Casals plays Beethoven Sonatas - which set?

[George]

Curious to hear from folks who have both sets, the earlier one from
the thirties and the later one from the fifties with Serkin. Which set
do you prefer and why?

Thanks,
George

[David Fox]

The accompaniment on the early set is inferior, particularly the
Horszowski selections. Horszowski was a great artist but was often far
too low-key and deferential as an accompanist. That's lethal for this
repertoire, and it's doubly lethal when paired with such an extroverted
artist as Casals. Serkin more than holds his own, which he also did
several decades later with Rostropovich when he recorded the Brahms
Cello Sonatas. Casals is marginally less precise in the 1950's
recordings (he was well into his 70's). That doesn't bother me too much
as Casals was never exactly a model of precision. That's not what you
listen to Casals for.

DF

[arri bachrach]

Casals in his prime (1920's) WAS a model of precision....... if you
listen to those recordigs you will hear a totaly secure
technique......of couise his musicality is unequaled.

AB

[wkasimer]

I think that David's right on the money here. Casals' playing is
somewhat smoother on the earlier set, but the performances don't have
the same tension, probably because the accompanists do no more than
accompany. Serkin is an equal partner on the later set, which was my
imprint version of these works, on Odyssey LP's; I remember buying
several copies because I couldn't find a set that had three discs
that weren't so warped as to be unplayable.

The sonics are also better on the later set, but if you dislike
nonmusical noises, you'll want to stay away from this one - Casals
does a lot of grunting and groaning.

Bill

[David Fox]

When he emerged in the early part of the century he was considered
"precise" by the standards of the time, but compared to Feuermann,
Fournier, Starker, and most of the cellists that followed them "precise"
is not the first word I'd choose to describe Casals.
You will hear occasional smudges of intonation that become more frequent
as the decades pass, though they never became as pervasive as they did
for Szigeti or Menuhin. I am in no way discounting his musicianship.
IMHO Casals was a supreme musician, musical evangelist, and a giant of a
human being. At the superlative level Casals reached, comparisons
become meaningless. BTW for all of their technical imperfections, I feel
the same way about Szigeti and Menuhin.

DF

[Steve Emerson]

In article
<256a0490-ab5b-44dc...@f6g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>,

The set with Horszowski is unbelievably dull and devoid of drama. I say
"unbelievable" because it seems implausible the outcome could have been
what it is.

I do like the set with Serkin.

SE.

[Bob Lombard]

Argh. Now I remember listening to some of that earlier set; dismaying,
particularly because it's some of my favorite music.

bl