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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Early 1930's Recordings of Timeless Interpretations, 24 May 2008
Great Pianists: Artur Schnabel [1882 - 1951] plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 and Cello Sonata No. 2. Naxos Historical 8.110640.
Details: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor", was recorded on 24th March 1932 at EMI's Abbey Road Studio No.1 in London. The orchestra was, as with Piano Concerto No. 1, the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Sargent. - Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5 No. 2, was recorded on 6th and 16th December 1934 at EMI's Abbey Road Studio No. 3 in London. The cellist was Gregor Piatigorsky [1903 - 1976].
The audio restoration engineer for this release was Mark Obert-Thorn. The CD was issued to commemorate the centenary of Artur Schnabel's birth. The total playing time is 60'07".
Artur Schnabel was one of the 20th century's greatest Beethoven interpreters, and, fortunately for those of us who were born too late to hear him live, HMV persuaded him to record the body of Beethoven's piano music, now restored and released on no less than 14 CDs by Naxos. Although the 1932 sound of Piano Concerto No. 5 is perhaps not quite so good as that of the later recordings with the London Philharmonic, this edition, carefully restored by Mark Obert-Thorn, is well able to give an impression of Schnabel's art and also of that of Malcolm Sargent: there is here not only some absolutely delightful piano playing but also a clarity in the dialoguing between soloist and orchestra, the likes of which I have seldom heard. Despite the mono sound with its inevitable "hiss", there are details to be heard here which made me forget, at least for a while, the fact that this recording is, in the mean time, 75 years old. Two examples: the pizzicato strings just over two-thirds of the way through the massive first movement; and the last minute or so of the slow movement building up to the beginning of the third - these are occasions that can have you sitting on the edge of your seat in front of your loudspeakers! (Schnabel didn't want to record at first because he was afraid of "casual" listeners at home, but with these interpretations I don't think he needed to worry!)
Schnabel apparently recorded Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto another two times later in his career, but probably, this Naxos reissue of his first attempt is enough to convince anybody of Schnabel's greatness. Naxos Historical have reissues of the same concerto in their programme played by Walter Gieseking, Benno Moiseiwitsch and Vladimir Horowitz, all fantastic recordings, but in my opinion Schnabel remains the greatest of all.
The Cello Sonata No. 2 is a comparatively rare recording made by Schnabel and Gregor Piatigorsky, with whom he worked for a while in a trio. Schnabel later recorded all the Beethoven Cello Sonatas in partnership with Pierre Fournier, but this 1934 recording is worth listening to, not just for the combination of Piatigorsky and Schnabel, but also for its intrinsic musical value. Although the first (slow) movement is done very feelingly, for me it was the two faster movements, and of those the final Rondo (Allegro), which I found totally charming. HMV managed here, too, to record both instruments as equals, and although the emphasis musically is on the cello, Schnabel has some lovely parts such as the beginning of the last movement where his musicality makes a big difference. - If you had told me a few years ago that I would enjoy listening to such old recordings, I would probably have thought you were a nostalgia addict; but after actually taking the time to listen to these recordings again and again, I can only say how grateful I am to Naxos for making them available at the kind of price which tempted me to try them out.
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~ Artur Schnabel
~ Ludwig Van Beethoven
~ Ludwig van Beethoven
~ Ludwig van Beethoven
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