The Kovacevich Beethoven Piano Sonatas is my go-to set. Alongside his recording of the Diabelli Variations is one of my most treasured performances of the Bach Partita in D Major BWV828. A wonderful pianist!
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These are great, too. The op. 26 disc is a curious one, in that EMI received so much flak for the recording quality of op. 26 in particular, that it was rerecorded and issued on one of the later discs in the series. The later recording was used for the boxset, together with a new recording of op. 111 which otherwise was never issued on a separate disc.
Cheers
EJ
Ah thanks, this could explain why on Qobuz, the version of the single disc only includes Op. 109 and the Bagatelles but not Op. 26 or either of the Op. 49 sonatas. Also, the online artwork for the later edition of the single disc with the Warner label does not show Op. 26 or 49 either whereas the original issue under the EMI banner which I bought yesterday has Op. 26, 49, 109 and the Bagatelles!
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There isn’t much to choose between the two recordings but if you are OK with the realistic but brittle sound of the earlier disc, I think it’s a hair better than the later one.
I heard him play Beethoven’s last sonatas in Paris just after he conpleted the recordings, a memorable evening.
A superb set of the bagatelles.
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Thanks again. Yes, even though the performances are terrific, I did think the sound on the EMI disc was on the brittle side, so it’s not just me! In fact I compared the 1970s Philips recording of the Bagatelles also to check. I will have to compare the Op. 26s also. Thanks for sharing your reminiscences. It must have been quite an evening!
Some, not all, recordings in Kovacevich’s complete EMI Beethoven set were criticised at the time of their release for poor sound. That put me off buying the box when it was released, so I have never heard any of them.
Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pilch could be counted on to deliver an unorthodox performance of Bach’s violin sonatas, and she isn’t afraid of a frequently raw, almost hoarse sound from her violin. Likewise, Tuija Hakkila’s fortepiano has its share of mechanical noises. The net effect is that some of the soul and charm in these sonatas is replaced by something edgier. It’s different but very well done.
Cheers
EJ
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Kovacevich’ cycle is both better played and recorded than Annie Fisher’s, the cycle it resembles temperamentally. He played a huge, metallic sounding Steinway, and it’s captured quite faithfully.
The other big cycle of the 90s, Brendel III, has a closer, fuller sound, and it sounds excellent but it’s a vanilla sound, not how Brendel sounded live.
Cheers
EJ
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Thank you. I saw Alfred Brendel a few times at the Royal Festival Hall when I was living and working in London. I saw that he used to apply sticky tape to his fingernails, to save breaking them when playing the piano!
It is hugely regrettable that Emil Gilels didn’t live long enough to complete his superb series of Beethoven sonatas for DG. He died five short of the complete thirty-two, but his performances are not far short of perfection. It was probably because the set wasn’t complete that DG never released his recordings as a big box of LPs, although I do have them on CD.
I saw Emil Gilels in concert just the once, conducting one of the London Orchestras ( the English Chamber Orchestra, perhaps?) in a Mozart symphony and playing his last concerto, K595. This concert happened to take place on the night that the SAS took out the terrorists who had occupied the Iranian Embassy in another part of London.
Thanks EJ for your praise for Herreweghe’s latest disc. I’ve now listened a couple of times and it’s already become one of my favourite Bach albums. It’s a beautifully judged performance.
I find many Bach recordings from the pre-HIP era too ponderous and slow for my taste, but I also find early recordings with period instruments often tend towards excessive astringency. I enjoy a middle course and this is a great example. The timbre of some of the wind instruments is clear but also warm and the brass cuts through without being ear-shredding. I thoroughly concur with your recommendation so thanks for flagging it up.
Roger
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I am currently enjoying this rather dazzling account of the Goldberg Variations — makes many older interpretations sound somewhat flat.
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+1, Vikingur dares to make his own interpretation.
Another glorious example of his very own way of interpreting:
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I bought that as a 2LP set a few weeks ago. He has a fabulous, clean piano technique, and the music is, of course, quite glorious.
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@Ebor I guess you understand why this is on the schedule these days. It’s one of the chorales I’ve studied many times and now at 45 I’m happy with my performance …
For those with a little less understanding about liturgy, this chorale is written for the Sunday we remember the baptism of Jesus. In the music the left hand symbolizes the river Jordan and the duo played by the right hand symbolizes 2 disciples for what I remember. Don’t know which ones, maybe it was different ant they symbolizes mother Mary and John the Baptist. The pedal plays the cantus firmus in other words the melody.
A great well composed piece of music. Augenmusic as the Germans would say.
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Charity shop Lyrita CDs are always hard to resist… Especially at £1.75. Enjoying exploring new music (to me) from a British composer whose life was cut short at the age of 30.
The Variations on a Hungarian Air are particularly tuneful.
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Very nice - is that BWV684? I shall have to dust off my Simon Preston DG Bach complete organ works and give that a spin.
Love the symbolism you explain so clearly. Gosh, he was good, wasn’t he?
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Listened to Harnoncourt conducting the Four Bach Overtures. That was the first HIP recording I ever bought, circa 1972, maybe the first I ever heard - I bought it blind. It triggered a feeling of nostalgia that I normally associate with popular music.
Johann and Joni. A great pair.
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