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Edwin Fischer Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano Sonatas:- No.8 in C minor Op.13 Pathétique No.15 in D major Op.28 No.21 in C major Op.53 Waldstein Edwin Fischer (piano) Recorded live 1952-54 ARCHIPEL ARPCD 0216 [64.45]

The most important thing to note about these recordings is that they’re not commercial recordings but the live post-War traversals that have been released before. The Pathétique was out on Orfeo – there’s also a set of 78s from 1938 and a post-War October 1952 EMI LP. The live Pastorale and Waldstein were once released on a Cetra LP back in the 1970s. They were all, I should advise you, released on a double CD set not so long ago by Music and Arts [CD880]. Nowhere however in Archipel’s non-existent documentation do we learn the source material (they do at least spell out the dates of the performances and that they were live). These recordings were actually made in 1952 and 1954 by Bavarian Radio where, presumably, the original tapes still reside. To judge by the heavily over-processed and murky sound this company hasn’t had access to them. The playing itself is imbued with all Fischer’s fallible humanity. The Pathétique is serious, occasionally enlivened by some staccato phrasing and heavily masculine. He’s characteristically quite slow in the Adagio cantabile and maybe the left hand is inclined toward a non-rubato metricality here and there but the finale is strongly projected. The Pastorale isn’t consistently successful because there are some technical problems in the long opening Allegro but there’s commensurate wit in the Andante and a strong finale. Despite a few negligible slips in the opening of the Waldstein we can hear Fischer’s exceptional control at its fullest, though the high point is surely the intense slow movement. No one would claim that the Prestissimo conclusion to the work is a model of clarity but this is a tangible sense of rightness in his drive. Some people will find this indulgence of a worn technique over-generous but Fischer’s all embracingness, to me, is far more important. In view of the skimpy presentation and the veiled sound I think you should give this a miss. Jonathan Woolf Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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