Which Brahms's piano sonatas to buy?
TAN KAR GEE
I'm re-discovering Brahms after some time lag and now wish to listen
to his piano sonatas. Which CD should I buy, Richter on Philips or
Decca, or somebody else's?
What about his chamber music?
Thanks in advance!
Kar Gee
Dan Koren
If you want one complete set of the 3 Brahms piano sonatas, get Leonskaja on
Teldec. If you want the complete piano music, get Katchen on Decca. If you
want to mix and match, get the 1st and 2nd piano sonatas by Richter, the
2nd and the 3rd by Bashkirov (separate CDs), the 3rd by Sokolov or Gelber
or Rubinstein or Bashkirov.
dk
Doc Alan
is of minor interest- it was recorded by K. Zimerman as part of a Brahms
set on DG.
Alan Briker, M.D.
doc...@aol.com
a cos ee
Chant du Monde, please ?
Allan Burns
>
> I'm re-discovering Brahms after some time lag and now wish to listen
>to his piano sonatas. Which CD should I buy, Richter on Philips or
>Decca, or somebody else's?
For #s 1 & 2 I recommend Richter on Decca (London). You can
get this recording now through BMG for a discount price. (I
paid about $4 for mine.) Great performances from an aging
wizard.
For #3 I suggest you start with Rubinstein. This is the classic
performance, against which all others are usually judged. A lot of
pianists have recorded this one recently, & there are a lot of
good ones to choose among--if you're looking for a second
version. The best of the ones I've heard is Sokolov's, which,
esp. in the outer movements, has a very rare power & authority.
In maybe my favorite moment of the sonata, the climax of the
2nd mvmt, he doesn't quite project the same sense of proportion &
inevitability that Rubinstein does. Rubinstein remains my
standard, but the Sokolov is definitely the most impressive
performance I've heard. Two others I've liked are Lupu's &
Ax's--but I don't consider them to be quite in the same class.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Allan Burns
Henry Huang
in N.A.). I prefer the Decca version to the Philips.
For the 3rd sonata, try Sokolov on the "OPUS 111" label - excellent
playing and sound.
Dan Koren
>In article <4ek7qf$i...@nuscc.nus.sg>, eng2...@leonis.nus.sg (TAN KAR GEE) says:
>>
>> I'm re-discovering Brahms after some time lag and now wish to listen
>>to his piano sonatas. Which CD should I buy, Richter on Philips or
>>Decca, or somebody else's?
>
>For #s 1 & 2 I recommend Richter on Decca (London). You can
>get this recording now through BMG for a discount price. (I
>paid about $4 for mine.) Great performances from an aging
>wizard.
>
>For #3 I suggest you start with Rubinstein. This is the classic
>performance, against which all others are usually judged. A lot of
Not by my book. Rubinstein is superb, however the "classical"
reference for op. 5 has always been considered to be Edwin
Fischer. And some people even consider Grainger to be the
reference!
From all the performances I heard Bashkirov was the best by far.
Not only was his interpretation superb, but his technique was
so staggering that he made even Rubinstein sound pedestrian!
I never heard anyone pull off the scherzo the way Bahkirov
does!
>pianists have recorded this one recently, & there are a lot of
>good ones to choose among--if you're looking for a second
>version. The best of the ones I've heard is Sokolov's, which,
>esp. in the outer movements, has a very rare power & authority.
>In maybe my favorite moment of the sonata, the climax of the
>2nd mvmt, he doesn't quite project the same sense of proportion &
>inevitability that Rubinstein does. Rubinstein remains my
>standard, but the Sokolov is definitely the most impressive
>performance I've heard. Two others I've liked are Lupu's &
>Ax's--but I don't consider them to be quite in the same class.
Now seriously, Ax is a disaster.
dk
Dan Koren
>can anybody comment on the Bashkirov recording of Brahms sonata #2 on Le
>Chant du Monde, please ?
The best there is.
dk
cos a
an heroic account. For the fast movements, he is a bit on the fast side,
but in the slow movement, he does not rush and has plenty of poetry.
I know some of you do not like anything Perahia does, but his account on
Sony is worth listening to. Still one more recording that is not to
everyone's taste is Arrau's. His is powerful and gigantic.
cos a
PS where can i find Edwin Fisher's Op 5 and his Schumann Fantasy?
& Wehbe
Kar Gee wrote:
> I'm re-discovering Brahms after some time lag and now wish to listen
> to his piano sonatas. Which CD should I buy, Richter on Philips or
> Decca, or somebody else's?
> What about his chamber music?
For the piano sonatas, I would recommend Richter on Decca (1-2) and Sokolov on
Op.111 (3 and the ballades). For the piano quintet, the Naxos CD with Jando.
The cello sonatas Starker-Sebok (if you can find it) or DuPre-Barenboim.
For the Handel variations, Gelber (on EMI) or Bolet (on DECCA).
But wait and see what the experts say (I have not heard all then recordings
available and it could well be that some version is better).
Best regards,
Ricardo Wehbe
ric...@cs.uni-sb.de
Dan Koren
>
>For the piano sonatas, I would recommend Richter on Decca (1-2)
also Bashkirov (2 on Harmonia Mundi), Helene Grimaud (2)
>and Sokolov on Op.111 (3 and the ballades).
also Rubinstein (RCA), Bashkirov (Melodyia) and Edwin Fischer (EMI)
>For the piano quintet, the Naxos CD with Jando.
I would not second this recommendation, there are *much* better
performances available:
Richter/Borodin
Rubinstein/Guarneri
Pollini/Italiano
Martha/Rabinovich
>The cello sonatas Starker-Sebok (if you can find it) or DuPre-Barenboim.
Yikes!
Only Rostropovich has the measure of this music.
dk
Dan Koren
>
>I know some of you do not like anything Perahia does, but his account on
>Sony is worth listening to. Still one more recording that is not to
>everyone's taste is Arrau's. His is powerful and gigantic.
I think we're going to disagree violently here!
>PS where can i find Edwin Fisher's Op 5 and his Schumann Fantasy?
3-LP EMI/Electrola set.
dk
Stan Szpakowicz
>Kar Gee wrote:
>> I'm re-discovering Brahms after some time lag and now wish to listen
>> to his piano sonatas. Which CD should I buy, Richter on Philips or
>> Decca, or somebody else's?
>> What about his chamber music?
>For the piano sonatas, I would recommend Richter on Decca (1-2) and Sokolov on
>Op.111 (3 and the ballades). For the piano quintet, the Naxos CD with Jando.
For the quintet (and piano quartets, and Schumann quintet), you can't fare
poorly with the 3 CD box of Hollywood Quartet with Victor Aller (on
Testament). For quartets alone, you can also win with Domus (on Virgin).
>The cello sonatas Starker-Sebok (if you can find it) or DuPre-Barenboim.
>For the Handel variations, Gelber (on EMI) or Bolet (on DECCA).
Or Solomon (on Testament), c/w Piano Concerto No. 1.
--
Dr. Stan Szpakowicz, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Ottawa
tel +613 562 5800, ext. 6687 fax +613 562 5187
sz...@csi.uottawa.ca http://www.csi.uottawa.ca/~szpak/
Justin C. Urcis
>
> performances available:
>
> Richter/Borodin
> Rubinstein/Guarneri
> Pollini/Italiano
> Martha/Rabinovich
Uh...how about Serkin/Busch???? And going further back to the Harold
Bauer recording. The Rubinstein/Guarneri is out of the picture along
with the Pollini/Italiano. Although Dan is right in praising the
Richter/Borodin. They do some good stuff, although I still think the
Serkin/Busch is better overall. Haven't heard the
Martha/Rabinovitch(since I don't think too highly of Martha - BUT!!!!
Let's not start an argument here....Dan likes her...I don't ---end of story!)
>
> >The cello sonatas Starker-Sebok (if you can find it) or DuPre-Barenboim.
>
> Only Rostropovich has the measure of this music.
How about Casals/Horswoski on EMI? NOt too shabby in my opinion. Stay
AWAY from you Yo-Yo whatever anyone says. Especially since Manny is
accompanying. MAnny + Brahms does equal disaster. (AS WELL AS MANNY +
CHOPIN = DISASTER)>