Murray Perahia Hammerklavier and Moonlight Sonatas

[richardfinegold]

Perahia and Haitink did a great set of PCs decades ago, but MP hasn’t otherwise recorded much Beethoven. At age 70 he has now recorded 2 of his most iconic Sonatas.
Having listened to this download twice, it is highly recommendable. The Moonlight is given an uncontroversial reading, no hankering after effects. The real interest lies in op.106
It’s generally a swift reading. In I MP sounds as if he is at a nice clip without trying to hit the composer’s prescribed tempo. II also doesn’t dawdle but I miss some of the sardonic wit others find here. The most interesting is III, which MP dispatches in 16 minutes, about 3/4 the norm. The playing per se isn’t fast, but there is total absence of pauses between phrases and sections. Arrau by contrast risks near stasis for the first several minutes and even after the drama picks up still leaves telling, poignant gaps between sections.
MP dispatches the final fugue with panache.
I listened to a High Resolution download which is very detailed with a 5th row perspective.
In short, a very satisfying release, if perhaps not the last word in the challenging Op.106

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iKuv9Gy3EA

... and, before they remove it, a bootleg Live recording from 2016 has also been youTubed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbhwCfkcwf0

[Belgrove]

I've had the opportunity to listen to this release a few times now and absorb it. As Richard says, the Moonlight is an uncontroversial if rather cool account, but it is the Hammerklavier that is the principal interest. I found this quite startling on first listen, seeming to be considerably swifter than I recall hearing in live performances or in other versions in my library (numerous Brendel's, Pollini, Barenboim, Arrau, Levit...). And yet it seems entirely at one with a classical rather than overtly romantic interpretation of the sonata. The sublime Adagio can meander even in the best hands, but here it has an inevitability and purpose. Perahia's prowess in Bach is evident in the monumental fugue, delivered with crystalline clarity and precision. This has given me a entirely fresh perspective of an all too familiar work, and that can't be a bad thing. No single interpretation of this extraordinary work can be the last word, but Perahia's account is hugely satisfying and will repay countless further listenings.

Odd that the Moonlight comes after Hammerklavier.

[BBMmk2]

It's strange, I normally like everything that MH does but when his recordings came out of the LvB PCs came out, I thought, hang on, what's happening here. it doesn't seem to ring true for me these performances? I then thought to my self that, maybe I cannot like everything that MH does? Let's hope I will like this Beethoven!

[Braunschlag]

‘Odd that the Moonlight comes after Hammerklavier’

This is the second time I’ve read this point, the other, I think, was in a Gramophone review. Without sounding critical, and it’s certainly not my intention, isn’t it simple enough to play the tracks in the preferred order? This sort of thing has cropped up before in CD reviews and I fail to see the problem:)

[Conchis]

I've had the opportunity to listen to this release a few times now and absorb it. As Richard says, the Moonlight is an uncontroversial if rather cool account, but it is the Hammerklavier that is the principal interest. I found this quite startling on first listen, seeming to be considerably swifter than I recall hearing in live performances or in other versions in my library (numerous Brendel's, Pollini, Barenboim, Arrau, Levit...). And yet it seems entirely at one with a classical rather than overtly romantic interpretation of the sonata. The sublime Adagio can meander even in the best hands, but here it has an inevitability and purpose. Perahia's prowess in Bach is evident in the monumental fugue, delivered with crystalline clarity and precision. This has given me a entirely fresh perspective of an all too familiar work, and that can't be a bad thing. No single interpretation of this extraordinary work can be the last word, but Perahia's account is hugely satisfying and will repay countless further listenings.

Odd that the Moonlight comes after Hammerklavier.

I find it super-annoying when works are programmed out of chronological sequence on CDs - particularly when it comes to symphonies. Schumann's symphonies - which can be easily accommodated on a 2 disc set - are particular offenders here: I'm used to 1&4 being coupled with 2&3.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I find it super-annoying when works are programmed out of chronological sequence on CDs - particularly when it comes to symphonies. Schumann's symphonies - which can be easily accommodated on a 2 disc set - are particular offenders here: I'm used to 1&4 being coupled with 2&3.

That's annoying: it should be 4 & 1, and 2 & 3.

[richardfinegold]

I've had the opportunity to listen to this release a few times now and absorb it. As Richard says, the Moonlight is an uncontroversial if rather cool account, but it is the Hammerklavier that is the principal interest. I found this quite startling on first listen, seeming to be considerably swifter than I recall hearing in live performances or in other versions in my library (numerous Brendel's, Pollini, Barenboim, Arrau, Levit...). And yet it seems entirely at one with a classical rather than overtly romantic interpretation of the sonata. The sublime Adagio can meander even in the best hands, but here it has an inevitability and purpose. Perahia's prowess in Bach is evident in the monumental fugue, delivered with crystalline clarity and precision. This has given me a entirely fresh perspective of an all too familiar work, and that can't be a bad thing. No single interpretation of this extraordinary work can be the last word, but Perahia's account is hugely satisfying and will repay countless further listenings.
Odd that the Moonlight comes after Hammerklavier.

That's a pretty good description of the disc, better than mine. The Adagio is the highlight, short timing but sounding unhurried, and I agree with the "classical' description. As I noted in my post, Arrau takes about 8 minutes longer, much of which seems to be pregnant pauses. The contrasts are fascinating.
It is weird hearing the Moonlight after the Hammerklavier. Per Braunschlag, I play the Moonlight First. I recorded this asa download and it's easy to point the remote at the monitor and reverse the order .