RCA VICS-9000 BEETHOVEN Complete PIANO SONATAS CLAUDE FRANK STEREO 12 LPs

$

99

BEETHOVEN: Complete Piano Sonatas
RARE! Almost NEVER SEEN on eBay!

Includes original booklet
CLAUDE FRANK, piano
READ THE REVIEWS BELOW!

An incredible musical achievement, and HUGE LP set to add to your collection!

My ebay price: $99.00 for this amazing LP Set of twelve LPs!
CONDITION:  BOX VG (general wear/corners intact - see photos)   Album booklet EX   Vinyl NM-/NM (mostly appear unplayed!) 

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COMMENTARY:

Beethoven's Piano Sonatas are one category in classical music brimming with an abundance of quality choices - both historic and modern - and begs the obvious question, "Which set to chose?" One can spend hours and hours comparing performers and recordings work-by-work and still not really have a solid feel for which one is "the best" - at least for you. And in doing so, the focus can become overly weighted on the finding the elusive ideal recording that one can miss the importance of just sitting down with one of the many great recordings available and revelling in the depths of Beethoven's piano music.

So, if you are looking for your FIRST complete set of the 32 masterpieces, consider the complete cycles from Bernard Roberts (Nimbus CD) or Claude Frank here. Both performers give compelling, musically rich and interpretatively balanced readings. As so, such readings form a solid reference point to understand and appreciate the other historic performer's interpretive artistry (as most connoisseurs have several sets eventually). Claude Frank orginally recorded this cycle in the 60's to great fanfare. Of course, if you are a fan of the great pianists who have recorded these works (Arrau, Brendel, Backhaus, Kovecevich, Annie Fischer, Schnabel, Goode, Gilels, Perl, Kempff, O'Conor etc) by all means get those if you like them and can afford them (although not all are complete cycles). At some point of one's Beethoven journey, it becomes enlightening to listen to such historic greats, but early on it is probably more important just to hear Beethoven-for-Beethoven and focus less on the performer.

But don't let the lack of popularity make you think they are sub-standard performances either. Roberts is well known and much admired in his native England while German-born Claude Frank's Beethoven's recordings were, according to music writer and pianist David Dubal, "highly prized." Both get good reviews (both on Amazon and music press) and both represent Beethoven faithfully and with much artistry. ClassicsToday gave this set an most-impressive 10/10 for Artisty/Performance and a 8/10 for Sound Quality.

The sound quality is good for its 60's heritage (bright, clear with little background hiss). The overall ambiance has more "up-front" presence/miking than a spacious, resonant environment (such as Robert's set on Nimbus). To me Frank's piano sound is more fitting for Mozart's more delicate piano sonatas - sharp, crisp attack with a quick decay - but lacks the "weight" and power of tone for conveying the gravity of Beethoven's weightier masterpieces. But, on the good side, such sound allows one to really hear and ponder Frank's crystalline articulations (no over-pedaling or overly resonant spaces here). Also, the sound is better than some of the pre-1970's historic cycles.

As for Claude Frank's playing here: it is crisp, lyrically rich and of a high caliber. Overall, his style can be described as more "poetic" and "civilized," lacking diverting idiosyncracies. He especially shines in the early works with a touch that is fresh and vibrant - especially in the "Mozart-like" Sonatas No. 19 and 20. His sharp, articulated style clarifies the virtusotic knots found in the more hyper-kinetic sonatas like the "Waldstein." In the monumental compositions like the "Appassionata," or "Hammerklavier," Frank's expressivity is bold and dynamic yet retains clarity and control without going over the edge. In none of these does he doddle or overly ponder but keeps an energizing, brisk pace. His readings of the "name sonatas" are straight-up, clear and satisfying. In the famous dazzling presto of #14 "Moonlight," Frank displays some pristine pianism with effortlessly runnning demisemiquavers - reminding me a bit of the liquid precision and clarity of Maurizio Pollini.

So, overall, Mr. Frank finds a nice balance between the Beethoven who pounded away at the sub-standard keyboards of his day and the other, surprizingly gentle Beethoven who played equisite adagios with great tenderness and poinancy. All considered, Frank finds a nice middle-ground here in this repertoire with a most respectable, very satisfying complete cycle.  Rating: Compositions - 5 stars; Performance - 4.5 stars; Sound quality - 4 stars; Value - 5 stars.

From American Record Guide: "Frank's approach to this literature echoes certain characteristics of his teacher, Artur Schnabel - spontaneity, vigor, irascibility - though I much prefer Frank's pianism, with its urbanity and higher polish. Generally his style is straightforward and common-sense, yet full of drama, has a wide dynamic range, is technically faultless, and tonally refreshing. Frank has an endearing ability to communicate the essence of a phrase or segment, or th make the structure of an entire movement lucid to the listener in a revealing, often unexpected way. These things make his Beethoven Sonatas a joy to hear; they are performances that will not pall and will tend to expose something new on each rehearing."

Also on this same label is another wonderful Beethoven cycle by Claude Franks along with his daughter, Pamela Frank - The Violin Sonatas.

COMMENTARY:

Frank is thoroughly in the Schnabel tradition: deep respect for the music, but not fear of it; obvious delight in exuberant music-making; and willingness to produce pianistic effects unintended by the composer and possibly even foreign to his conception of music.

That said, the Frank set is indispensable. There are several valid traditions of Beethoven performance, and Frank's is the best of its kind. Yes, better than Schnabel's great but uneven set (Schnabel's Appassionata is weak, his Opus 111 transcendental). Frank's art is more uniformly high, he consistently hits the right notes, and the recorded sound is wonderful.   Schnabel's set is of course historically important and certainly worth purchasing. Those seeking that collection should be very careful, however, as several incarnations exist with great variation in sound and production quality.

I don't believe one can own too many complete sets of the "New Testament of piano music." I own and treasure the 32 by Schnabel, Kempff, O'Conor, Brendel, Backhaus, Arrau, even Badura-Skoda (there are insights to be gained from hearing the sonatas on Beethoven's piano). And certainly Pollini, Moravec, Solomon, Bishop-Kovacevich, and many others have contributed mightily in the individual sonatas. (Is Pollini's set complete yet?)

The music is timeless and greater than anyone can play it. No matter how many records you have, you'll be glad you got Frank's!

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