This is the first solo recording by Thomas Sauer that I have
come across: he has previously played second fiddle (not quite
literally) to violinists and cellists, though I see that he
has also recorded for MSR five Haydn Piano Sonatas (MS1084).
The three Op.31 Sonatas have been pretty extensively performed
and recorded, so Sauer is up against formidable competition
here, from Schnabel to the present day and in all price ranges.
There are 58 recordings of No.17, The Tempest in the
Naxos Music Library alone. If I were to point to just one set
which has received nigh-universal praise, it would be that of
Paul Lewis, whose versions of these three sonatas constitute
Volume 1 of his cycle for Harmonia Mundi (HMC90 1902: Recording
of the Month - see review).
Because of its nickname, No.17 is the best known of these sonatas,
but all three are well deserving of attention, even No.18 which,
with its partial use of the Alberti bass and its nickname ‘The
Hunt’, at first hearing might appear to be a return to
the style of Mozart, but offers much more than that. A rank
amateur like myself might play it like Mozart, but none of the
versions which I’m considering here, including Thomas
Sauer’s, falls into that trap.
The music dates from the period of Beethoven’s greatest
mental instability, as recorded in the Heiligenstadt Testament
and performers have to negotiate between Scylla and Charybdis,
to reflect the turmoil without allowing it to dominate their
accounts, since Beethoven tempers his deepest emotions with
music of great tenderness.
Thomas Sauer certainly achieves that and he offers a well-played
set of performances which would surely have earned justified
applause in concert. If I want that sort of Beethoven, however,
I can always turn to Jenö Jandó on Naxos - always
reliable, sometimes just a little special, and on offer at super-budget
price. (Nos. 12, 16 and 18 on 8.550166; 17, 21 and 26 on 8.550054)
Turn to Alfred Brendel’s 1992 recording of the same coupling
(Philips 438 1342 - no longer available separately on CD: download
in mp3 from passionato.com)
and you find a pianist who is prepared to be a little controversial,
chopping up the legato lines of the opening movement of No.16,
for example, but never quirky. I don’t wish to suggest
that Sauer’s performances are bland or that Brendel will
reach out and bite you - the differences are much more subtle
than that - but Brendel’s Beethoven has attitude. He gives
the first two movements of No.16 a little more space than Sauer
- quite noticeably so in the Adagio grazioso second movement
- and takes the final Rondo a shade faster, though he’s
not afraid to experiment with rubato in this movement and elsewhere
in these sonatas.
In No.17, ‘The Tempest’, Brendel is just a shade
slower in every movement: again, I think, to the benefit of
the music, especially in the Adagio - just 20 seconds
longer, but that little makes all the difference. In the Allegretto
finale Brendel and Sauer adopt similar tempi, with Brendel just
a shade slower. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I’d
say that Sauer offers a very acceptable performance, beautifully
played and phrased, but Brendel offers an interpretation, though
not an intrusive one. Sauer in this movement seems to be in
für Elise mode for much of the time, whereas Brendel’s
slightly slower and slightly more flexible tempo gives him room
to dig a little deeper.
Another pianist whose Beethoven I admire - cut my musical teeth
on, in fact, from his early 1930s Beethoven Society 78rpm albums
- Artur Schnabel, plays the finale of No.17 in 5:40 - a whole
minute slower than Sauer or Brendel. (Naxos Historical 8.110760,
Sonatas 17, 18 and 21). There’s a downside - some of the
phrasing is less than ideal, galumphing even - but the effect
is exhilarating and the Naxos transfer makes the recording sound
years younger than those old 78 albums.
In No.18 Brendel and Sauer adopt much the same tempo for the
first three movements but Brendel takes the Presto con fuoco
finale a little more slowly without losing the energy of the
music. For the real fuoco, however, Schnabel is your
man - his time of 4:00 for this movement may have been dictated
by the restrictions of 78 rpm sides and it’s a bit of
a scramble at times, but he brings it off. Sauer takes just
a little longer at 4:34: there’s liveliness and exuberance
in his performance and his phrasing is much cleaner than Schnabel’s,
but I miss the fire. Everything is in place, yet the last degree
of interpretation seems to be missing. Though Brendel takes
5:17, he sounds almost as fiery as Schnabel without scrambling
the phrasing.
There’s one other contender to consider for two of these
sonatas: John O’Conor in Nos. 15 (‘Pastoral’),
16 and 18 (Telarc CD-80185), a mid-price reissue which I liked
- see review
- more than Christopher Headington had in reviewing the complete
set - see review.
To obtain O’Conor’s complete Op.31, you need to
add CD-80160, containing the Waldstein, Tempest
and Les Adieux. I prefer Brendel, but O’Conor certainly
gives Beethoven just a little more personality than Sauer. Only
in the finale of No.18 do I now think, having listened again
to Schnabel, that there’s not quite enough fuoco
in O’Conor’s playing.
The MSR recording is good - a shade softer and less percussive
than the passionato.com mp3 version of the Brendel, though the
latter is much more than acceptable and comes at just £7.99.
It’s on promotion as I write as part of a 3 Universal
CDs for £18 offer.
This new recording will certainly have its appeal. I’m
aware that I’m being unfair in judging Sauer by the very
highest standards, without which I’m sure that I would
have enjoyed his recording much more on its own terms, but Brendel
offers more rounded playing of the same repertoire. If you don’t
like the idea of downloading his recording of Op.31, you could
do much worse than invest in his complete set, a MusicWeb International
Bargain of the Month (478 1821, 10 CDs for around £30
- see review).
Those who like to live dangerously should go for Schnabel, wonderfully
refurbished on Naxos Historical, while those seeking a super-budget
recording will be well served by Jenö Jandó, also
on Naxos. Louis Lortie’s coupling of these sonatas was
well liked in some quarters, but was judged superfluous by Colin
Clarke (Chandos CHAN9842 - see review).
Brian Wilson
And another view from Geoffrey Molyneux
...
Thomas Sauer’s performance of the three
Op. 31 piano sonatas begins promisingly enough with a spirited
account of the G major Sonata. He displays formidable finger-work
and great clarity of texture with occasional subtle rubato,
always appropriate to music of this period. Sauer observes Beethoven’s
dynamic and expressive markings with meticulous detail. But
as Sauer points out in his programme notes, the first movement
is characterised by humorous syncopation and these are not always
clearly delineated in his performance. The second movement is
rather dry without use of the pedal, and this gives great clarity
to the left hand staccato quavers at the start. But I feel that
these are just too loud and intrusive, more so further on in
the movement when these quavers become semiquavers when the
grazioso requested by Beethoven is all but destroyed.
However Sauer produces some wonderful leggiero demisemiquavers,
much to be admired. The Rondo third movement is a touch slow
and lumbering, with too much weight on each of the two main
beats in the bar. More overall sweep to the phrasing is needed
here. Listen to Bernard Roberts (Complete Piano Sonatas, Nimbus
NI1774 - order direct from MusicWeb-international
for £28.00 post free) for more drama, drive, tonal variety
and characterful playing.
In Op. 31 No.2 ‘Tempest’, Sauer sets convincing
tempi in the first movement but in the allegro the intensity
is sometimes lost. For real drama in this movement listen to
Daniel Barenboim (Complete Piano Sonatas, EMI Classics 5729122),
John Lill (Complete Piano Sonatas, Resonance CDRSB101) or Bernard
Roberts. The second movement is beautifully played by Sauer
with well-judged crescendi and diminuendi, but
somehow the expression seems to be imposed from without, as
if the music must be played this way because Beethoven marked
it so. Cristina Ortiz (Sonatas 8, 14 and 17, Membran SACD 222804)
is more flowing here than Sauer, more befitting an Adagio
of this period. The finale is marked Allegretto, which
is not very helpful to a performer! Indeed players in this movement
adopt a wide variety of speeds. Sauer gives a slightly faster
than average tempo here, but not as quick as Cristina Ortiz
who gives a very convincing performance, more of an allegro
really. But on the whole I prefer the more measured tread generally
adopted by most pianists. Barenboim is wonderful in this movement
and his considerable rubato is always convincing.
Op. 31 No.3 is the only one of the set with four movements.
In the first, Sauer gives a refined, sensitive though lightweight
performance. Although this music is essentially lyrical, do
not Beethoven’s sudden accents and forte passages require
more bite and drama? I feel that more excitement is needed in
the second movement also. The Menuetto third movement
feels a little hurried rather than the leisurely gracefulness
requested by Beethoven. A little more spaciousness would make
a better foil to the movements surrounding it. Movement 4 is
certainly played Presto, but what happened to the con
fuoco marked by Beethoven? Listen to Brendel, Roberts or
Barenboim and you will hear the difference.
The recording is very good but a little too resonant for my
liking. For example, in the first movement of Op. 31 No.3 Beethoven’s
rests are extremely important, and I would rather hear them
than the unwanted added reverberation which on occasion clouds
the rests.
Thomas Sauer gives excellent, first class performances of these
sonatas with great attention to detail as in the score, together
with much beautiful playing. However the performances seem altogether
too tame. We need more excitement and drama, forward thrust
and real accents where marked to fulfil the potential of Beethoven’s
masterly works. The performers already mentioned give more characterful
accounts of these works so I would not purchase this recording
when there are already really great performances available.
My own choice would be Daniel Barenboim’s recordings (EMI
Classics 3689939) on DVD from 1995 recorded during live performances
of the complete sonata cycle.
Geoffrey Molyneux
Thomas Sauer (piano) 
