When speaking of complete recorded cycles of Beethoven's 32 Sonatas, the names of certain pianists are inevitably mentioned: Schnabel, Brendel, Kempff, and more recently, Goode and Schiff. But there are many individual recordings of greatness - some part of a complete cycle, and some by pianists who never recorded the entire ouevre.
Below is a list I've put together containing recordings I believe deserve a spot in every Beethoven lover's collection. I’ve limited this to two recordings per work, although there are many others that I would also recommend. All the Kempff recordings are from his stereo cycle (I’ve only sampled the mono, but know the stereo well).
Listed by Opus:
Op. 2:
No. 1: Schnabel – EMI; Perahia - Sony
No. 2: Horszowski - Nonesuch; Perahia - Sony
No. 3: Ohlsson - Bridge; Kempff - DG
Op. 7: Perahia – Columbia (afaik, this has not been issued on CD); Kempff - DG
Op. 10:
No. 1: Schnabel – EMI; Kempff - DG
No. 2: Horszowski – Nonesuch; Kempff - DG
No. 3: Horowitz – RCA; Jacobs - Arbiter
Op. 13 (Pathetique): Horowitz – Columbia; Kempff - DG
Op. 14:
No. 1: Kempff – DG; Ohlsson - Bridge
No. 2: Kempff – DG; Ohlsson - Bridge
Op. 22: Perahia – Columbia (afaik, this has not been issued on CD); Kempff - DG
Op. 26: Richter – RCA; Ohlsson - Bridge
Op. 27:
No. 1: Rosen – Nonesuch (afaik, this has not been issued on CD); Kempff - DG
No. 2: Horowitz - RCA (1956); Kempff - DG
Op. 28 (Pastoral): Ohlsson - Bridge; Kempff - DG
Op. 31:
No. 1: Gould – Columbia; Kempff - DG
No. 2: Gould – Columbia; Kempff - DG
No. 3: Rubinstein – RCA (1976); Kempff - DG
Op. 49:
No. 1: Kempff – DG; Schnabel - EMI
No. 2: Kempff – DG; Schnabel - EMI
Op. 53 (Waldstein): Ohlsson - Bridge; Jacobs - Arbiter
Op. 54: Richter, RCA; Kempff - DG
Op. 57 (Appassionata): Serkin - Columbia; Rosenberger - Delos
Op. 78: Kempff – DG; Ohlsson - Bridge
Op. 79: Kempff – DG; Ohlsson - Bridge
Op. 81a: Rubinstein - RCA (1940) – Perahia - Columbia
Op. 90: Kempff – DG; Ohlsson, Bridge
Op. 101: Serkin – Columbia; Horowitz - Columbia
Op. 106 (Hammerklavier): Serkin – Columbia; Pollini - DG
Op. 109: Podis – Telarc (afaik, this has not been issued on CD); Horszowski - Arbiter
Op. 110: Kempff – DG; Pollini - DG
Op. 111: Kempff – DG; Rosenberger - Delos
1 comment:
Hi, Hank ! Your non-cyclical Beethoven list is very interesting and brings forth some unjustly negleted gems of this repertoire. It also shows that you consider Garrick Ohlsson to be a consummate Beethovenian, which is fitting since Ohlsson is, in my opinion anyway, less praised generally than he should be, never having quite achieved the star status he deserves. And how about Emil Gilels ? He died before completing his Beethoven cycle, so perhaps he could be eligible to merit an appearance on you list.
Best regards,
Carlos
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