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Beethoven's music, more than any other composer's, is directly connected to the events of his life, be they in the domain of love, tragedy, politics, social or spiritual life. Each sonata, each dedication relate to his internal state and to an event of his life. There are musical motifs, forms and connections between the sonatas which can't be well comprehensible without a deep analysis of Beethoven's life. To study and embrace the 30 sonatas which encompass Beethoven's whole life help an interpreter to bring out the signification and the meaning of each sonata.
HJ Lim views these 30 sonatas by Beethoven as the most intense diary, in which genius expresses, or even illustrates, all the facets of a life that is sometimes sublimated, and idealized, and often deeply moving by its realism. To perform Beethoven's sonatas is not just to interpret music, but is also an attempt to understand the multi-faceted psychology of a human being. It is, in any case, an attempt to bring to light one's own truth. If Beethoven's music can help us understand the human being that he was, so can entering Beethoven's life help us understand his music.
Product Description
EMI 4649522; EMI ITALIANA - Italia; Classica da camera Piano
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.
2 of 2 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.
7 of 9 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.... Read more ›
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.... Read more ›
10 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By A. Zimmerman
Format:Audio CD
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. Technical ability is just the start of a good performance, but with Lim there is little else there. I attended Lim's recent performance at the Wigmore Hall, at which she absolutely slaughtered the Hammerklavier sonata - it was one of the most depressing musical experiences of my life. The sad thing is that Lim is obviously being heavily promoted by EMI, no doubt because she is young and photogenic. It even turned out that the Wigmore Hall had not commissioned her to play, but that the Hall had been hired, probably by EMI. If only they had to taste to get behind some of the marvellous young musicians that are out there, who struggle to get an audience because they are judged as lacking glamour.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
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.
I wouldn't want to be without the Paul Lewis set, but this is in an altogether different category. I have never heard Beethoven played like this, it's so fresh, never a moment that doesn't seem completely, almost electrically charged. Hands down the most interesting Beethoven that I've ever heard. At many moments I felt that I was listening to the composer himself. The piano sound is bright but recorded superbly.
It is pointless identifying individual sonatas in this set because they're all so brilliant and different to anything that I've heard before, I think that they demand further listening by anyone who is remotely interested in Beethoven! (No pressure though!)
A 5+ star rating seems the only way to respond to this incredibly woman. I can't imagine anyone regretting buying this.
I wouldn't want to be without the Paul Lewis set, but this is in an altogether different category. I have never heard Beethoven played like this, it's so fresh, never a moment that doesn't seem completely, almost electrically charged. Hands down the most interesting Beethoven that I've ever heard. At many moments I felt that I was listening to the composer himself. The piano sound is bright but recorded superbly.
It is pointless identifying individual sonatas in this set because they're all so brilliant and different to anything that I've heard before, I think that they demand further listening by anyone who is remotely interested in Beethoven! (No pressure though!)
A 5+ star rating seems the only way to respond to this incredibly woman. I can't imagine anyone regretting buying this.
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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 4 months ago by S. J. Hughes
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 10 months ago by Francisco J. Muñoz
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