Too much piano?

[amateur51]

Slightly back on-topic ... has anyone heard the Beethoven piano sonata set by Louis Lortie?

Lortie is a pianist that I admire a lot but his Beethoven set seemed to pass almost without comment and it's not on Spotify for a sample.

I was very taken by the Bavouzet extracts on CD Review tho I did find that I needed to crank the volume up (I have very duff ears).

[MrGongGong]

Less flavour? Not the ones I've eaten on the continent. Perhaps they know how to prepare it. The British idea seems sometimes to be to 'boil it into submission' as Beachcomber once put it.

My mother has a great aversion to 'forced' rhubarb. I think she thinks it's cruelty to vegetables.

BOIL ASPARAGUS

never do that .............

[amateur51]

BOIL ASPARAGUS

never do that .............

Steam, dry fry, griddle or ... microwave

[JFLL]

BOIL ASPARAGUS

never do that .............

Tell that to my mother's generation!

[MrGongGong]

Tell that to my mother's generation!

On baking sheet
hottish oven
tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with grey sea salt

what more do you need ?

[vinteuil]

On baking sheet
hottish oven
tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with grey sea salt

... Mr Gongs - now that does sound a good méthode! - I'd like to try it: how many minutes cooking time do you suggest? "Hottish" might mean gas mark 5??

what more do you need ?

... well, possibly a glass of albariño might be nice. And a generous slice of a decent granary bread...

[Pianorak]

Slightly back on-topic ... has anyone heard the Beethoven piano sonata set by Louis Lortie? . . .

Good try, ams!
Don't know the Lortie set, but heard him play Beethoven at the Wigmore Hall a few years ago when he stepped in at very short notice for an indisposed Pires.

[amateur51]

Good try, ams!
Don't know the Lortie set, but heard him play Beethoven at the Wigmore Hall a few years ago when he stepped in at very short notice for an indisposed Pires.

Cheers Pianorak - I've been checking out the 1 min samples you get on the Presto website - sounds interesting

But I'm still contemplating getting the Pristine Audio Schnabel set (rather expensive)

Or the 'live' set by Dino Ciani (rather cheap)

Has anyone heard the Regis set of Kempff's 1950s set?

[HighlandDougie]

Has anyone heard the Regis set of Kempff's 1950s set?

If this set is the same as the first (mono) DGG cycle, it's one of my favourite sets of anything by Beethoven, never mind the piano sonatas. Not the most up-to-date of recordings, of course, but perfectly acceptable. Bavouzet, about whom I've enthused above, reminds me of Kempff at times in his approach to these works. At the Amazon Marketplace price, the Regis Kempff looks like a bargain to me.

[amateur51]

If this set is the same as the first (mono) DGG cycle, it's one of my favourite sets of anything by Beethoven, never mind the piano sonatas. Not the most up-to-date of recordings, of course, but perfectly acceptable. Bavouzet, about whom I've enthused above, reminds me of Kempff at times in his approach to these works. At the Amazon Marketplace price, the Regis Kempff looks like a bargain to me.

To me too, HighlandDougie but I'm interested in hearing about the sound that Regis has produced - is it a remastering or just the DGG set, which I have and admire much as you do, re-issued out-of-licence?

[HighlandDougie]

is it a remastering or just the DGG set, which I have and admire much as you do, re-issued out-of-licence?

Am, have a look at the review in

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007Z84XEY/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_g15_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=17Z2J6TATHAKW7AEKW18&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294

which suggests that it is a licensed re-issue

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

REGIS previously issued their own remastering of the Schnabel Beethoven, which was superb - even better than the NAXOS releases - slightly "boxy", but warm sound. The Kempff set is calling me ... !

[silvestrione]

Has anyone heard the Regis set of Kempff's 1950s set?

Yes, and I'm afraid I am finding it unlistenable. The sound (on CD5, only one I've tried) comes and goes, seems about to fade out altogether as on the radio, then in forte passages, after I've turned the volume up, is so loud it's distorting.

I'm afraid my advice would be, avoid, though I will some time try some of the other discs in case they're better
(The interpretations seem excellent: I think I shall shell out for the DG version after all)

[amateur51]

Thanks for all your thoughts re the Regis/Kempff set - silvestrione's experience sounds very disappointing

[Nick Armstrong]

......and to respond to the title of this thread: too many pianos as well, it seems - this article made sad reading

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19706812