Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Daniel Barenboim | Ludwig van Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim |...

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Daniel Barenboim | Ludwig van Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim | Barenboim's Beethvoen

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	Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Daniel Barenboim Ludwig van Beethoven, Daniel Barenboim EMI Classics, 1998 average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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 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!

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Barenboim's Beethvoen

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.

Extraordinary music

I've owned many Beethoven sonatas, but never before a complete set - the good price won me. I have no way of judging whether this now elderly set cuts the mustard with newer sets or versions by other great pianists. All I know is this; this is extraordinary music, of great depth and expression. It is typical Beethoven, meaty, rock-solid stuff that knows exactly where it's going and gets there. That Daniel Barenboim gets across this message means (to me anyway) that it must be good.

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Epic collection with one major flaw

What flaw you're wondering? The slow moments are just too slow. It's not that I'm against slow music if that's what you're wondering, but Beethoven surely didn't mean for this music to be played at such tortoise paced speeds. I have heard at least 2or 3 renditions by other pianists of the slow movements and they are all faster. Barenboim surely meant to play these at his own peculiar tempo. Whether to be "iconoclastic" or not I think he misses the mark. Listening to the Waldesntein finale is excrutiatingly frustrating. Playing it more slowly does not add to the emotional impact at all, quite the opposite as you spend more time subconsciously urging on the dozy pianist closer to Beethovens intended vision.

Other than that, this set is great. Although recorded in the late 60s, the (stereo) sound is clear and crisp. The microphone sounds like it's placed at an ideal position not so far away as to sound distant and cold, not too near to near get that "can't see the wood for the trees" effect similar to viewing a painting too close up.

As for the music itself, Beethoven was one of the first composers to fully explore the *dynamic* possibilities of the instrument, rather the "alternative harpsichord" attitude that had prevailed before. So rather than relying on an endless run of pleasant little ditties he's not afraid to throw in some fortissimo chords in, which might wake you up with a bang if you have this of for "relaxation". The piano was arguably Beethovens instrument of choice for his deepest personal expression,so expect a wide range of moods contained herein. There is as you may expect the typical minor key excurions into almost mystical melancholy and fear, but he wasn't averse to a bit of playfulness here and there. It's quite a rollercoaster ride for the emotions.

The box itself is quite spartan in presentation. 10 CDs in individual cardboard sleeves showing a detail of Barenboim at the piano. One booklet with liner notes explaining the history of most of the famous sonatas.

So overall,good for the price. However, for the slow movements you may want to look elsewhere for more satisfying performances.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Tracks
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 1. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 2. Adagio | Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 3. Menuetto: Allegretto | Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 4. Prestissimo | Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 1. Allegro vivace | Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 2. Largo appassionato | Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 3. Scherzo: Allegretto | Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 4. Rondo: Grazioso | Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3: 1. Allegro con brio | Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3: 2. Adagio | Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3: 3. Scherzo: Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3: 4. Allegro assai | Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 1. Allegro molto e con brio | Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 2. Adagio molto | Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 3. Finale: Prestissimo | Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 1. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 2. Allegretto | Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 3. Presto | Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 1. Presto | Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 2. Largo e mesto | Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 3. Menuetto: Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 4. Rondo: Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54: 1. In tempo di Menuetto | Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54: 2. Allegretto - Più allegro | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 1. Allegro molto e con brio | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 2. Largo con gran espressione | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 3. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 4. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso | Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: 1. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: 2. Allegretto | Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: 3. Rondo: Allegro comodo | Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: 1. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: 2. Andante | Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: 3. Scherzo: Allegro assai | Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 1. Allegro con brio | Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 2. Adagio con molta espressione | Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 3. Menuetto | Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 4. Rondo: Allegretto | Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 1. Andante con variazioni | Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 2. Scherzo: Allegro molto | Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe: Maestoso andante | Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 4. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: 1. Andante - Allegro - | Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: 2. Allegro molto e vivace - | Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: 3. Adagio con espressione - Allegro vivace | Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 13: 1. Grave - Allegro molto e con brio | Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 13: 2. Adagio cantabile | Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 13: 3. Rondo: Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: 1. Adagio sostenuto | Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: 2. Allegretto | Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: 3. Presto agitato - Adagio - Presto agitato | Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ('Appassionata'), Op. 57: 1. Allegro assai - Più allegro | Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ('Appassionata'), Op. 57: 2. Andante con moto - | Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ('Appassionata'), Op. 57: 3. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto | Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 1. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 2. Andante | Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 3. Scherzo: Allegro vivace | Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 4. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ('Waldstein'), Op. 53: 1. Allegro con brio | Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ('Waldstein'), Op. 53: 2. Introduzione: Adagio molto - Rondo: Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo | Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49/1: 1. Andante | Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49/1: 2. Rondo: Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49/2: 1. Allegro ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49/2: 2. Tempo di menuetto | Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1: 1. Allegro vivace | Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1: 2. Adagio grazioso | Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1: 3. Rondo: Allegretto - Adagio - Presto | Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ('Tempest'), Op. 31/2: 1. Largo - Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ('Tempest'), Op. 31/2: 2. Adagio | Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ('Tempest'), Op. 31/2: 3. Allegretto | Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 1. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 2. Scherzo: Allegretto vivace | Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 3. Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso | Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 4. Presto con fuoco | Piano Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major ('A Thérèse'), Op. 78: 1. Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major ('A Thérèse'), Op. 78: 2. Allegro vivace | Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: 1. Presto alla tedesca | Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: 2. Andante | Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: 3. Vivace | Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 1. Das Lebewohl (Les Adieux): Adagio - Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 2. Abwesenheit (L'Absence): Andante espressivo | Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 3. Wiedersehn (Le Retour): Vivacissimamente - Poco andante - Tempo 1 | 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 vorzutragen | Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: 1. Allegretto ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: 2. Vivace alla Marcia | Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: 3. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto - Tempo del primo pezzo - Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: 1. Allegro | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: 2. Scherzo: Assai vivace - Presto - Tempo 1 | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: 3. Adagio sostenuto | Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major ('Hammerklavier'), Op. 106: 4. Largo - Allegro - Prestissimo - Allegro risoluto (Fuga a tre voci, | Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 1. Vivace ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo - Tempo 1 | Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 2. Prestissimo | Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 3. Tema: Andante molto cantabile e espressivo - Variazioni 1-6 | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 1. Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 2. Allegro molto | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 3. Adagio ma non troppo | Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 4. Fuga: Allegro ma non troppo - L'istesso tempo di arioso - L'istesso tempo della Fuga | Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato | Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: 2. Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile - Variazioni

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