classical music: hammerklavier

classical music: hammerklavier

classical music:

Hammerklavier

Beethoven: The Complete Sonatas [Box Set]

Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Goode

Nonesuch, 1993

A monument of western civilization and great performances
The 32 Beethoven sonatas are a peak of western civilization. They contain an entire universe. There are so many treasures here: of course the well-known Pathetique, Moonlight, Appassionata and the only slightly less familiar Waldstein, Les Adiex etc. But I also ...

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas 29, 30, 31 & 32; Bagatelles, Op. 126; Christoph Eschenbach

Ludwig van Beethoven, Christoph Eschenbach

EMI Classics, 2004

Unforgettable Beethoven from an Unforgettable Artist
These performances of Beethoven's last piano sonatas are the kind that make pianists want to forget about playing the repertoire at hand, or forget playing the piano at all. Christoph Eschenbach is currently the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, but while ...

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas

Ludwig van Beethoven, Artur Schnabel

EMI Classics, 1991

Superior Sonic Alternative to Naxos or Pearl's Sizzle-Hissy "Authenticity"
Maybe I'm alone in this, but I am supremely pleased with this EMI set. I've owned the Pearl for many years and could no longer put up with the "authentic" sizzle of the 78s burying the piano in a sonic sandstorm. Emboldened by reading the many praises of the Naxos ...

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Daniel Barenboim

Ludwig van Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim

EMI Classics, 1998

One of the very best ever
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 ...

Beethoven: Die Späten Klaviersonaten

Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurizio Pollini

Deutsche Grammophon, 1997

Fidelity as the pathway to transcendence
I just listened to Pollini's recordings of Beethoven's late sonatas again after a few years exploring other recordings, such as Brendel's fine cycle from the 1990s, Schnabel, Solomon, and so on. As much as I love those other recordings, Pollini's set is still ...

Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas

Ludwig van Beethoven

Philips, 1993

Musically and intellectually solid.
While no one doubts Brendel's pianism, the consensus seems to be that his interpretive ability is limited and therefore lacking, no matter the vehicle. I agree to a certain extent, but with Beethoven's late sonatas, Brendel is in his element. He possesses just the ...

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas

Beethoven, Claude Frank

Music & Arts Program, 2006

Inspired Playing & I love the tone of the piano
I bought a never opened LP box set of Beethoven's 32 Sonatas via Ebay that I am now converting to CD and MP3 (RCA VICS-9000 Victrola Stereo). I also recently upgraded my software so that I now record and master in 24 bit instead of 16 bit. Never played records, better ...

Beethoven Sonatas, Opp. 101 & 106 "Hammerklavier"

Mitsuko Uchida, Ludwig van Beethoven

Philips, 2007

Mitsuko Uchida Plays Late Beethoven
Mitsuko Uchida (b. 1948) has achieved fame through her recordings of the sonatas of Schubert and Mozart. In recent years, she has turned to the sonatas of Beethoven. She has recorded a CD of the final three sonatas, op. 109, 110, 111, and this new CD includes opus ...

Alfred Brendel plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven, Alfred Brendel

Vox (Classical), 1992

Grand
This is Alfred Brendel's first take on Beethoven's late sonatas, recorded between 1962 and 1964. The sound quality is pretty good, clear, pleasant, and just lacking something in depth. The performances are consistently interesting. The last three sonatas show ...

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas

Ludwig van Beethoven, Wilhelm Kempff

Deutsche Grammophon, 1991

The Set to Own
This is the Beethoven piano sonata set to own, hands down. While Kempff was not perfect in interpreting all of Beethoven's piano works -- for instance, I never liked his playing of B's piano concertos -- he did an absolutely marvelous job with pretty every work in ...

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 24 "À Thérèse" & 29 "Hammerklavier"

Ludwig van Beethoven, Glenn Gould

Sony, 1993

Mr. Gould Does It Again...
Once again, GG scores a big hit. I must admit, I'd hitherto always been a little put off by the mighty "HammerKlavier": it's a huge-boned warhorse and a caution. There's no doubt, it's one of the biggest most significant piano sonatas in the entire literature. But ...

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas (Box Set)

Ludwig van Beethoven, John O'Conor

Telarc, 1994

Beethoven P Sonatas w O'Conor: Deceptively easeful yet heartfelt
I've been a fan of Irish pianist John O'Conor ever since I picked up a used copy of his Telarc recording of the Schubert Impromptus, plus I think a Trout Quintet with the Cleveland Quartet. I think getting Schubert right on a modern piano is quite difficult. Too many ...

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas & Diabelli Variations [Box Set]

Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Kuerti

Analekta, 2007

A performance of the highest artistry imaginable
Where to start? I purchased this set on the recommendation of the manager of the classical CD department at a local CD store. We chat often about CDs, and this particular day, the conversation turned to the Beethoven piano sonatas, and he told me "You have to try ...

Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas [Box Set]

Ludwig van Beethoven, Vladimir Ashkenazy

Decca, 1997

The Best Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle
Somewhat to my surprise, the Ashkenazy cycle is the best recording of the complete Beethoven sonatas. I bought every Beethoven recording by every major Beethoven pianist and spent over 1,000 hours comparing all those recordings to each other. The only cycles close to ...

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas [Box Set]

Ludwig van Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim

Deutsche Grammophon, 1999

Elegant & Sophistcated Beethoven
Being used to heavy weight renditions of Beethoven Sonatas by Russian masters like Richter, Gilels, Vedernikov, Neuhaus, at first listening I had an impression that Barenboim's Beethoven is a little too light-weight, especially earlier sonatas, but after repeated ...