Three of Artur Schnabel's volumes of Beethoven Sonatas recorded for the Society of the same name are already on my website. These volumes contain Sonatas 4 and 16; 9, 13 and 30; 2, 4 and 16. They are now joined by Volume 1 which has three two-movement sonatas. First, the charming, elegant and witty Sonata No. 24 in F sharp with its second movement demanding brilliant technique. Then comes the centrepiece of the three, Opus 111 in C minor, Sonata no. 32. Those of you who think that a degree of hiss adds to the aura of historical realism will be disappointed. On the other hand you will at least be able to hear the very very quiet notes in the final variation. I love the moment toward the end of the first movement where after a high G we have a few bars in C major. Thirdly: Sonata 27 in E minor which, in spite of the passionate moments in the first movement, seems to me to be an elegiac composition overall. Somewhat surprisingly for a very physical player, Schnabel holds back on two strong semitone clashes in the first movement. After a rising octave minor scale of 5 notes in the left hand (think Grieg-Hall of the Mountain King) the right hand chord has a G clashing with the F sharp as well as a B ( this is bar 68). You can hardly hear the G at all. Similarly in the recapitulation. I hope that those averse to restoration will consider a listen: to my mind there is as much atmosphere, sparkle and immediacy as you could wish for in this upload. Connect your lap-top to your sound-system (head-phones do not do justice to the pianist or the recording engineers ) and have this great pianist give you a recital in your own home nearly 80 years on!!!
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cheers Clive listening to No 4 as i type!According to the best estimates of astronomers there are at least one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. -
ditto!Originally posted by aka Calum Da Jazbo View Post
My life, each morning when I dress, is four and twenty hours less. (J Richardson)Comment
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