any other complete sets of the 32, but I have most of them on vinyl from many other painists. Perl's interpretaions are, to me, conservative stylistically (nothing eccentric) but he brings great warmth to each and every note.

The sonics are very good, as well. As far as room ambience is concerned, if you had a 1 to 10 scale where 1 is a typical Glenn Gould record and 10 is one of those Nimbus records with gobs of room echo (like the sound of a pianist playing for a ballet class) I would place these recordings at about a 6, which is slightly more room ambiance than I would like, in the louder passages, but it adds something to the quieter passages.

I think that these recordings will stand the test of time.

Bravo to Perl! A Great Way to Experience Beethoven.......1998-10-04

Beethoven would no doubt approve of this fine collection of his thirty-two piano sonatas. Alfredo Perl gives passionate, thoughtful performances that rightly put the focus on Beethoven's music and not Perl himself. I especially enjoyed Perl's rendition of the Diabelli Variations, which is included on a bonus 10th disc; I found his interpretation of the variations to be one of the finest in recent memory. Moreover, at this price, this collection (over 12 hours of music) is hard to beat-- either as an introduction to the magic of Beethoven's piano sonatas, or as a fresh take for those already familiar with these seminal works. Bravo!

Great Pianists of the 20th Century: The Complete Edition

Average customer rating:

Wonderful set
Don't buy the whole thing
Not Insane
insane
For the real music lover

Great Pianists of the 20th Century: The Complete Edition
Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Barcarolles | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00002EITP
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful set.......2004-10-24

This set is for serious piano fans, not for the ones who just start building up a CD library. I sort of agree with one of the reviewers, that there are many repetitions. But if you love piano, you wish to hear the same piece in different interpretations. Indeed, I really like this feature of this set: I can compare the style of various performers.
If you are into piano music, I encourage you to grab this set, if you can find it used (not available anymore at Amazon). I also hope, that there will be a continuation, in which other great pianists, who were left out because of the space limitation, will be included (Prokofiev, Bartok, Dohnanyi, etc).

Don't buy the whole thing.......2001-07-08

I've put a lot of thought into constructing my own piano library, and unless you can easily afford the present set, I would recommend a different approach to collecting piano music. This set emphasizes the piano player rather than the piano composer. Of course both are important. For example, the "Barcarolle" appears in this set EIGHT times. I'm sorry, although I love the piece, if I am going to spend [the money], I would prefer more variety. Where are the Alkan, Medtner, and Szymanawski compositions represented in this set? I appreciate having so many interpretations of the same pieces, but I would also appreciate more exposure to pieces not so popular. The selection by Philips which I consider a somewhat popular selection suggests to me that when Philips constructed this set, they realized most people would be buying the disks separately, and this affected the selection. And it's not just that obscure composers are left out, but also if one spends so much money on piano recordings, you'd think you'd want to buy pieces from a composer in completeness. For example, an alternative way to construct a library would be to combine purchases of complete cycles, e.g. complete Beethoven sonatas, complete Scriabin preludes, etc., along with outstanding recordings of more particular pieces. I'm not sure why someone would want to concentrate so much on so many famous artists, instead of acquiring complete sets of compositions. For me the composer is more important, or at least, if I am going to spend [the money]on piano recordings, I'd prefer more complete, rather than snapshot, exposure to the composers.

Not Insane.......2001-01-02

I had to write this review, as I am enthralled with this set. I have been going through it in order having already purchased a few individual units from the collection earlier. I am not sure what `insane' was talking about as there is NO repetition. Sure some pianists perform the same pieces, isn't that what they did in reality? The idea is to appreciate the different nuances and approaches taken by these artists. You will then enjoy these pieces from a better vantage.

It is a large ambitious contribution to the art of great piano playing. It is a labor of love and represents a tremendous amount of research and cooperation between many record companies. Rather then representing insanity, it is a resource to treasure.

Yes experts can quibble over who was left out, and what performances were inserted. I do not think such a massive undertaking could have been accomplished without someone being able to find faults. Overall however, unless you already have a monumental collection, (it would have to be almost legendary), this incredible set will give you a rewarding look into 74 of the greatest pianist of all time. You will come away with a honed sense of appreciation for your likes and dislikes. You will undoubtedly become someone who will search out recordings and be able to enjoy them for the rest of your life with a refined ear.

The only negative is this price. I would shop around, as it is daunting to spend 2 thousand dollars on such a collection. Of course you do get 200 CD's. However, the used collections might be good to consider.

Enjoy these masterpieces. I am not ashamed of owning this music as `insane' implies. I am proud to have enriched my life.

insane.......2000-10-12

This is not a good library of piano music. The reason is, there is too much repetition. I'm not saying the series is bad. The series is wonderful. But this collection as a whole is a bad libary. For the same money you could collect together (with more effort) an incredible libary of piano music. There are so many wonderful cd's out there, this is just a waste of money. If you can actually afford to spend 2 grand on piano music, then either (1) spend the time and do some research to get a good library of piano music, which will probably include some selections from this collection, or (2) hire someone to do that for you. Personally I would be embarrassed to own this whole collection, since that shows I have put little thought into my purchases of piano music.

For the real music lover.......2000-03-12

This series attempts to present important and representative performances by most of the major pianists of the 20th century. One might quibble a bit with the choices, but the works presented are of consistently high quality, and often do represent what may be the best works of a performer. Since this covers most of the time that recorded music existed, some of the recordings are technically challenged, as there is only so much one can do to enhance an old recording. Still, these appear to have been treated with love and respect in their restorations. Since this series is so large (and expensive!) one is tempted to "cherry pick" through the series, yet by doing so one can easily overlook gems by artists one is less familiar with. This large a set must inevitably have many versions of the same pieces, and takes many hours to listen to. The true enthusiast will appreciate the differences in interpretation, whereas the less experienced listener may find the set repetitive and overwhelming. If one has the time to really dig into this set, it can provide years of exploration and discovery. It would make a wonderful gift for some special music lover in your life ... or for yourself!

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