BaL 3.02.24 - Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E♭ major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux"

[smittims]

Steady, richard, cool it with the ICBMs. This is no WW3

I don't dislike those pianists. They are all very accomplished artists . What I meant was that we all have our favourites, and few people (I think) would buy a recording by someone else if one of their favourites had recorded it.

As for Murray Perahia, I don't know if he's ever even played Les Adieux; I had to check to see if Walter Gieseking (another of my favouroutes) had recorded it, before I mentioned him. It seems it wasn't part of his Columbia series, though there is a broadcast tape on Spotify; and another pianist i admire , Hans Richter-Haaser, did record it for Columbia.. Again, I mean that I would not go out of my way to hear Perahia in this work, for the reason given: most of us keep to our favourites.

I'm aware that we can feel offended if our favourties are disparaged; I wouldn't react kindly to a 'Furtwangler is rubbish' thread. We're fortunate in that we have so much choice of artists to listen to.

[HighlandDougie]

Steady, richard, cool it with the ICBMs. This is no WW3

I don't dislike those pianists. They are all very accomplished artists . What I meant was that we all have our favourites, and few people (I think) would buy a recording by someone else if one of their favourites had recorded it.

As for Murray Perahia, I don't know if he's ever even played Les Adieux; I had to check to see if Walter Gieseking (another of my favouroutes) had recorded it, before I mentioned him. It seems it wasn't part of his Columbia series, though there is a broadcast tape on Spotify; and another pianist i admire , Hans Richter-Haaser, did record it for Columbia.. Again, I mean that I would not go out of my way to hear Perahia in this work, for the reason given: most of us keep to our favourites.

I'm aware that we can feel offended if our favourties are disparaged; I wouldn't react kindly to a 'Furtwangler is rubbish' thread. We're fortunate in that we have so much choice of artists to listen to.

Murray Perahia recorded it in 1984 for CBS/Sony (in New York). I have it on a CD (alas, in the attic) coupled with, inter alia, the ‘Tempest’ sonata.

[Barbirollians]

Perahia’s Hammerklavier is outstanding. I think I had his Les Adieux on cassette but if so it’s in a box in the attic.

My comparative listening did not go so well - Kempff was interesting quite brittle and modern but then Solomon got in the way - his Les Adieux was so perfect I then found I could not stop listening to Op 90 and the Hammerklavier that follow on the Testsment CD.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Steady, richard, cool it with the ICBMs. This is no WW3

I don't dislike those pianists. They are all very accomplished artists . What I meant was that we all have our favourites, and few people (I think) would buy a recording by someone else if one of their favourites had recorded it.

As for Murray Perahia, I don't know if he's ever even played Les Adieux; I had to check to see if Walter Gieseking (another of my favouroutes) had recorded it, before I mentioned him. It seems it wasn't part of his Columbia series, though there is a broadcast tape on Spotify; and another pianist i admire , Hans Richter-Haaser, did record it for Columbia.. Again, I mean that I would not go out of my way to hear Perahia in this work, for the reason given: most of us keep to our favourites.

I'm aware that we can feel offended if our favourties are disparaged; I wouldn't react kindly to a 'Furtwangler is rubbish' thread. We're fortunate in that we have so much choice of artists to listen to.

He has recorded it along with the Tempest and the Eflat Op 31. No.3 . Fine recording. One thing that distinguishes him is his super refined touch and immaculately even scales ( rather like Solomon - very important in the final movement.) I bumped into him at a recent performance of Elektra and essentially said thanks for the music and he sends his regards. Seriously though he was very charming. I get the impression that he has pretty much retired though I am very happy to be corrected.

[Barbirollians]

He has recorded it along with the Tempest and the Eflat Op 31. No.3 . Fine recording. One thing that distinguishes him is his super refined touch and immaculately even scales ( rather like Solomon - very important in the final movement.) I bumped into him at a recent performance of Elektra and essentially said thanks for the music and he sends his regards. Seriously though he was very charming. I get the impression that he has pretty much retired though I am very happy to be corrected.

That’s uncanny ! If it was that Monday performance and just after it ended I walked past someone stopping Murray Perahia to say thank you and he mentioned going to his first recital . I didn’t recognise Perahia until I was on the train home I realised who it was !

[Ein Heldenleben]

That’s uncanny ! If it was that Monday performance and just after it ended I walked past someone stopping Murray Perahia to say thank you and he mentioned going to his first recital . I didn’t recognise Perahia until I was on the train home I realised who it was !

That was me . It’s a small world no ?

[Ein Heldenleben]

That was me . It’s a small world no ?

Sadly Murray hasn’t made the short list .

I’m enjoying this review though.
Particularly the Paul Lewis

[Barbirollians]

That was me . It’s a small world no ?

Very !

Meanwhile , as much as I approve of the winner and runner up - no mention of Solomon 🙁

[Ein Heldenleben]

Very !

Meanwhile , as much as I approve of the winner and runner up - no mention of Solomon 🙁

Not that I heard . A good review though. I was very taken with the Annie Fischer Abschied , the female Russian pianist’s 1st movement coda and that Gilels final movement coda . Not to mention Schnabels cavalry charge final movement. Let’s face it all wonderful performances and all very different - the test of a masterpiece is that it can work played so many different ways. It’s inexhaustible really .

[smittims]

And now I'm delighted to discover that I do have Murray Perahia's 1984 recording, in a SONY box of Beethoven vintage recordings (all with minature original sleeves) released probably to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his birth. It was recorded in the curious location of the Troy savings bank music hall.

[Sir Velo]

We do well to remember that each of these BALs is very much a personal choice of the reviewer, with all of their prejudices very much in evidence. Clearly Ms Parham likes her Beethoven beefy and muscular. Nothing wrong in that but for me, the recordings which get closer to conveying the soundworld of Beethoven are those which employ instruments of the period and bring out the graceful fragility of this work. Brautigam is a clear frontrunner in this repertoire, but Olga Pashchenko on a beautifully restored Graf of 1824 plumbs the emotional depth of this work in a consummate performance of real artistry. No one who loves this music should fail to hear this recording.

[richardfinegold]

Steady, richard, cool it with the ICBMs. This is no WW3

I don't dislike those pianists. They are all very accomplished artists . What I meant was that we all have our favourites, and few people (I think) would buy a recording by someone else if one of their favourites had recorded it.

As for Murray Perahia, I don't know if he's ever even played Les Adieux; I had to check to see if Walter Gieseking (another of my favouroutes) had recorded it, before I mentioned him. It seems it wasn't part of his Columbia series, though there is a broadcast tape on Spotify; and another pianist i admire , Hans Richter-Haaser, did record it for Columbia.. Again, I mean that I would not go out of my way to hear Perahia in this work, for the reason given: most of us keep to our favourites.

I'm aware that we can feel offended if our favourties are disparaged; I wouldn't react kindly to a 'Furtwangler is rubbish' thread. We're fortunate in that we have so much choice of artists to listen to.

I wasn’t trying to be aggressive, although rereading my post makes it appear so. Again, in the absence of facial motions and vocal inflection, intent can be mistaken on the internet, and so my apologies for the misunderstanding.
However, the artists that you mentioned disapprovingly are not just 3 of my personal favorites, they are obviously big super novas in the pantheon of pianists. You are entitled to your own opinions, but at this point you haven’t offered a rationale as to why you find them objectionable. I can’t offer commentary on the pianists that you suggest as alternatives, since they are unknown to me (lack of renown is not a comment on their merit). However while I could wax rhapsodically about their virtues at some length, I am more more curious as to why you find them objectionable.
The Perahia Les Adieux was not featured in the OP, so it must unavailable (I will check Presto later). I esteem Perahia PC cycle with Haitink and was unaware of any Beethoven Sonata recordings from him until the later in career Moonlight and Hammerklavier pairing. I saw the young Perahia in recital and he programmed one of the early sonatas but I don’t think ever recorded it

[richardfinegold]

Murray Perahia recorded it in 1984 for CBS/Sony (in New York). I have it on a CD (alas, in the attic) coupled with, inter alia, the ‘Tempest’ sonata.

It’s available as a download on Presto, although the recording date is listed as 1987. Also there are Perahia recordings of other earlier sonatas, which probably corresponds to the one that had seen him play in recital

[smittims]

That's OK , richard, there was no trouble.

I wouldn't say 'objectionable', and, on my part, perhaps 'avoid' was strong. I'd listen to them if I came across them. But life is short, and like many listeners, I suppose, when I want to listen to this sonata, or buy a copy if I didn't have it, I'd tend to go for a pianist I already admire in Beethoven.

Maybe that's one of the values of BaL, in that it can lead us to listen to a recording we wouldn't otherwise have chosen. I know I came to admire Backhaus much more in this way, although his was a very different approach to the Beethoven Sonatas than the one I usually enjoyed.

[LMcD]

So you dislike 3 of my favorite pianists. Care to expound as to the rationale?
also which Perahia recording are you referencing? I don’t believe that he has recorded it

Aren't most likes and dislikes irrational?
I don't like listening to Bruckner symphonies because, for me, they come across as a seemingly endless series of crescendi that leave me in the same place at the end as I was at the beginning, but I'm not sure whether that comprises a 'rationale'.