Beethoven: Die Späten Klaviersonaten | Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurizio Pollini

Beethoven: Die Späten Klaviersonaten | Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurizio Pollini | Late Beethoven doesn't get any better than this

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	Beethoven: Die Späten Klaviersonaten Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurizio Pollini Deutsche Grammophon, 1997 average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
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Release Date: 12-AUG-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 invigorating and profoundly moving, probably my favorite.

What I find remarkable is how, by starting from a close fidelity to Beethoven's detailed notations, Pollini is able to uncover an entire world of musical expressivity. Supported by a well-engineered recording that holds its own 30 years later, Pollini brings our attention to all sorts of details and shadings that often pass by unnoticed, but which add to our understanding of the music and its cumulative emotional and intellectual impact. For instance, this time I noticed more of the underlying thematic connections between Opp. 109, 110 and 111, which really do have to be understood as a triptych. I also heard more allusions to Baroque music, which I'm quite sure Beethoven intended and which Pollini subtly brings out.

So is there anything lacking? I think Brendel is better at bringing out the humor in Beethoven. Perhaps the Allegro Molto (2nd movement) in Op. 110 could have been more volatile. Perhaps the great Adagio Sostenuto from the "Hammerklavier" sonata could be a bit more "Appassionato e con molto sentimento." On the other hand, Pollini doesn't make that same movement painfully slow like some other pianists do, and he always maintains clarity of structure. The Adagio Sostenuto is in the sonata form, which is very unusual for a middle movement. This is what gives the movement such weight and tension, and it's important for listeners to be able to follow it despite all its complexities. If you stretch that movement out too much---some recordings run over 20 minutes!--there's a danger that the listener can lose touch with its underlying driving force. In that regard, Pollini's performance succeeds beautifully.

Now if you're looking for the ever-elusive state of mystical transcendence there's plenty of that to spare in Pollini's performance of the Arietta from Op. 111. What's amazing is that in that same recording, he performs so cleanly that you can practically write down every note and dynamic marking while you're listening!

To sum up, Pollini's set may not be the only game out there, but it's still arguably unsurpassed. It's also an ideal recording for those who are hearing these pieces for the first time, because of Pollini's fidelity to the score. If you listen to Pollini's recordings carefully, you'll get to know the music really well and develop an appreciation for its underlying architcecture. This deeper intellectual understanding, as Pollini well knows, is in no way a impediment to feeling, but rather its true pathway.

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Late Beethoven doesn't get any better than this

This is clearly the gold standard for late Beethoven performances. I saw Pollini play these pieces at Carnegie Hall in the late '70's and was absolutely overwhelmed. After just having spent some considerable time with Papa Serkin's final effort on Opp. 109-111, gotta say, 'tain't but the One: and that One is Pollini. For my money, it's a nearly perfect CD.

Simply the best cd piano playing

This is my dream's CD!!

I never found a hamerklavier like this...

The fugue of op.110 is better than any other pianist.

And the op.111 reveals the Pollini's spirituality

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One of Pollini's greatest recordings

These interpretations are quite simply legendary. Pollini, especially in his earlier years, was a virtuoso of simply staggering technical ability. His recordings of the Schubert & Schumann fantasies and many of his earlier Chopin recordings are considered some of the great interpretations set to disc. He also recorded a very strong Emperor Concerto with Bohm and the VPO around this time. Here in Beethoven's greatest contributions to the sonata genre, Pollini plays flawlessly - with astounding dynamic control - and with his characteristic and unmistakable tone that carries a transperancy which verges on X-Ray, clearly illuminating Beethoven's musical architecture. Pollini is strong throughout, but shines in particular during the mighty Hammmerklavier, which is one of the finest recordings of this towering masterwork I've heard. Few take the massive first movement faster than Pollini, and none play it with the level of clarity, momentum, technique and controlled power he generates. Likewise, the scherzo and the fugue finale are rendered flawlessly. Kovacevich may play it a bit faster, but finds far less insight in spite of his strong playing.
These readings are classical in their way; objective, appollonian in conception, never lingering over specific phrases to make any particular musical point. Rather, Pollini looks to step out of the way, and put himself in complete service of the score. However, don't mistake his literal and unsentimental readings for a lack of power, as Pollini is appropriately muscular and visceral with technique to spare during the extroverted passages, playing with an almost inhuman precision that must be heard to be believed. Likewise, he plays beautifully, and more importantly schmaltz-free, instead generating emotional response through careful dynamic gradation and splendldly shaped phrases in the slow movements.
The sound here is very good, well-cleaned up in this latest remastering. I owned the original releases, and the sound is greatly improved here. There's a bit of brightness and the sound is at times close, but it's well detailed and never gets in the way of the music. Considering these recordings are more than 30 years old, it's pretty impressive how DG has been able to restore the original analog depth and sound field. The liner notes, like most of the Originals series, could be better, but I'm more concerned with the contents of the CDs than the booklet.
Is this the fabled Grail set? That can't be answered definitively. Fans of Beethoven's Late Sonatas will certainly want more than one interpretation, especially for music as cryptic and idiosyncratic as Beethoven's late language. Nevertheless fans of these sonatas will want this set as part of their collection, as this is certainly one of the great recorded sets. I would recommend additionally looking into the recordings of these works performed by Kempff, Backhaus, Arrau, and Gilels (sadly missing #32), so that you can listen to several different approaches, as they all work in their own way.

With all that being said however, if you asked me the proverbial "desert island" question, this would be my first choice and it wouldn't be a very hard choice.

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Digitisation isn't every pianist's cup of tea.

These superhuman performances were remastered from their former LPs.
The recordings represent the very pinnacle of recorded pianism on these late sonatas by Beethoven.
If you argue that Kempff's two versions are better, you should get the LP releases of these fantastic performances of Pollini.
The remastering has somewhat restored the super dynamics displayed in these recordings, but never to 100%, which is a great pity.
Some pianists suffer more in this digitisation process, like Pollini. Some suffer less, like Arrau.
Even so, these remastered CD set is enough to give the reasonably intelligent listener at least a glimpse of Pollini's greatness. Not just staggering technique or great speed, if those are the most easily discernible traits that are left over after digitisation, but if you listen with a little bit more care on the phrasings and dynamics, you may perhaps catch some of the most overwhelmingly powerful interpretation of these late masterpieces of Beethoven.
Talk is cheap, and the rest is just noise.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Tracks
Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: Etwas lebhaft, und mit der innigsten Empfindung, Allegretto ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: Lebhaft, marschmabig, Vivace alla Marcia | Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll, Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto | Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit, Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: Scherzo, Assai vivace | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: Adagio sostenuto, Appassionato e on molto sentimento | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: Largo, Allegro risoluto / Fuga | Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: Vivace, ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: Prestissimo | Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo, Gesangvoll, mi innigster Empfindung | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: Moderato cantabile molto espressivo | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: Allegro molto | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: Adagio ma non troppo / Fuga, Allegro ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: Maestoso / Allegro con brio ed appassionato | Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: Arietta, Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

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