Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 7: Sonatas Opp. 90, 101 and 106

Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 7: Sonatas Opp. 90, 101 and 106

Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 7: Sonatas Opp. 90, 101 and 106
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CD Details

Brand: SCHIFF,ANDRAS
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: András Schiff
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-09-30
Music Label: Ecm Records
Soundtracks:
  1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
  2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
  3. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto, ma non troppo
  4. Lebhaft, Marschmä�ig. Vivace alla Marcia
  5. Langsam und sehnsuchtvoll. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto
  6. Geschwinde, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro
  7. Allegro
  8. Scherzo. Assai vivace
  9. Adagio sostenuto
  10. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Music reviews of Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 7: Sonatas Opp. 90, 101 and 106

Music Review: Penultimate perfection
Rating: 5 Stars

This is by far Schiff's greatest achievement in the cycle to date. Every single one of previous six installments offered uneven performances. On the lower end of the spectrum sit Schiff's interpretations of the opus 2 set, conceived on an overly broad and lyrical scale. Schiff missed the joy of opus 10/2. The second movement of opus 78 was absolutely devoid of the requisite humor necessary to pull off the work. And opus 31/3 received a particularly wooden performance. On the other hand, Schiff's opus 13 was not only the highlight of the second installment of the cycle, but is also one of the most convincing interpretations of the Pathetique on disc. Like his interpretation of the Pathetique, Schiff's conception of opus 57 eschews the hysteria of so many performances by focusing on the great architecture of the Appassionata. Schiff's finger work in the finales of opus 10/1, opus 27/2, and opus 81a is simply astounding. But none of the previous recitals offered a simultaneously enjoyable listening experience coupled with equally successful interpretations ... until now.

It is almost a shame that Schiff did not have such a stunning recital until his penultimate installment, but the performance is so wonderful and winning that I can forgive the relative unevenness of his previous outings.

Right from the opening chords of opus 90, the performance is perfect. Schiff captures the mercurial autumnal shifts within the first movement, quickly moving from power declamations to gentle song. He so perfectly captures the chamber-music effects of the music, all the while perfectly projecting the music's emotionalism. The second movement, which many performers have difficultly relating to the previous movement, flows naturally and beautifully out of the first. Schiff's tempo perfectly captures the music's song-like character. Schiff's playing, which is often prone to moments of preciousness, fully captures the idiomatic character of the music.

Opus 101 is, if anything, even more astounding. Schiff's lightness of touch and extraordinary technique serves the opening movement better than nearly any other performance. The movement, just shy of four minutes, comes and goes as quietly as a dream. The reading is simply stunning. From the quiet of the first movement comes Schiff's appropriately humorous and rollicking march. It is nice to hear Schiff playing into Beethoven's humor rather than against it. The effect is delightful, Schiff capturing the binary between unbridled energy and sublimated anger perfectly. At the close of the sublime third movement, the ghost of the allegretto is absolutely chilling, Schiff expertly capturing its dual function as both a unifying and transitional force. As an expert counterpuntalist, Schiff's finale is miraculous. The voices in the fugue are all clearly delineated and are dispatched perfectly. And the close of the sonata, with its hushed beauty, is worth the price of the disc alone.

Schiff's opus 106 may not be the most "hammery" Hammerklavier on disc, but on the whole, it is certainly one of the better overall conceptions of the work on disc. That is not to say that Schiff does not instill both outer movements with the requisite drama. But it is never drama for drama's sake. Rather, it all fits in within Schiff's no-nonsense approach to the sonata. The first movement is briskly paced, but faithfully pits Beethoven's huge orchestral outbursts against moments of lyrical introspection. The scherzo is lovely - although the large run before the return of the scherzo sounds a tad self-conscious. At slightly over 15 minutes, Schiff does not draw out maudlin sentimentality from the f-sharp minor adagio; rather his conception of the movement is much more powerful and strong-willed than many. Schiff highlights the violent contracts of mood quite effectively while never loosing sight of the structural arch of the movement. While it could be argued that Schiff begins the finale in a bit of a perfunctory manner, his approach is appropriate as an outgrowth of the adagio. Of course, Schiff's handling of the fugue is astounding; rarely has the finale sounded less clogged than it does in Schiff's hands.

Although I always thought Schiff's intellectualism harmed his readings of Beethoven's overt earlier works, his highly sensitive genius serves the late sonatas perfectly. His delicacy of touch creates some magically otherworldly effects, while his fortes are full-bodied, powerful, and exciting. Furthermore, the sound of the piano in this installment is beautiful. It seems ECM has, in this seventh outing, finally learned how to capture the bright timbre of Schiff's instruments in the Tonhalle. The reverberations create the effect of the concert hall while never sounding cavernous. The upper registers never sound brittle, as they were prone to do in the previous installments. All in all, what a wonderful disc that will please any Beethoven connoisseur and will come as a pleasant and welcome surprise to all who have been collecting the sonatas to date. With only the last three sonatas left to be released, I hope Schiff can duplicate his efforts here. If so, Schiff's cycle, while perhaps not definitive, will certainly go down as one of the better and certainly one of the most fascinating cycles in the history of the sonatas.
More Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 7: Sonatas Opp. 90, 101 and 106 free music reviews:
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Description of Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 7: Sonatas Opp. 90, 101 and 106

The seventh volume, and penultimate release in Schiff's highly acclaimed and hugely popular series of Beethoven sonatas is here. Part VII, recorded once again live at Tonhalle Zurich, includes the first three of the so-called "late" sonatas which were written between 1814 and 1822.

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