5 comments about Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Daniel Barenboim.

1. 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.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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!



5. Sorry, I just don't like Barenboim's renditions. Beethoven is my favourite composer, depending on my mood that is, and nothing moves me as his music can. But I just don't get Barenboim's renditions... doesn't do a thing for me. Something of Beethoven's depth and richness gets totally "lost in translation".
   
   Better off finding a better performance of these if you really want to be "blown away". My favorite "Beethoven" conductor would have to be Herbert von Karajan; and as for individual pianists my all time favorite is Maurizio Pollini, whose performances are exquisite, in both technique and expression! If you are a music lover you should really check his work out if you haven't already. My favorite Beethoven CD by him is "Die Spaten Klaviersonaten" (Beethoven) by Deutsche Grammophon in their "legendary recordings" series. It is a real gem! (the sound quality is excellent also)

2 comments about Ture Rangström: Complete Symphonies (Box Set).

1. The previous reviewer hit most of the highlights and backstory. This is excellent, compelling music-making. The fact that each symphony is more of a dramatic work than an example of hard-core symphonic development doesn't take away from Rangstrom's achievement in the slightest. If that makes these works detectably "stream-of-consciousness," so what? Spontaneity is hardly a crime if an ordering principle still rules over the soundscape, even if that ordering principle isn't conventional sonata-allegro form or multi-layered contrapuntal development.
   
   I wasn't expecting the one-movement 3rd Symphony to come across as a satisfying entity-in-itself, but I was surprised at how well it cohered. The 1st and 2nd symphonies are outstanding as well, not to mention the set of miniatures (the intermezzi) and other miscellaneous works included to round out the package. Where I expected great things -- the orchestra-plus-organ 4th symphony with the enhanced instrumental palette -- I came away disappointed. I think it's the weakest piece in this box set. It didn't help matters any that as I listened to the 4th symphony's Toccata movement, I immediately recognized it from Segerstam's "Earquake" album, where that movement received a far more incisive, snarling interpretation. This version's Toccata appeared lackluster in comparison, compounded by the too-smooth voicings chosen for the pipe organ.
   
   That all the works are imbued with a deeply Swedish emotive core goes without saying -- this is nationalism on a grand scale. Without a doubt, Ture Rangstrom is unjustly overlooked as a major 20th century symphonist. This box set was worth every penny, and is recommended without qualification. As I work through the Kurt Atterburg symphonies, I hope to get a comparative feel of how these two divergent near-contemporaries approached the matter of Swedish music. (I have no dog in that fight -- I'm American, of German heritage.)



2. Sweden has enjoyed an active and high-class musical life since the Gustavian period of the seventeenth century, when the kings indulged their taste for Handelian-style opera and drew on the talents of native composers learned in the idiom. By the late-nineteenth and early twenteth centuries, most of the major Swedish cities had acquired respectable symphony orchestras and a passel of Swedish composers had emerged who could demonstrate their expertise in the standard genres - symphony, concerto, symphonic poem, concert-suite. Among these figured prominently such names as Hugo Alfvén, Vilhelm Peterson-Berger, Vilhelm Stenhammar, and Kurt Atterberg. In the teens of the twentieth century a new name appeared, helped along by Stenhammar in his capacity as music-director of the Gothenburg Orchestra Society. The new kid was Ture Rangström (1884-1947), a protegé of the playwright August Strindberg. While Rangström did have the benefit of brief study with Hans Pfitzner and Julius Hey, he basically taught himself how to compose, first as a song-writer and then, more ambitiously, as an operatist and a symphonist. Is it Nicolas Slonimsky who describes Rangström as belonging to the school of "Swedish hyper-romanticism"? The epithet fits, whatever its origin, because of the great vital impulse in Rangström's scores; he uses the orchestra quite lavishly (he certainly did not learn this from Hans Pfitzner!), and seeks to express the Nietzschean "Yea" in the most affirmative manner possible. In this, he somewhat resembles Carl Nielsen, but he also shows an affinity with Stenhammar, whose impulsive G-Minor Symphony Rangström would have known. CPO now issues its previously à-la-carte survey of Rangström's symphonies as a three-CD set, at about half the price that collectors would have paid on a one-at-a-time basis. The performances, by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra under Michail Jurowski, tap right into Rangström's spirit and make the case for this composer in an immediate and convincing way. Let's take it symphony by symphony. The SYMPHONY NO. 1 "In Memoriam August Strindberg" comes from 1914, two years after the death of its dedicatee. While not a program symphony, Rangström's First does try to portray the phenomena that interested Strindberg: The eternal human impulse to life and creativity in conflict with the limitations of time and place; the struggle for self-expression; the artistic battle to bring order out of chaos. Two big movements ("Jäsningstid" ["Time of Struggle"] and "Legend"), both full of Dionysiac enthusiasm and ballad-like pathos, yield to two shorter movements. Rangström avails himself much less of counterpoint than Alfvén or Peterson-Berger, perhaps for want of mastery as his critics sometimes charged; his textures tend to conform to "vertical" or theme-and-accompaniment rather than "horizontal" or polyphonic forms of organization. He cultivates mood, atmosphere, the lyric period. The SYMPHONY NO. 2 "Mitt Land" ("My Country") comes from 1919, and arranges itself in three movements rather than the conventional four, but nevertheless requires more performing-time than the First. The movements carry these names: "Sagan" ("The Tale"), "Skogen, Vågen, Sommarnatten" ("Wood, Wave, Summer Night"), and "Drömmen" ("The Dream"). Rangström does not quote folksongs, but contrives his themes to exhibit the outline of Swedish melody; the intense evocation of nature also conforms to the Swedish character. "Sagan" is by turns yearning and martial, with a tender middle section. "Skogen, Vågen, Sommarnatten" cultivates the same ecstasy of what the Scandinavians call "The Iron Nights" as in Alfven's "Midsommarvaka." "Drömmen" hearkens back to the composer's ties to Strindberg, who wrote a fantastic "Dream Play," but Rangström's fantasy is energetic and without pessimism. Rangström's one-movement SYMPHONY NO. 3 "Sång under Stjärnorna" ("Song under the Stars") comes from 1929. In the ten years since the Second Symphony, the composer had made good most of his youthful compositional deficiencies: In particular, "Song under the Stars" sees an increased exploitation of contrapuntal devices; the working-out of the material yields a greater complexity than hitherto. In fact, being based on one of Rangström's own songs, "Bön till Natten" ("Prayer to the Night"), and constituting a set of variations on the song-theme, the Third Symphony anticipates the Scandinavian technique of "metamorphosis," championed by Vagn Holmboe and Niels Viggo Bentzon and adopted in effect, if not under the name, by Swedes like Karl-Birger Blomdahl in the 1950s. (Rangström also anticipates Allan Petterson in basing a symphony on a previously written "romans," or voice-with-piano composition.) If one were looking for a known reference, it might be Sir Arnold Bax. Rangström's Third has a Baxian feel to it. The SYMPHONY NO. 4 "Invocatio" comes from 1936 and derives from an organ-piece written in 1933; the orchestration includes a fairly prominent organ part, although this is not really a concertante symphony. Despite the asymmetry of its construction (three short movements followed by a long movement followed by one more short movement), the Fourth makes a strong impression. Whether it is really a symphony or not is another matter. The program in this set includes the "Dityramb," contemporary with the First Symphony, and the "Intermezzo drammatico," contemporary with the Second. Carl Ruggles, the cranky Yankee, once said that great music must surge. At its best, Rangström's music does surge. I recommend this set.

5 comments about Beethoven: The Piano Trios.

1. CLASSIC excellent recording, relaxed music or to relax and to be enjoyed. Marvellous version and recording. One of the best of the history.



2. Other reviewers have also commented about the balance on this set. I definitely agree with them that the piano is way too loud. The strings can hardly be heard throughout a large portion of the music. This is unfortunate, as the artistry of the performers is wonderful.



3. Two stars only. One other reviewer has commented on the balance of these recordings. Piano is ridiculously dominant. Violin and cello barely audible at times. Having other recordings by Florestan Trio , Kempff with Fournier and Szering and the Stern , Rose ,Istomin recordings I do have something with which to compare. Sound quality aside these B. Arts interpretations are pretty awful destroying Archduke and Ghost and even the Opus 1. I find it hard to believe anyone could like these unless on grounds of having no other recordings. Prospective purchasers beware or better still avoid.



4. My husband and I have loved the Beaux Arts Trio for many years and were very happy to find the edition of the Beethoven piano trios. The interpretations are superb, the playing is masterful and flawless. As long as the pianist Menahem Pressler will remain with the Trio, we will always try to hear them in concerts or on CD. We own most of their recordings.



5. When one thinks of Beethoven, one often imagines the grand symphonic sound. This collection of piani trios, however, is a feather in the wind. They are beautiful and warm. There is room to breathe as one basks in the sheer genius of this composer's gift of melody and composition.

5 comments about Accardo Plays Paganini: Complete Recordings.

1. Excellent work from Accardo. 30 years old recording sesions on this cds. Good price from 6 high quality cds. Remember that they're from Deutsche Gramophon's Label!
   Some concerts have any variations respect "Works from violin and orchestra" played also by Accardo. I stronlgy recommend this cd too. Pure class A!
   Regards.



2. I really enjoy this CD set very much. Accardo is phenomenal in playing violin. I listen to thisevery morning and sometimes while I am cooking.



3. Nicolo Paganini is primarily a virtuoso composer who did not compose anything other than for the violin in the early 19th century. He was a true prodigy of the instrument whose ferocious and innovative style of playing frightened many of the credulent folk into thinking he was the devil. With the increasing popularity of the waltz, he along with other romantics such as Beethoven completely revolutionized the concept of violin concertos that were still then mostly in the antiquated Roccoco menuet formulas of Mozart and Haydn. The caprices are more technical excercises for this new revolutionary style and are the cornerstones of all Romantic traditions of violin including the Romantic German and, to a much lesser extent, the Polish/Klezmer tradition of Joseph Joachim.
   
   Salvatore Accardo is an accomplished violinist who performed many times with the most reputable groups such as I Musici di Roma and the English Chamber Orchestra. He was a long-time mentor of Anne-Sofie Mutter who performed with Karajan. Despite working often with various Baroque styles, Salvatore Accardo is primarily a specialist at Paganini and the Italian Romantic period and this is the main reason this recording is one of the best you can obtain for Paganini. Charles Dutoit is also an accomplished orchestral conductor and generally works very well with Rossini whose light romantic style in his operatic overtures have overlaps with the style in Paganini's contemporary symphonic arrangements for his violin concerti. Accardo and Dutoit were therefore a perfect match in performing Paganini and this ablum is a great example along with their other collaborations for the composer available on single CD. The music is light and joyful in its interpretation while many others tend to be heavy and sluggish. Accardo's performance is filled with vitality as he has complete mastery over the instrument and feels at ease in his performance without ever faltering. His performance brings out the fluidity and full range of Paganini's style very well. Salvatore Accardo's performance of the caprices is also legendary in which he performs all of the most difficult pieces briliantly without effort: they are truly divine in every respect!
   
   Although it's extremely difficult to make a judgment call between these three undisputed virtuosos of the violin and Paganini, Perlman and Heifetz would not be my first choices because they are not really masters of the Italian Romantic style as that of the German/Polish/Klezmer traditions. However technical the differences might be, they do make a significant difference and so I prefer Accardo for Paganini as he is simply the foremost expert with this composer and the Italian Romantic style which Heifetz and Perlman are not. This album is a great buy where you can get all of Paganini's passionate violin concerti and caprices at a good price. There are really few if any performances equal to this one on the market other than those of Perlman and Heifetz. Such other performances, even by child prodigies, are simply beneath them in every respect to the point that they actually sound amateurish in comparison. No matter which of the three you choose, you can't really go wrong with any of them but I would really look no further than them as everything else is far beneath their legendary talents. Enjoy!



4. Salvatore Accardo has played magnificently! I am not a classical music critic; I don't know what it really means to be a great violinist, but I certainly enjoy listening to every song in this 6 cd set. I am fifteen years old, but Paganini's music has a great impact on me. My mother bought me this album for Christmas, and I couldn't have received a more wonderful collection of music. I tend to have a preference for the first recording I ever hear of certain songs, and I have heard several of these songs performed by different artists. Let me tell you, these recordings are fantastic. My favorites are the 21st Caprice, the second movement of the 6th concerto, and the entire 4th concerto. Accardo's tone is rich and robust, and the orchestra behind him compliments him perfectly.
   Utterly Satisfied,
   Bobby

   P.S. The title for my review was what Franz Liszt (classical pianist and composer) exclaimed when he heard Paganini perform.:)




5. Salvatore Accardo performs Paganini's scores with much elegant grace and warmth. Deutsche Grammophon has successfully assembled all of Accardo's recordings of Paganini's music. Undoubtedly, the highlights are Accardo's riveting accounts of Paganini's violin concerti. Charles Dutoit and the London Philharmonic Orchestra give splendid, warm performances of their own, without overwhelming Accardo's playing. Yet Accardo also shines in Paganini's solo works, such as the Caprices. This is absolutely an essential set of CDs for those who are unfamiliar with Paganini's music. Is it a surprise that these performances are still regarded as definitive in classical CD guides issued by Grammophone and Penguin?

3 comments about Milhaud: The Complete Symphonies (Box Set).

1. One forgets that Darius Milhaud was such a prolific composer (his catalog of compositions goes out to 441 opus numbers) and that he wrote 12 symphonies. Outside of Camille Saint Saens and Albert Roussel there have been few French composers who have been attracted to the symphonic form. The symphonies or Darius Milhaud are characterized by their impressionism and dedication to the traditional symphonic structure. Those written with three movements mimic the older sinfonia form of Alessandro Scarlatti. Each work has an individual voice.
   
   The First Symphony was written at the start of the Second World War and has an immediate appeal with a strong pastoral melody that continues to develop and unfold during the movement. This is followed by an engaging scherzo and a moody slow movement that seems to float along, as if describing the sea. The final movement returns to the carefree mood of the first movement. The Fourth Symphony commemorated the Revolution of 1848 and was written in the United States where Milhaud was living. Each of the four movements describes an event: the insurrection, the dead of the Republic, the joys of Liberty and Commemoration 1948. The Fourth is a very straightforward symphony whose depictions are easy to understand and enjoy.
   
   The Second Symphony was a commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation in 1944 and premiered in Boston in 1946. Cast in 5 movements, the symphony slowly builds from the peaceful first movement to the third movement (a kind of funeral march) with a fanfare played by the brass that shatters the peaceful mood. The fourth movement returns to the quietly reflective mood of the first two and the final movement is brilliant and exuberant. The Third Symphony was a departure for Milhaud - a symphony with chorus. The symphony bears the title Te Deum and begins with a jubilant fanfare followed by a remarkable second movement where the chorus sets the mood of the Te Deum singing a wordless accompaniment. The third movement is an exuberant short orchestral movement and the final movement brings in the chorus and orchestra in a glorious hymn of praise.
   
   The Fifth Symphony was a commission from Italian Radio and is characteristic of Milhaud's linear symphonic structure. Although the symphony was written during a period of musical experimentation (in 1953) the music remains rooted in the French Impressionist style that makes Milhaud so recognizable. The composer stuck to the four movement pattern for his symphonies. The Sixth Symphony was written in 1955 for the 75th anniversary of the Boston Symphony. The Sixth differs from the Fifth by being more expansive; slower tempi with more shading. The melodies are more broken up than the more straightforward Fifth. Both symphonies contain marvelous melodies and complement each other with their energy and pastoral beauty.
   
   Symphonies 7, 8 and 9 stand as a group, all of them composed during the 1950's and music where Milhaud gave more attention to the slow movements. This is apparent by looking at the timings themselves but as one listens to them. In the Seventh, the slow movement is characterized by choppy bit of melody from the orchestra over a grave melody played by the strings. The Eighth symphony is a depiction of the Rhone River as it travels through France. One immediately notices that the music is more astringent and the themes more broken. The slow movement sounds as if portraying the river at early morning when shrouded by mist and everything is viewed in the soft dawn light. The remaining movements are energetic and boisterous. The Ninth begins with a whimsical theme that quickly develops into an energetic short movement. The slow movement is ominous and melancholy but the mood breaks for the energetic final movement.
   
   Symphonies 10 through 12 all date from the 1960's and all three had American commissions. These late symphonies have been termed neoclassical. The Tenth was commissioned for the 100th anniversary of the state of Oregon. It opens with the feel of a marching band in the use of snare drums and quick tempi to be followed by a quiet and reflective slow movement. The final movement is said to contain a theme based on the name Oregon. The Eleventh was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Public Library and has a long meditative middle movement that has been interpreted as depicting the Dallas Public Library. The final movement is playful and boisterous. The Twelfth and final symphony was commissioned by the University of California at Davis. The symphony begins with a gentle pastoral theme that remains playful throughout the movement. The second movement has a march-like theme followed by a reflective slow movement. The final movement returns to the pastoral theme of the first movement and the symphony ends with a flourish.
   
   The recordings come from the 1990's and each disc is in its own jewel case. The recording balance is superb and the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Basil, conducted by Alun Francis, play with real passion and commitment. These are highly interesting symphonies that deserve to be heard more often. Hopefully, this set will encourage their performance.



2. Milhaud's harmonic language is complex and challenging, the Basel band is top-notch, and the recorded sound is superb, so you'll find yourself coming back time and again to this pleasant, fulfilling set. The attractive price (as of this writing) is a major lure, so don't wait.

   If you've been finding yourself overly traumatized by the Mahler ethos, perhaps it's time to try the sunny transparency of these symphonies.




3. This set of five CDs fills a long standing need for a modern version of Milhaud's symphonies. It is easy to think of Darius Milhaud as primarily a miniaturist, and it is true that he resisted the symphonic form for a good part of his vast and surpassingly fecund compositional life (the first Symphony is marked Opus 210!), but this fine series of recordings gives that notion the boot. Meticulously prepared and recorded -the sound is superb!- the Basel Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alun Francis does Milhaud homage, and gives us a convincing look at these neglected works. The first four symphonies seem the weakest of the lot, a bit overly martial, and the horns have plenty to do, sometimes seeming much ado about nothing. As Milhaud assimilates the symphonic form, however, he naturally conquers it, producing, frankly, some of the most beautiful music around. Nos. 7, 11, & 12 are especially fine. You'll find no Germanic grappling in these works, indeed the smile of Provence is all over them. Milhaud's grasp of the symphonic form is mature and all-encompassing, yet employing such uncanny orchestration that one never loses the sense of hearing fine chamber music. Absolutely delightful. I'd not heard this orchestra before, and they're an impressive lot. If you don't know Darius Milhaud's music, perhaps some of his smaller pieces (even the marvelous songs!) are a better starting point, but these recordings won't disappoint even the unacquainted. If you already know and appreciate Milhaud's cast of mind, what are you waiting for!

5 comments about Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology.

1. To me this is one of the greatest soundtracks ever produced. If you are a Star Wars fan then this is for you. This CD sounds great!! This is some of the most evocative, exciting and entertaining music in the history of movies. Like the movies themselves, this soundtrack will keep you on the edge of your seat, crying, laughing and smiling the entire time and brings to mind the images of the movies as if you were watching it while listening. This soundtrack belongs in your collection of Star Wars memorabilia. John Williams and the London Symphony have a masterpiece in this soundtrack and you will listen again and again enjoying it more each and every time you listen.



2. I have three words: BUY THIS ANTHOLOGY. It is John Williams at his greatest in my opinion. It is Star Wars at its greatest. The "Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" is so awesome. Actually, ALL of it is awesome. "The Throne Room" is among my favorites of the tracks. Really, this anthology encompasses the epic of Star Wars.



3. This is a great recording of John William's soundtrack for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The LSO plays very well. The music is very good, and has many memorable themes throughout the soundtrack. This is one of my favorite soundtracks! You should listen to it if you haven't.



4. I recieved this set for my Birthday a few years ago, and this, (along with my other Star Wars and John Williams CD's) remains at the front of my CD collection. It's mixtures and arrangements of the score are truly the best, (helmed by John Williams himself) and the London Symphony plays wonderfully.
   
   When all is said and done, these are perfection.



5. Audiophiles, take note -- portions of this anthology sound like they were hastily transferred to digital from a second or third generation copy of the master tapes. There is audible tape dropout in certain parts, as well as some hiss. Now hiss, in and of itself is not a big deal -- I actually prefer that it be left in, for the most part. But the dropouts are unforgivable. I've also heard an occasional crackling distortion, either from the original tapes or digital clipping. This recording was made in 1977, not 1957... why should there be these problems? This stuff is all too audible through a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-880 headphones.
   
   Anyway, I haven't heard other remastered editions, but I recommend avoiding this one for the most part. Certain songs sound excellent, but many are marred by master tape issues to the point where they become difficult to listen to through good headphones, breaking the mood of the piece.

5 comments about Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas.

1. I would say that this is a good place to start with Beethoven's piano sonatas, if you are a novice listerner like myself. It is affordable, and there is decent quality to everything that is played. However, I will admit that after listening to them for some time, there seems to be something missing, and I don't really know what it is. I don't know if I'm not really meant to be a Beethoven piano music fan (though I find that hard to believe) or what. However, I am glad that I got these sonatas as a starting point.



2. Bernard Roberts is what I'd call a "journeyman pianist". That's not a negative, its a recognition that he's a master craftsman who can be relied on to give a good interpretation of the works without taking them over. These recordings may feel a bit 'flat' or colorless as a result but it allows you, the listener, to delve a bit deeper into the music rather than the performance. This will be especially important if you are interested in studying or performing these works. (Indispensable accessory is the score, BTW -- also available from Amazon!)



3. If you are looking for your first COMPLETE set of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, you've just found the LOWEST COST set available. But is it "the best" or a good one?? Depends on a lot of course. Beethoven's Piano Sonatas are one category in classical music brimming with an abundance of quality choices - both historic and modern - and begs the obvious question, "Which set to chose?" With Kempff we have a "gentleman's Beethoven" ... with Pollini a surgical precision ... Alfred Brendel gives wonderfully conceived masterpieces ... with Goode comes some very poised playing in the classical tradition ... and with Richter, Nikolavia or Kovacavich some fire. (Kovacavich's cycle is my personal favorite). One can spend hours and hours comparing performers and recordings work-by-work and still not really have a solid feel for which one is "the best" - at least for you. And in doing so, the focus can become overly weighted on the finding the elusive "ideal" recording that one can miss the importance of just sitting down with one of the many great recordings available and revelling in the depths of Beethoven's piano music.
   
   All things considered, Bernard Robert's complete cycle here is a solid choice - not overly "poetic" ... nor overly "Romantic" or brash. In addition to Bernard Roberts set here, a similar "super budget" set from Claude Frank was re-released on the Music & Arts label (about $59). Other sets will cost $100 and up typically. Both Frank and Roberts give simimlarly compelling, musically rich and interpretatively balanced readings. Frank's style is more lucid and refined where Roberts brings more intensity. Such complete sets as these form a solid reference point to understand and appreciate the other historic performer's interpretive artistry (as most connoisseurs have several sets eventually). At some point of one's musical journey, it becomes enlightening to listen to historic greats as Schnabel, Kempff, Arrau, Serkin, Goode, Gilels, Kovacavich ... but early on it is probably more important just to hear Beethoven-for-Beethoven and focus less on the performer. And these inexpensive sets allow that for the budget buyer.
   
   But don't let the price or lack of popularity make you think either of these budget sets are sub-standard performances either. Bernard Roberts is well known and much admired in his native England while German-born Claude Frank's Beethoven's recordings were, according to music writer and pianist David Dubal, "highly prized." Both get good reviews (both on Amazon and music press) and both represent Beethoven faithfully and with much artistry. Where Frank's cycle is a more closely-miked sound environemnt, Robert's recordings have a more resonant ambiance. If price is the main consideration, Roberts set is unbeatable and the best way to begin the journey to explore the 32 sonatas.



4. Bernard Roberts may not be a name widely known in the USA, but his recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas for Nimbus dating from the mid 1980s are very good. If you are not a diehard fan of Richter, Rubinstein, Horowitz, Kempff, or Backhaus and absolutely MUST have their recordings, Roberts is worth considering. He has fine technique, but never shows off, pounds or distorts anything in the music to bring attention to himself; in short, Beethoven is served, not pianist Bernard Roberts.
   
   I have about 80% of these recordings on separate Nimbus releases, and can only say I am very pleased with both recorded sound and playing. Of course with complete sets of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, there are always some performances superceded by individual ones of other pianists, but these should please most anyone who doesn't require a recording of one of the above listed pianists.
   
   Budget price + fine recorded sound + great playing = a successful recording set which I am pleased to recommend.



5. I bought this set when i was younger, less knowledgeable about the individual qualities an individual may bring to a performance. I thought, hey, they all play the same notes, right. So to get all Beeth sonata's at such a cheap price, i thought sure.
   I already had the named sonata's by Serkin, whom my father recommended as his supreme beethoven player, and to this day I still hear them the way he played them, and Roberts is no serkin.
   Again, this being before i realized how much the performer mattered, i was disappointed on the whole with the sonata's, feeling that maybe the serkin disc was enough in that all the "good" named sonata's were there.
   Every day i listened to one or too discs in a sitting, making sure i missed nothing.
   Disappointment is what i felt.
   Now that i am older, and more intelligent in the method of performing, and an accomplished performer my self, one able to provide their own mark to their own performance, one with the ability to understand what one is doing, and how to do it, i have numerous collections of this set. Schnabel was the first "historical set i bought" with much the same reaction in terms of sound as i had to the playng of the roberts set.
   I now own Gilels, Barenboim, Schnabel, Richter(in most), Fischer(annie) Roberts, brendel, arrau, and kempff. and have listened to, as i did with roberts to Goode(a very decent account), and Kovavich(though i dont own them.
   The top of my list is most suredly Kempff(60's), but it was not always so. as my respect for the performance grew, so did my taste for kempff. Brendel always bored me, as did Barenboim(i found myself passing out-which i never do). Fischer and Gilels are both extremes, that at first hearing are truly exciting and fresh(despiite a repeated claim about Gilels lack of soul). The Backhaus was, for me, a surprisingly excellent set and the Arrau had much going for it in the latter half. I adore richter, but his beethoven is usually hit or miss, but when its a hit it is top of the mountain. So that leads us back to Roberts. There are many things that i actually like here, such as his performance of op 10\3 final mvmt. He plays it with minimal pedal, letting the voices speak for themselves, there is only one version i enjoy more, and that, surprisingly is John o'Connor(or just connor)?-though i hate his cycle-or what i have heard. Overall, for the money, depending on how serious you are, like for instance, if you are not satisfied are you going to go out and spend more money, then i would save it the first time and go for Kempff. But if you are young, as i was, and must hear them, but dont have the money, first go to your library and see if they have an aforementioned copy and burn it, and if you want to own it for cheap, you cant do much better than this for the price. Another thing you could do is buy artur schnabel's account on naxos for 6.99 a disc, but know beforehand that the sound is variable(the recordings are from the 30's) but give it a chance and you will learn to appreciate the playing itslef and not what today's engineers have to say about the music. This ability to listen in spite of the engineers is somehing that will enable you to enjoy so much music that most will not-i.e cortot, rach, moiseiw, hofman, etc.

5 comments about Tristan Und Isolde.

1. I've heard many of the Tristans which reviewers have referred to, most notably Reiner's 1936 recording with Flagstad and Melchior, Furtwangler's 1952, and for modern comparison, Pappano's with Domingo, and while I'm always receptive to new interpretations, at the moment (well since 1966) this recording trumps all. How can there be anything more moving than Ludwig's call to the lovers for caution as day approaches "Habet Acht, Habet Acht !" or Windgassen's besieged lover, or for the ultimate erotic and tense (almost obscenely so) leibestod, Nilsson is superb. I agree with one of the reviewers that she can lack subtlety, and Flagstad offers more insight in Act 2, but you can't have it all, and I'll take drama and tension for my Tristan any day.



2. My personal favorite for many, many years, has been Goodall's lush and gorgeous recording, with Linda Esther Gray as the single most beautiful Isolde ever to be committed to tape, analogue or digital. I resisted Bohm's recording simply because it was so popular and the shorter, quicker running time turned me away. How can you rush through Wagner's extraordinary scoring??
   
   Well - I was wrong. I finally grabbed this warm and rich remastered set, and listened to it in one sitting, and was knocked sideways. Nothing is lost in the intense playing like I thought it would be, all the nuances, Wagner's downright experimental scoring, everything can be heard, and without a tiny hint of audience noise. Each disc is a complete Act and each one feels like a complete drama.
   
   The voices are rip roaring great and they cut through the music as if the drama were really happening. I think Goodall's will always have a #1 place in my heart, mostly because Esther Gray's Liebestod is the most moving and beautiful on record, but this Tristan, with a cast that just cannot be surpassed, will always be there for me when I need to clear the air.
   
   It is with this recording that one finally understands how dangerous, how new, Wagner's "music of the future" really was.



3. For all you Wagner haters out there; please listen to these five excerpts of this recording and you will be convinced otherwise:
   1. Christa Ludwig's Brangane: Act II - "Einsam Wachend in der Nacht..."
   2. Birgit Nillson's & Wolfgang Wingassen's Isolde & Tristan: Act II - "O sink hernieder..."
   3. Wolfgang Windgassen's Tristan: Act III - " Dunkt dich dass, Ich weiss es anders..."
   4. Eberhardt Wachters Kurwenal: Act III - "O wonne, nein, ..."
   5. Birgit Nilsson's Isolde: Act III - "Mild und leise..."
   Thanks



4. It is very hard to try to write a recommendation for a perfect recording of Tristan und Isolde, since each set has its own set of pros and cons. However, of all the Tristans I have listened to, Karl Böhm's recording made at 1966 in Bayreuth seems to be the one that I come back to the most. There was a time when I could not appreciate Böhm's conducting because I felt that he rushed through the lucid and erotic qualities of the score. When I listen to this now, with fresher ears and having listened to the majority of Tristan recordings on the market, I find that his conducting gives Tristan an electricity that cannot be found in other recordings. There is a passion and energy that you can find in Böhm's conducting that you cannot hear in Karajan's or Solti's interpretations, and this set definitely tops Berstein's and Kleiber's recording in many respects. The orchestra plays beautifully under his direction, just as they did in the Ring for Böhm exactly a year later. I would say that the conductor's reading of the score is full of energy, passion, eroticism, forward propulsion and movement, and pathos. The conductor's somewhat Mozartian/ classical treatment of the Romantic and chord-saturated score gives it a lift and an elegance without sacrificing the Wagnerian ethos that make it so special. I would say that this is the most masterfully conducted Tristan, and adding to that the special Bayreuth sound and you have one of the most orchestrally captivating experiences you'll ever hear.
   
   However, the one factor that places this Tristan above all other recordings is the amazing cast assembled in this massive project. Birgit Nilsson, in my opinion, is the greatest Isolde...period. Her first act Isolde is a powerhouse of rage with the jealousy, love, revenge, sadness, resignation and all other of Isolde's character aspects that make her such a complex heroine. Her second act Isolde is meltingly tender, and she is able to scale down her voice to make the love duet sound like silk. Her third act Liebestod is an apotheosis of years of learning this role, and only Nilsson can sing it with the rapture and beauty that it deserves. I was wrong to find her too steely. Not many voices like hers come in our lifetime, and how lucky we are that she came during a time when voices can be captured in their greatest performances.
   
   Below this towering standard is the Tristan of Wolfgang Windgassen. Although he does not have the beautiful timbre of Placido Domingo, the haunting voice of Vickers, or the reticent ease of Lauritz Melchior's voice, he offers drama and intensity that would never be matched by any tenor before or after him. His phrasing is exemplary, and his intelligence makes his Tristan one of the most compelling accounts on record. In fact, after Vickers, he is perhaps the most intense Tristan ever to have sung the part, albeit the fact that his voice is taken to its limits in the third act delirium. I don't know how I would live without his Tristan, as Birgit herself said that "Wolfie" saved her many a time when she got lost in the extremely exposed and difficult lead roles.
   
   The supporting cast is perhaps the best on records. Christa Ludwig is the most beautiful and theatrical Brangäne, and Eberhard Wächter is a youthful, yet testosterone induced Kurwenal. You must hear Ludwig's calls from the tower...I think that alone is the price of this landmark recording. Their respective interaction with the leads is a must-hear--especially Ludwig's interactions with Nilsson in Act I. Martti Talvela sings the part of King Marke with a nobility and the kind of gravitas I've only heard again in Rene Pape, and he should be referred to as a reference for this short, yet pivotal role. The smaller parts in this opera are taken by Peter Schreier, Gerd Nienstedt, and Claude Heater--all of whom are great Bayreuth artists.
   
   Of course, you must still hear other recordings of Tristan. I could recommend Karajan's 1952 Bayreuth account, or Kleiber's 1976 La Scala, or Pappano's studio recording with Domingo. You should also try Reiner's set with Flagstad and Melchior, but for the complete Tristan experience, this set is the one that you should return to if you want to hear a true Wagnerian epic taking place in your living room. Bravi tutti!



5. OK fellows I don`t know Furtwangler celebrated recording. But having listened to this it is difficult not to accept this is THE ULTIMATE TRISTAN. Why? Look at the conducting. Like a storm. Not a weak moment. Truly propulsive. Look at how balanced is the orchestra. In the Liebestodt at the end Isolda`s high notes are matched with the glorious brass section instead of the usual "soup" sound of our usual orchestra. See how resonant brass are and then try the same passage with the same singer under Solti: it's like replacing chocolate for soup. For me Bayreuth sound is the real "period" sound for Wagner. And with the intensity we have here. So it must be very difficult to listen to slower recordings like Furtwangler, specially when the approach I just have described sounds to me so definitive. Sound is excellent.
   About the cast: Brangane very vibratoed but good, also is Wachter. I don't like Marke's voice (the singer uses a voice that sounds "broken" sometimes, an awfull effect). Windgassen may not have a strong voice but sounds so human ... great. Then there is the other only reason to buy and keep this recording appart from Bohm: Nilsson. In what planet was she born? For she is really superhuman. Listen to her seductive voice and well, Callas was such a great artist, but in my humble opinion, standing next to Nilsson, in vocal matters Callas is SO WEAK ... If an extraterrestrial listened only to 1 single recording of human voice (speaking of this) would think Nilsson was the best singer in history. It would be very difficult to change its mind.

5 comments about Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas & Concertos.

1. It would be absurd to recommend recommending one Beethoven cycle to the exclusion of all others, yet it is Arrau's cycle to which I repeatedly return, despite some flaws mentioned by other reviewers.
   
   They are flaws which can be forgiven. Scherzi which would be brimming with mirth & vitality in the hands of others may come up short, but it is more than compensated for by the revelations to be found as Arrau explores every aspect of Beethoven at his most profound. There always seems to be something new to be discovered. Flabby? It is hard to imagine how someone could come to this conclusion.
   
   Even the sound quality for recordings dating back into the 1960's has been remastered so as to be acceptable to all but the most spoiled of listeners, who apparently are satisfied only with the most seamless homogenized studio sound. Those who can't get past the slightly imperfect sound quality are focusing on the wrong details.
   
   If the greatness of the performance were not enough, the price should be enough to convince any serious music lover to add these to a CD collection. One cannot overstate how rewarding this collection will be to anyone who does not yet know the artistry of Arrau.



2. One man's viewpoint: Arrau amazes me as he sets the notes down with such clean deliberation! Total command. No matter how fast Beethoven is charging along. And as Arrau gets every note, we find the real Beethoven genius shining through - after all, as raw material, this is some of the finest piano music anywhere. Of course, this playing delivers passion and heart-and-soul communication too. And a sense of commitment and strength.
   I suggest this set - with about nine stars! Mastery in art. *** For a lighter, more joyful touch - and great tone - ALSO get hold of O'Conor's set of the 32. I suggest this set - with about nine stars!



3. I've been listening to Beethoven's sonatas for fifty years and have heard all of them by some, and some of them by all the available recorded performers. Overall, Claudio Arrau is my favorite interpreter of the sonatas. To me he has an inner affinity with Beethoven that is uncanny. Beethoven was a man of great character. And that greatness, detached from his person in the form of musical ideas, enters the listener through intermediaries such as Arrau. When it is done right, it works a sort of righteous therapy, and makes the listener a better person for the hearing.
   
   Arrau describes Beethoven's greatness in his essay "Thoughts on Beethoven" in the 33 1/3 Philips LP edition. "Beethoven has always stood for the spirit of man victorious. His message of endless stuggle concluding in the victory of renewal and spiritual rebirth...his life was an existential fight for survival...In the sense that he mastered both his life and his art to reach the ultimate heights of creation and transfiguration, he will last as long as man's spirit to prevail lasts on this earth." Part of the greatness of Beethoven's character came from his ability to be intimately close and at the same time at an infinite distance above his listener. Arrau possesses this same character, and his qualities as a man and artist are why he is able to so aptly render the greatness of Beethoven.
   
   A book titled "Conversations with Arrau" was written by Joseph Horowitz to celebrate the artists's 80th birthday in 1982. I've only read the extracts published with the Philips edition, but there is enough information to get a feel for Arrau's character. He guarded the purity of his environment. He shunned parties and avoided small talk. He never drank or smoked, never learned to drive a car, boil an egg, or even operate a phonograph. His only hobby was gardening. Horowitz describes him as the embodiment of the nineteenth-century model of the artist as solitary, suffering hero. He was small (5'6") and frail, but in 1982 at age 80 he was still playing more that 70 concerts a season.
   
   Rather than launch a discussion of his individual works (this has been done admirably by many of the reviewers) I will remark on just a few. I never properly appreciated the Fourth and the Seventh Sonatas until I heard Arrau's reading of these works. His Fourth takes 31 minutes, 30 seconds. Annie Fischer, another great interpreter of Beethoven, plays it in 27 minutes, 30 seconds. And Ms. Fischer does not play at a hurried tempo.
   
   Yes, Arrau plays the sonatas at a slower tempo than any other interpreter. He also achieves a mystical quality in his interpretations that is unmatched. The second movement of the Seventh comes in at 10 min, 30 seconds. It is the greatest 10 1/2 minutes of piano music ever conceived. When interpreted by Arrau it becomes a microcosm of Beethoven's life and work. The second movement of the Appassionata is a sacred hymn.
   
   Arrau's five piano concertos are splendid. I've heard no other renditions of the concertos with slow movements that equal Arrau's. No one plays the middle movements with his expressiveness and sense of the numinous. And his rendition of the "Eroica Variations" is on a par with the top few recordings of this piece.
   
   If you have any interest in Beethoven, at whatever level, this bargain is outstanding.



4. If you love Beethoven, Arrau's interpretation will certainly be a joyful addition to your classical music collection. For me, his is the definitive Beethoven.
   
   Though some will likely disagree, I have listened to many other great pianists' recordings of Beethoven sonatas, and they are great (don't get me wrong). Yet Arrau is unique in his ability to bring to light subtleties in the melodies that no one else can, and these often turn out to be the most enlightening and resonant of passages. His Op. 111 is indeed unparalleled, and his recording of the 2nd movement is one of my favorite pieces in the world. On top of that, his rendition of the Moonlight Sonata, his Waldstein, his Concertos, every recording on this boxed set is a testament to the depth Arrau worked diligently and consciously to achieve; depth that transcends technical showmanship and for the intuitive listener can certainly elicit fleeting glimpses of divine ecstasy.
   
   At any price, it's a steal - beauty of this magnitude is all too rare.



5. This is a masterpiece. Don't listen to the one negative review, as this guy is tone deaf. This compilation of Beethoven's music is a treasure to behold. A bargain at twice the price, this is well worth the money. Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

5 comments about Olivier Messiaen: Complete Organ Works.

1. Messiaen's oeuvre for organ is simply one of the most sublime works of art of the 20th century, and Latry's performances are jaw-dropping astounding.
   The recording is clear, detailed, balanced, and wonderfully rich. Truly a treasure, on all counts.



2. For me, Latry's interpretation is perfect. He simply understands Messiaen and how he wrote for the organ. The organ of Notre Dame de Paris is a monster and totally suited (of course) to Messiaen's music.
   
   Highlights for me, in this set are:
   
   Combat of Death and Life (very frightening use of pedal reeds)
   Celestial Banquet (breathtaking)
   God is Holy (mystical and shattering all in one)



3. Latry is technically and musically excellent. He "gets" the music.
   The recording is a perfect mix of amibient space and reverb and direct sound. Bass extends well down to 16Hz so you will need a good system to reproduce this faithfully.
   
   I've heard that Latry doesn't use 100% of the tonal color available on the Cavaile-Coll organ, but I feel as though it's expressive and rich.
   
   The wind chest noise doesn't bother me. It is part of the instrument.
   
   Overall excellent. Play this loud!!!



4. I must confess that I've been lukewarm about Messiaen. He was often pictured in the 1970's in Hawaiian shirts and suspenders jacking his pants up to his man-boobs and this tacky image carries over all too well to some of his later music, where the extended durations are meant to be slow and glorious like the procession of a pharaoh through the streets of Thebes, or the dawning of God's grace on a sinner ( I'm trying to avoid using the word "hieratic" ) but can sometimes, if you're in the wrong mood, seem more like a senile windbag droning on without a care in the world for his auditors. His portrayal of mystical states often have an air of smugness, of impregnable autosatisfaction.
   
   Then, occasionally, a recording like this comes along and suddenly my spine is vibrating like a Water-Pik. I'm beginning to realize that Messiaen is a far more tricky composer than I'd thought, that what seems foolproof has maybe never really been heard the right way before. Latry has the key to Messiaen in a way that Celibidache has the key to Bruckner, or Stockhausen has the key to Stockhausen. In fact, this may be the one true Messiaen recording that exists so far, in any of the categories from orchestral to piano music. Where other players seem to be twiddling their thumbs waiting for the next note, Latry fills those spaces between with terror and expectation that make you want to jump out of your skin. What usually feel like repetitious passages in Messiaen's music are revealed by Latry in all of their subtly particular glory, like God looking down at the antheap of humanity and still being able to sympathize with one overweight secretary's love problems. A repeated piercing shriek from the organ will be given a smoky, ominous feeling the first time, and then a soft, languishing one the next, and so on.
   
   While many composers benefit from different approaches, for Messiaen, facts are facts -- to play him you must not only be from France, but must be a Catholic. French Catholics, who have a body of literature behind them with one foot in the secular world, by writers such as Leon Bloy, Huysmans and Julien Green, are not to be compared with Catholics anywhere else. To listen to Latry play Messiaen is to marvel at the arbitrary cruelty and unfairness of the church, its shocking lapses behind the scenes allowed to slide on the basis of an infallibility we're meant to take on faith... And then to realize that this faith, unrewarded and abused, trampled on and thrown away, is precisely for this reason, precisely because it's hopeless, our absolute duty towards God. Latry's Messiaen is a celebration of terror, disappearance, awe and infinitely black spasms of traumatized joy.



5. You will not find a better recording of Olivier Messiaen's organ works than this gem. Approved by a Catholic Church official in the liner notes as capturing the religious ideals that Messian sought to reveal, Latry's playing on the formidable Notre Dame Cathedral organ contains a gravity and seriousness that give a rare and divine character to the music. Latry was blessed by Messiaen himself as the best interpreter of his works, and the reason for that is evident here. The music pours fourth in a majestic tide, and Latry uses his formidable talent, the full resources of the outstanding 600-year old organ, and the natural, extra-long reverberation in the medieval cathedral to capture the mysticism that pervades Messiaen's art. This is art music of the highest caliber, and will greatly reward repeated listenings.