Annie Fischer Complete Beethoven Sonatas back in print on Hungaroton

[Oscar]

HMV Japan lists a November 20, 2014 release date http://tinyurl.com/lw675tm No word on remastering, but the set consists of 9 CD's. I've noticed that Hungaroton has an elegant new design scheme for its recent releases, and the Annie Fischer Beethoven Sonatas is no different. The old box went out of print at least 5 years ago and has commanded beaucoup dinero on the used market in the intervening years. Good to have Annie back and I for one will be snatching this one up as I missed it the first time around. List: ¥15,109 (US$134.52). Same old Hungaroton prices.

Also, there is this other 2CD from Hungaroton: Annie Fischer - Encore * In Concert [HCD32750] http://tinyurl.com/phbsw72 with selections by Schubert, Chopin, and Schumann. These are 'souvenir', i.e. bootleg, recordings, mostly from the mid-to-late 1970's. No idea of sound quality, but Hungaroton thinks enough of them to see fit for issue. HMV shows same November 20 release date as the Beethoven integrale, but in the Occident it has already been issued -- I saw it in the store the other day. List: ¥3,445 (US$30.67).

[woytek]

booklet of the bootleg release: http://cdn2.orastream.com/pdf/5991813275028.pdf
The sound of the recordings is variable but acceptable. As far as I can tell the remasterings are very good - of course I don't know the sound of the original tapes but for example there is no overfiltering, the sound of the piano is very natural. The interpretations are of very strong artistic character - very poetic and powerful, even her last public appearance - Chopin 3rd Ballade from Szolnok in 1994. In all really wonderful commemoration of her 100th birthday anniversary.

[abras...@gmail.com]

On Saturday, November 1, 2014 5:10:24 PM UTC-7, woytek wrote:
> booklet of the bootleg release: http://cdn2.orastream.com/pdf/5991813275028.pdf
> The sound of the recordings is variable but acceptable. As far as I can tell the remasterings are >very good - of course I don't know the sound of the original tapes but for example there is no >overfiltering, the sound of the piano is very natural. The interpretations are of very strong artistic >character - very poetic and powerful, even her last public appearance - Chopin 3rd Ballade from >Szolnok in 1994. In all really wonderful commemoration of her 100th birthday anniversary.

MDT has it available for sale now. No sign of the reissued LVB yet.

[Oscar]

This set arrived today. The sound is not bad for a bootleg, tapes seem well-preserved. The notes indicate a woman, Anna Dévény, made these bootleg recordings. The piano in the Schubert may drive Mr. Bachrach meshuggeneh. Oddly, a plastic card fell out of the jewel case upon unsealing, the size of a credit card but smaller: "This card entitles you to a free digital copy of Franz Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D.935 - No.4 in F minor by Annie Fischer. Download in MP3 using this code..." Well, I did just pay full price for a double Compact Digital Disc which includes said piece??

Annie Fischer: Encore - In Concert

Hungaroton HCD 32750-51 ℗ © 2014.
Stereo. ADD.
Balance engineer and editor: János Győri.
Printing editor and cover design: Béla Ujváry.
Booklet note: János Mácsai.
Made in Hungary.

Disc 1
-Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D.935
Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, March 28, 1977
-Chopin: Ballade No.3, Op.47
Szigligeti Theatre, Szolnok, October 24, 1994
-Schumann: Phantasie, Op.17
Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, February 7, 1978

Disc 2
-Chopin: Piano Sonata No.2, Op.35
Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, February 7, 1978
-Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op.15
Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, February 3, 1978
-Schumann: Piano Sonata No.1, Op.11
Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, January 20, 1978

<< Anna Dévény recorded, preserved and nurtured Annie Fischer's publicly invisible heritage. This album would not have been possible without her invaluable effort. Hungaroton gratefully acknowledges all her help and support with the preparation of this album as well as providing us with the recordings. >>

[hiker_rs]

On Saturday, November 8, 2014 1:20:48 PM UTC-6, Oscar wrote:
> This set arrived today. The sound is not bad for a bootleg, tapes seem well-preserved.

> Annie Fischer: Encore - In Concert

The mp3 version of this CD is available from CD Universe for a mere $9.99.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=9329208

-Rich

[Oscar]

On Saturday, November 8, 2014 12:26:59 PM, hiker_rs wrote:
>
> The mp3 version of this CD is available from CD Universe for a mere $9.99...

And it is worth it just for the Schumann Kinderszenen. The sound is far from perfect, but put on your headphones and turn down the lights: the interpretation is magical. Slow tempos, but her touch is fantastic and fits this music perfectly. I haven't heard a Kinderszenen like this before. So far this is the best thing I've heard on the set. Still making my way through it. (The Schumann Grand Sonata No.1 is excellent, too, judging by a cursory first listen.)

[Frank Berger]

How does the Kinderszenen compare to other Fischer recordings of it?
There's one on BBC Legends and one on the EMI Artist Profile set. Those
figure to be in better sound, I would think.

How in the world did Fischer not get included in the GPOC? Room for
only one Fischer maybe?

---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com

[Steve Emerson]

In article <HbGdncpPe9GZifvJ...@supernews.com>,

Frank Berger <frankd...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 11/14/2014 3:31 AM, Oscar wrote:
> > On Saturday, November 8, 2014 12:26:59 PM, hiker_rs wrote:
> >>
> >> The mp3 version of this CD is available from CD Universe for a mere
> >> $9.99...
> >
> > And it is worth it just for the Schumann Kinderszenen. The sound is
> > far from perfect, but put on your headphones and turn down the
> > lights: the interpretation is magical. Slow tempos, but her touch is
> > fantastic and fits this music perfectly. I haven't heard a
> > Kinderszenen like this before. So far this is the best thing I've
> > heard on the set. Still making my way through it. (The Schumann Grand
> > Sonata No.1 is excellent, too, judging by a cursory first listen.)
> >
>
>
>
> How does the Kinderszenen compare to other Fischer recordings of it?
> There's one on BBC Legends and one on the EMI Artist Profile set. Those
> figure to be in better sound, I would think.
>
> How in the world did Fischer not get included in the GPOC? Room for
> only one Fischer maybe?

Good question, easy answer: TD doesn't like her. The Kinderszenen and
Kreisleriana on EMI are both a joy. Also included in the Introuvables
box (4 CDs duplicating everything in the Artist Profile set except the
Bartok, IIRC). Both K. works here are preferable to the BBC versions,
IMO. However, the Fantasy in C on BBC is a knockout. Haven't heard the
new release, naturally. Competition in Kinderszenen is fierce, I think.
LeSage, Argerich, and Moravec on Nonesuch are all fairly revelatory,
even when compared with earlier and higher-profile chestnuts.

SE.

[Al Eisner]

I thought the late Moiseiwitsch performance in the Liszt Legacy box
(which I first listened to only recently) was also extraordinary.
(I agree about LeSage, while Argerich on DG is waiting patiently on
my shelf....) It's been too long since I listened to the Fischer (EMI).
--
Al Eisner

[Steve Emerson]

In article
<alpine.LRH.2.00.1...@iris03.slac.stanford.edu>,

True; it's one of the chestnuts....

SE.

[hiker_rs]

On Friday, October 31, 2014 4:49:27 PM UTC-5, Oscar wrote:
> HMV Japan lists a November 20, 2014 release date http://tinyurl.com/lw675tm No word on remastering, but the set consists of 9 CD's. I've noticed that Hungaroton has an elegant new design scheme for its recent releases, and the Annie Fischer Beethoven Sonatas is no different. The old box went out of print at least 5 years ago and has commanded beaucoup dinero on the used market in the intervening years. Good to have Annie back and I for one will be snatching this one up as I missed it the first time around. List: ¥15,109 (US$134.52). Same old Hungaroton prices.
>
> Also, there is this other 2CD from Hungaroton: Annie Fischer - Encore * In Concert [HCD32750] http://tinyurl.com/phbsw72 with selections by Schubert, Chopin, and Schumann. These are 'souvenir', i.e. bootleg, recordings, mostly from the mid-to-late 1970's. No idea of sound quality, but Hungaroton thinks enough of them to see fit for issue. HMV shows same November 20 release date as the Beethoven integrale, but in the Occident it has already been issued -- I saw it in the store the other day. List: ¥3,445 (US$30.67).

Amazon US has multiple listings for the Beethoven set though the cover doesn't match your link to the HMV site. Here's the better-priced of the two listings (the other is abt. twice as high). As I write the set is selling for $92 (less than MDT):

http://www.amazon.com/Ludwig-Van-Complete-Piano-Sonatas/dp/B00005UOMP

[tomdeacon]

Frank Berger <frankd...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/14/2014 3:31 AM, Oscar wrote:
>> On Saturday, November 8, 2014 12:26:59 PM, hiker_rs wrote:
>>>
>>> The mp3 version of this CD is available from CD Universe for a mere
>>> $9.99...
>>
>> And it is worth it just for the Schumann Kinderszenen. The sound is
>> far from perfect, but put on your headphones and turn down the
>> lights: the interpretation is magical. Slow tempos, but her touch is
>> fantastic and fits this music perfectly. I haven't heard a
>> Kinderszenen like this before. So far this is the best thing I've
>> heard on the set. Still making my way through it. (The Schumann Grand
>> Sonata No.1 is excellent, too, judging by a cursory first listen.)
>>
>
>
>
> How does the Kinderszenen compare to other Fischer recordings of it?
> There's one on BBC Legends and one on the EMI Artist Profile set. Those
> figure to be in better sound, I would think.
>
> How in the world did Fischer not get included in the GPOC? Room for only
> one Fischer maybe?

Very easily.


--
TD

[tomdeacon]

Steve Emerson <eme...@n-n-nospamsonic.net> wrote:
> In article <HbGdncpPe9GZifvJ...@supernews.com>,
> Frank Berger <frankd...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 11/14/2014 3:31 AM, Oscar wrote:
>>> On Saturday, November 8, 2014 12:26:59 PM, hiker_rs wrote:
>>>>
>>>> The mp3 version of this CD is available from CD Universe for a mere
>>>> $9.99...
>>>
>>> And it is worth it just for the Schumann Kinderszenen. The sound is
>>> far from perfect, but put on your headphones and turn down the
>>> lights: the interpretation is magical. Slow tempos, but her touch is
>>> fantastic and fits this music perfectly. I haven't heard a
>>> Kinderszenen like this before. So far this is the best thing I've
>>> heard on the set. Still making my way through it. (The Schumann Grand
>>> Sonata No.1 is excellent, too, judging by a cursory first listen.)
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> How does the Kinderszenen compare to other Fischer recordings of it?
>> There's one on BBC Legends and one on the EMI Artist Profile set. Those
>> figure to be in better sound, I would think.
>>
>> How in the world did Fischer not get included in the GPOC? Room for
>> only one Fischer maybe?
>
> Good question, easy answer: TD doesn't like her.

It isn't simply a question of liking or disliking.

I heard her play twice. No fingers. (And in Brahms 2 that is simply a
painful experience.) At least not in live performance. She has not altered
my understanding of a single piece of music I can think of. Richter-Haaser
is another esteemed performer. Foldes also. And so on. But no benchmarks
anywhere I can see. And trust me, I have looked hard. And keep looking.

Schiff was incensed when he saw that she was not included in the GPE. I
have never discussed it with him, but I fear he knew her personally, which
is fatal, of course, or can be.

TD

[Steve Emerson]

In article
<140049968438041321.59134...@news.individual.net>,

Having neither known her nor seen her play, I come to the recordings
with a clean slate. I am not an across-the-board devoté, in fact she's a
bit hit-or-miss for me. But she did many things that I return to
continually. Those include Opus 111 and assorted other sonatas from her
Hungaroton Beethoven cycle; Schumann Kreisleriana on EMI and Fantasy in
C on BBC; and Bartok Peasant Songs (BBC) and PC 3 (the one with Fricsay).

She may not meet the standard of changing one's view of a piece, but she
does frequently play in a way that is satisfying, devoid of obnoxious
mannerisms, possessed of a fine tone, and emotionally persuasive. The
Hungarian Peasant Songs are in fact utterly different from any one
else's known to me.

Aside from the very very great, I don't think many musicians meet the
mind-changing standard. Kocsis and Pogorelich, neither of whom I think
of as among the very very great, are a few exceptions. But I'm not sure
I value them any more than I do Annie Fischer.

SE.

[tomdeacon]

> with a clean slate. I am not an across-the-board devoté, in fact she's a

> bit hit-or-miss for me. But she did many things that I return to
> continually. Those include Opus 111 and assorted other sonatas from her
> Hungaroton Beethoven cycle; Schumann Kreisleriana on EMI and Fantasy in
> C on BBC; and Bartok Peasant Songs (BBC) and PC 3 (the one with Fricsay).
>
> She may not meet the standard of changing one's view of a piece, but she
> does frequently play in a way that is satisfying, devoid of obnoxious
> mannerisms, possessed of a fine tone, and emotionally persuasive. The
> Hungarian Peasant Songs are in fact utterly different from any one
> else's known to me.
>
> Aside from the very very great, I don't think many musicians meet the
> mind-changing standard. Kocsis and Pogorelich, neither of whom I think
> of as among the very very great, are a few exceptions. But I'm not sure
> I value them any more than I do Annie Fischer.

If pushed on the subject - as I was at the German launch of the GPE by the
assembled European members of the press - i could provide chapter and verse
on each of tge choices in the GPE according to that standard. Not
everything on every set, but at least one great work.

Pogo would have been there, had he been a sane rather than a disturbed
musician in the middle of a mental breakdown, and with good reason. His
GdlN alone would qualify him. Fischer is fine as far as she goes, but she
doesn't go far enough in my opinion. And then there are those faulty
fingers I witnessed myself. Great musician, perhaps, but not a great
pianist.

Incidentally, for a blazingly new view of Op. 111 do try the new Freire
recording. Yikes! Talk about setting new standards.


--
TD

[Mark Zimmer]

I'm not familiar with much else of Fischer's output, but her Beethoven to me has a delicacy, elegance and gracefulness that I've heard from no one else. Never heard her live, so I'm just judging by the recordings, but as far as I'm concerned her Beethoven is an essential counterpoint to the usual suspects. Just listened to her op.2/2 this morning and it's such a delight.

Thanks for the tip on Freire's op.111; I'll have to check that out.

Mark

[tomdeacon]

Delicacy is really not what is called for in late Beethoven, in my opinion.
It may be pretty, but "pretty" Beethoven? Yikes!

> Thanks for the tip on Freire's op.111; I'll have to check that out.

Fasten your seatbelt, Mark. It's a bracing ride.


--
TD

[Willem Orange]

Well look who is channeling Bette Davis today - sad old poofter!!!!

[Steve Emerson]

In article
<298522589438353884.29064...@news.individual.net>,

tomdeacon <david...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> > I'm not familiar with much else of Fischer's output, but her Beethoven to
> > me has a delicacy, elegance and gracefulness that I've heard from no one
> > else. Never heard her live, so I'm just judging by the recordings, but
> > as far as I'm concerned her Beethoven is an essential counterpoint to the
> > usual suspects. Just listened to her op.2/2 this morning and it's such a
> > delight.
>
> Delicacy is really not what is called for in late Beethoven, in my opinion.

The guy never mentioned "late." in fact he said "Op. 2 No. 2."

SE.

[John Thomas]

Judging from the cover illustration this is the originally issued Hungaroton set, not the new re release. See the original link to the Japanese set above for the current cover. As far as I'm concerned the older set has good enough sound and is worth the price currently being offered; I paid significantly more for mine. But until we know more about the new set, particularly the price, I'd hold off until it becomes available in Europe or the US.

[tomdeacon]

The statement was "her Beethoven to me has a delicacy, elegance and
gracefulness that I've heard from no one else". That includes all of it, I
presume? If not he would have been more specific.

Later he talks about Op. 2 No. 2.



--
TD

[Steve Emerson]

In article
<1495861283438389644.6733...@news.individual.net>,

Perhaps. In any case, nobody who's heard Annie Fischer's late Beethoven
would accuse it of excessive delicacy.

SE.

[hiker_rs]

Itunes has a set (mp3 DL) with the new cover for $90. I'm waiting to see if it shows up at CD Universe at a special price. :)

[hvid...@gmail.com]

Thanks, you have pointed the way to a number of good mp3 deals.

[tomdeacon]

Why, then, the generalization. Her Beethoven 3 fits tgat description
perfectly. She was roundly criticized for it in High Fidelity at the time
of issue.


--
TD

[Johannes Roehl]

I am not so familiar with the Hungaroton, but some of the sonatas on the EMI "Introuvables" set must be among the most "masculine" interpretations committed to disc. When a few years ago I compared a bunch of recordings of op.31/3 hers was the most grim and rather humorless of them...

[tomdeacon]

It's Walter Legge's plummy piano sound. Typical EMI. The lady's technique
was in fact neither big nor loud nor weighty.
--
TD

[Mark Zimmer]

I gave Freire a listen; the first movement is pretty standard issue but you're right, the Arietta gets totally nuts. I kept waiting for him to careen off the cliff but he managed to hang on somehow by his fingernails.

MSZ