- Original Release Date: 21 May 2012
- Release Date: 21 May 2012
- Number of Discs: 8
- Label: EMI Classics
- Copyright: (C) 2012 EMI Records Ltd.
- Total Length: 8:55:09
- Genres:
- ASIN: B007ZRAMIQ
- Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 68,114 in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 in MP3 Albums)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
HJ Lim has her own ideas. Some of them coincide with Beethoven's, but others simply do not. Why are we treated to a presto section in the middle of the last movement of the Pastoral? There is, indeed, a presto section at the end, but there is no indication that Beethoven wanted the central episode played presto also. And so on. Tempo changes where none are marked and, more important, none are needed, create havoc with Beethoven's logic.
On the positive side, there is something shocking about the playing that must surely have been similar to the effect Beethoven created on his hearers, all those years ago. There is a willfulness and an undoubted technical skill. But in comparison with, say, Buchbinder, whose cycle was released at the same time, the effect is telling. In Buchbinder you hear the endless possibilities of the music itself. Buchbinder's ideas are Beethoven's.
Finally, the recorded sound is a train wreck. I have seldom heart a more wearing recording. At any dynamic above mezzo forte, the treble clangs and whines and the bass jangles. And the overall sound is glaring and harsh. How can Yamaha have used this recording to launch their new model concert grand? They must be embarrassed and ashamed.
A curiosity which I sampled for almost no money on iTunes, but certainly not a bargain. If you're looking for a Beethoven bargain, try the wonderful playing of Luisa-guembes Buchanan, whose 6-disc set of all of late Beethoven's piano works is only 9 euro.
On the positive side, there is something shocking about the playing that must surely have been similar to the effect Beethoven created on his hearers, all those years ago. There is a willfulness and an undoubted technical skill. But in comparison with, say, Buchbinder, whose cycle was released at the same time, the effect is telling. In Buchbinder you hear the endless possibilities of the music itself. Buchbinder's ideas are Beethoven's.
Finally, the recorded sound is a train wreck. I have seldom heart a more wearing recording. At any dynamic above mezzo forte, the treble clangs and whines and the bass jangles. And the overall sound is glaring and harsh. How can Yamaha have used this recording to launch their new model concert grand? They must be embarrassed and ashamed.
A curiosity which I sampled for almost no money on iTunes, but certainly not a bargain. If you're looking for a Beethoven bargain, try the wonderful playing of Luisa-guembes Buchanan, whose 6-disc set of all of late Beethoven's piano works is only 9 euro.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Adam Jensen
Format:Audio CD
As a South Korean concert pianist, I decided to give this album a listen as I found it startling that a 20something pianist would debut with a complete recording of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas. The performances are bizarre and that is all that I can say about them. The interpretations are erratic, tasteless and contain hideous rubato that would even put Lang Lang's to shame. Most of the sonatas are rushed through at extreme speeds. The entire recording sounds like a composition program playing back the music at a fast forwarded speed.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I do not intend to waste any more of your time on this veritable catastrophe than is absolutely necessary, but the Beethoven's Piano Sonatas are so close to my heart that I cannot allow such blatant disrespect for such beautiful music to go unchallenged.
First of all, when a pianist - any pianist! - implies in the liner notes of their "complete" Beethoven Sonatas that the two Op. 49 sonatas were omitted because "they don't count," I cannot but regard such incredible presumption as criminally unjust to those unfamiliar with this music. If you have not already heard Beethoven's Op. 49 sonatas, let me assure you that they are, in their Haydenesque charm and grace, simply marvellous beyond measure!
In the light of the above logic - propounded by that great Beethoven scholar, HJ Lim, all of 20-something years young! - why not commission a "complete" set of Beethoven's Symphonies... minus that understated and unnecessarily lyrical 6th Symphony... you know, to keep that "fresh, new vision" rolling?
EMI really needs to hang its head in shame for allowing such an atrocity!
And secondly - after suffering through 8 excerpts of these painfully crude and comic interpretations; I could not bear to hear more! - I can do no better to state my case against these heinous performances than to quote no less a Beethoven scholar than Alfred Brendel on the subject of the performer as classical music interpreter:
"If I belong to a tradition it is a tradition that makes the masterpiece tell the performer what he should do and not the performer telling the piece what it should be like, or the composer what he ought to have composed."
And finally:
"Every piece has a structure, but it also has its own character. Each piece has its own personality, with different qualities, capabilities and frailties, but there's a borderline that closes the character; outside that borderline, the character doesn't exist. The same applies to a piece of music. Within the borderlines there's a certain amount of freedom for the player, but if you don't recognize the borderlines, and overstep and ignore them, you misrepresent and falsify the piece."
No, there is no "right" way to play Beethoven, but there are such things as responsibility, respect and taste! Only purchase complete recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas - unedited by presumptuous, self aggrandizing "artists" who have no authority to deny anyone the right to hear all of these masterpieces - and you cannot go far wrong. Profound respect for this music can be found in masterful performances by Brendel, Kempff and Gilels, but more adventurous listeners may want to consider Pollini, Barenboim or the marvellous ongoing cycle by Bavouzet as possible alternatives.
First of all, when a pianist - any pianist! - implies in the liner notes of their "complete" Beethoven Sonatas that the two Op. 49 sonatas were omitted because "they don't count," I cannot but regard such incredible presumption as criminally unjust to those unfamiliar with this music. If you have not already heard Beethoven's Op. 49 sonatas, let me assure you that they are, in their Haydenesque charm and grace, simply marvellous beyond measure!
In the light of the above logic - propounded by that great Beethoven scholar, HJ Lim, all of 20-something years young! - why not commission a "complete" set of Beethoven's Symphonies... minus that understated and unnecessarily lyrical 6th Symphony... you know, to keep that "fresh, new vision" rolling?
EMI really needs to hang its head in shame for allowing such an atrocity!
And secondly - after suffering through 8 excerpts of these painfully crude and comic interpretations; I could not bear to hear more! - I can do no better to state my case against these heinous performances than to quote no less a Beethoven scholar than Alfred Brendel on the subject of the performer as classical music interpreter:
"If I belong to a tradition it is a tradition that makes the masterpiece tell the performer what he should do and not the performer telling the piece what it should be like, or the composer what he ought to have composed."
And finally:
"Every piece has a structure, but it also has its own character. Each piece has its own personality, with different qualities, capabilities and frailties, but there's a borderline that closes the character; outside that borderline, the character doesn't exist. The same applies to a piece of music. Within the borderlines there's a certain amount of freedom for the player, but if you don't recognize the borderlines, and overstep and ignore them, you misrepresent and falsify the piece."
No, there is no "right" way to play Beethoven, but there are such things as responsibility, respect and taste! Only purchase complete recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas - unedited by presumptuous, self aggrandizing "artists" who have no authority to deny anyone the right to hear all of these masterpieces - and you cannot go far wrong. Profound respect for this music can be found in masterful performances by Brendel, Kempff and Gilels, but more adventurous listeners may want to consider Pollini, Barenboim or the marvellous ongoing cycle by Bavouzet as possible alternatives.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb
I am not a musician but I think this is amazing.If you like classical piano, and like Beethoven then this is a must for your collection. Read more
Published 3 months ago by S. J. Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Stunning
I recently purchased this CD, a few years or so after discovering what I thought was my ideal complete Beethoven sonata cycle, that by Paul Lewis. Read more
Published 3 months ago by a nice guy who likes reading
5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome HJ LIM!!!!
In response to a. Zimmerman:
I am in total disagreement with you. I think that the interpretations of HJ Lim, are actually stimulant with a new vision of the music of... Read more
I am in total disagreement with you. I think that the interpretations of HJ Lim, are actually stimulant with a new vision of the music of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Francisco J. Muņoz
1.0 out of 5 stars
Abysmal
This is the worst interpretation of the sonatas I have ever had the misfortune to hear. All surface glitter and fizz, there is next to no musicality or real empathy with the music. Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Zimmerman
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