Beethoven's 30th sonata opus 109 - whose interpretation do you prefer?
Sun, Apr 14 2013, 2:43PM
My heading is calibrated to suit an English blog with its presumable unpassionate listeners...
What I mean is which version puts you in the strongest ecstatic mood (there are some Latinos around, no?)
My personal experience is that I had listened and liked quite a few versions which all had something different to offer (Brendel, Gulda, Kovachevic, Pollini). That was before I heard Pires in it - and the beauty of this opus was like revealed to me. The more I listen to her the more taken over I am - and curiously I also appreciate more the other versions. Her reading is beyond words - the rest are correct, dazzling even, tecnically immaculate and even formally perfect (Pollini) but it is as if they were paid, anemical bureacrats performing a duty while Pires invests and immerges herself 110% into the materaial. She inhabits it, intensely - and I have no doubt that had Beethoven had the possibility to listen to her (and the guys) he would have said that she is the only one abiding by his instructions particularly for the last movement:Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung.
Sun, Apr 14 2013, 5:57PM
#2
RE: Beethoven's 30th sonata opus 109.
Claudio Arrau every time. No competition.
Sun, Apr 14 2013, 6:47PM
#3
RE: Beethoven's 30th sonata opus 109 .
I would not call him/her an idiot, Mista. Probably, we have to deal with a person of strong convictions...
You are absolutely right though about the "sublime poetry" of the work. I could think of another dozen of pianists who have performed the work in wonderful recordings (from the older ones, just try Backhaus or Gulda or even Barenboim, particularly in his first recording for Emi and the list can go on).
Parla
Tue, Apr 16 2013, 4:24AM
#4
RE: Beethoven's 30th sonata opus 109
Jane's radical comment is well grounded I fear. Arrau's reading is very special indeed w/ a great introspection, close to meditation (Gesangvoll).
However, when it comes to LvB's late piano sonatas I got a preference for Solomon's readings (EMI). Another one worth looking for is Richter's: on Philips (now Decca) as the Prague recordings superbly reissued by the Label Praga does not include the Op. 109. So this is my answer: Solomon-Arrau-Richter(of course, there are other great readings).
The Op. 109 was highlighted among those six masterpieces but I have a special taste just for the next: Op.110 (#31).
Tue, Apr 16 2013, 7:15AM
#5
RE: Beethoven's 30th sonata opus 109.
I'm afraid the second paragraph of your post, 78RPM, does give room for some good "competition" ( two more of equal importance: Solomon and Richter plus "of course, there are other great recordings") and make Jane's "radical comment" less "well grounded".
In fact, we are blessed to have a quite rich competition not only of this Sonata, but of almost all the others.
Parla
Tue, Apr 16 2013, 6:59PM
#6
RE: Beethoven's 30th sonata opus 109.
A truly great work and I agree with Parla's earlier comment on Barenboim's EMI recording which is one of the greatest and in very good sound too. Solomon doesn't do it for me in his late Beethoven (though he does in some other repertoire) and I would give joint first prize to Schnabel & Myra Hess.
Arrau, yes, and also Annie Fischer in her EMI or perhaps marginally preferable BBC studio recording. I haven't heard her Hungaroton version of Op 109 but the Hungaroton Op110 (on a Bosendorfer) is superb, as is Hess's.
There are plenty of very compelling, passionate, engaging etc. performances on record of this Sonata, Turid. So, anyone of us may choose as many recordings as he/she thinks are working for him/her.
Apart from the very obvious masters of the instrument of the past (e.g. Arrau, Kempf, Richter, Brendel, Gillels etc.), I can mention quite a few more recent ones that work perfectly fine for me, like: a) Helene Grimaud (on both her accounts on Warner and DG), b) Mitsuko Uchida (on Philips), c) Martin Roscoe, in his marvelous account of his cycle on Deux -Elles, d) Garrick Ohlsson, in his powerful and very convincing recording on Bridge, e) Elisabeth Leonskaja on MDG (very impressive and passionate account), f) Christian Leotta on Atma (amazing pianism and most idiomatic readings), g) Mari Kodama, in a superlative recording on Pentatone.
Finally, I feel compelled to mention two recent magnificent and thought-provoking recordings on fortepiano: a) the one of the Alexei Lubimov, on Zig-Zag (a sheer mastery of brilliant pianism, demonstrated on a superb Graf instrument of 1828) and b) the one of Ronald Brautigam, on BIS (in a full of superlatives SACD recording, full of brilliance, passion and pianistic poetry).
Parla