Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Complete Piano Sonatas
Wilhelm Backhaus (piano)
rec. 1950-54, Victoria Hall, Geneva. Mono
Track-listing below
8 CDs available singly
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 051-058 [8 CDs: 9:00:00]
Given that Backhaus re-recorded the Beethoven sonatas in stereo - with one
exception, the Hammerklavier - his earlier mono set might be thought
to be supplanted, at least sonically. That was the intention when the later
set was made, and the mono set has been very much the lesser known quantity.
If you have the sonata cycle by Backhaus it’s more likely than not that
you’ll have the stereo set, whereas with Wilhelm Kempff’s two
cycles it’s not quite so simple and it’s as likely that you’ll
have the outstanding and frequently available mono as the stereo. Now that
Pristine Audio has restored this mono set, as well as Backhaus’s Beethoven
concerto cycle, there is far greater choice in these matters than before.
One reason the mono set was so soon supplanted was perhaps the then ineradicable
nature of some of its purely technical and acoustic problems. The later set
was a very much more effective one from these standpoints. That, too, will
have had some bearing on the lack of subsequent LP and CD re-releases of this
set, though there was an Italian production some years ago, to which I’ve
not had access and which, in any case, is no longer available in conventional
disc form, and I don’t think it’s available as a download either.
What follows is a brief pointer as to some of the performances, their strengths
and limitations, and some of those technical problems.
Both Op.22 and Op.26, the Funeral March, are highly elevated examples
of Backhaus’s art. In both there are examples of rubati that may be
thought obtrusive, but this seems of little account when the playing is projected
so thoughtfully, and sensitively. Op.26 is a particularly good place to start
in the Backhaus pilgrimage. The Moonlight is no-nonsense, direct and
rather heavy in places, and not always rhythmically tight enough, whilst the
Pastoral adopts a rather smoothed out, but tersely rough approach which
will certainly appeal to some. The Op.49 duo are small scale but attractively
dispatched. The Waldstein is extremely fine; he always played this
resourcefully, energetically and successfully, even emphatically in places.
The Appassionata is a success in Backhaus’s own terms, which
are those of technical accomplishment and a certain intensity without, in
the slow movement, any prettifying. This last quality, Beethovenian beautification,
was not one in Backhaus’s arsenal, and nor would he have wished it to
have been; any more than Arrau was - his word - ‘lacy’ in Beethoven
or any other composer, come to that. In their different ways these two pianists
approached Beethoven with total integrity.
Les Adieux is rather dry-eyed, though this relatively formal, almost
objectified account is not without expressive - or modified expressive - interest.
He certainly emphasises some of the rough-hewn quality embedded in the music,
even if not all the structural solutions he finds seem wholly convincing.
Op.90 in E minor is taken with considerable romantic latitude in places, where
Backhaus’s rubato - always a contentious interpretative area - can seem
structurally dangerous.
The Hammerklavier, which served both cycles, is a monumentally authoritative,
direct and technically imposing reading drawing on all his long years of experience.
Some find it rather dour but it has a remarkable ability to concentrate attention
and listening to this April 1952 performance reminds one, yet again, of his
technical excellence. Live recordings given far later than this studio one,
a few of which I’ve reviewed here, bear out the point. He was exceptionally
well prepared in any circumstance.
Op.109 is direct, shorn of artifice but sometimes rather stolid. It lacks
the philosophical elevation of Wührer, and the intense concentration
of Solomon. Op.110 is decidedly more impressive, indeed one of the most sheerly
impressive and commanding performances in this set. His acute awareness of
structure is not, here, derailed by imposed rubati; his tone remains rounded
and full, and the performance is cumulatively very moving.
Andrew Rose has applied his interventionist technology to attempt to ameliorate
some of the more grievous problems inherent in this Decca series. Prominent
seems to have been terrible pitch problems. I can certainly hear something
of the acoustic deficiencies that bedevilled parts of the cycle, but I can
also see that these have been dealt with sensitively, even though sterner
listeners may suggest that the intervention level on the acoustic matter -
as opposed to pitching, where we should all be agreed - is perhaps excessive.
That’s a personal matter and I would suggest that it’s been successfully
done.
This review has only scratched the surface of the cycle. The most important
point to note is that it is now available, whereas before it was hard to source.
One can endlessly compare and contrast this earlier set with the later one,
as well as contrasting Backhaus with such widely divergent stylists as Schnabel,
Arrau and Kempff - just for a start - which should keep one, if so inclined,
busy for a considerable amount of time.
Jonathan Woolf
Sensitively and successfully transferred these readings are direct and shorn
of artifice.
see also review of Decca release of the later (1952-69) Backhaus complete set of sonatas by Ian Bailey
Masterwork Index: Beethoven
piano sonatas
Track-listing
CD 1 [79:27]
Piano Sonata in F minor, Op.2 No. 1 (1795) [14:41]
Piano Sonata in A major, Op.2 No. 2 (1795) [19:27]
Piano Sonata in C major, Op.2 No. 3 (1795) [22:02]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 7 (1796-7) [23:20]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 051[79:27]
CD 2 [70:08]
Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 10 No. 1 (1796-8) [14:01]
Piano Sonata in F major, Op, 10 No. 2 (1796-8) [10:15]
Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 10 No. 3 (1796-98) [19:07]
Piano Sonata in C minor Op. 13, Grande Sonate Pathétique (1798-99)
[15:55]
Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 14 No. 1 (1798-99) [10:51]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 052 [70:08]
CD 3 [66:40]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 14 No. 2 (1798-99) [12:57]
Piano Sonata in B flat major, Op. 22 (1799-1800) [21:13]
Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op. 26 (1800-01) [18:38]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 27 No.1 Sonata quasi una Fantasia
(1800-01) [13:52]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 053 [66:40]
CD 4 [75:27]
Piano Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Sonata quasi una Fantasia,
Moonlight (1801) [15:10]
Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 28, Pastorale (1801) [19:26]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 31 No. 1 (1801-02) [19:23]
Piano Sonata in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 The Tempest (1801-02) [21:23]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 054 [75:27]
CD 5 [64:29]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 31 No. 3 (1801-02) [18:46]
Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 49 No. 1 (1795-98) [6:54]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 49 No. 2 (1795-96) [7:28]
Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 53 Waldstein (1803-04) [21:29]
Piano Sonata in F major, Op. 54 (1804) [9:43]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 055 [64:29]
CD 6 [55:41]
Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 57, Appassionata (1804-05) [20:17]
Piano Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 78 (1809) [9:50]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 79 (1809) [9:27]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 81a, Das Lebwohl (Les Adieux)
(1809-10) [16:06]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 056 [55:41]
CD 7 [71:01]
Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 90 (1814) [12:08]
Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 101 (1816) [17:27]
Piano Sonata in B flat major, Op. 106. Für das Hammerklavier (1817-18)
[41:23]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 057 [71:01]
CD 8 [56:26]
Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 109 (1820) [17:33]
Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110 (1821) [17:15]
Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 111 (1821-22) [21:39]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 058 [56:26]