Thanks for all the replies.

I have access to Arraw's recordings as well, and the Fischer set will come, but not till next month, for reasons of financial prudence!

I resently gave a friend the HMV set played by Schnabel ... Yes I can be ruthless in pruning recordings from my collection. I have had the Schnabel set on LPs and then CDs since the late 1970s, but really I knew these recordings so well that I stopped using them. It was easier to imagine them in my head!

ATB from George

Ordered! I must be going soft in the head! George

And arrived. I could not possibly reckon to give a reasonable review of such a large collection on nine CDs.

But one favourite has already pleased me very much, and though I would have prefered the arrangement on the discs to be in numerical publised order, I am warming to the idea of mixed it up as here! If I too lazy to turn off at the end of a favourite, I shall end up listening to something from a different period of Beethoven's creative career! A good idea.

Todd Arola has written so much fine observation on this set and other Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycles, that any words from me fall into insigificance!

ATB from George

A snippet of Todd on the subject of Annie Fischer's Beethoven recordings.

This is superb. This is the first time that this most elusive - for me - of the great Beethoven works, the Hammerklavier Sonata, has made compelling sense.

There is no feeling that the music could go any other way, and the recording fortunately concentrates on clarity, which, with Annie Fischer's sense of balancing the weight of notes against each other, really makes the contours of emotional tension and release of the music utterly clear. Beethoven's logic is devastating.

This was one of her recordings I had not come across before, and all to often in other hands the music is slowed down to allow it to be played cleanly, or it is crunched together so that the clarity is lost with the loss of impetus or simply not there in the first place. I have Solomon's recording, which I have enjoyed, if very rarely, but this is on another level altogether in my view.

Very pleased by this. George

I have progressed unusually slowly through these nine discs, and cannot find any weak link! If the Hammerklavier is made sense of [for the first time in a gramophone recording for me] then everything else is coming through as newly minted as well!

For once I will comment that the actual sonority of the Piano is showing itself as important, even if this is a big modern instrument, a Bosendorfer, rather than a period Beethoven Fort-e-Piano. This specific sound world is wonderfully characterised in the very fine recording by Hungaraton. It is close enough for every strand to tell, and not be covered over with studio acoustic haze, and presents the nicely tangy overtones on all the registers of the piano to flower! The Bosendorfer has a world of expressive tonal possibilities, which Annie Fischer delights in bringing out. The actual sound is bright in Forte, but never harsh! I think this suits the music rather well.

Though the set is expensive and seems to be available as a deletion in new and second hand copies on Amazon, currently, I can only say that it should please anyone.

I also have the Arraw Philips set on loan, and this makes a perfect counterpart! He is darker in hue, and less driven, but on returning to his efforts in one instance since, I am finding much more is his readings after hearing Fischer's. That often seems the case.

It took for me to obtain Solomon's wonderful recording of Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto, for me to really love that work. Then after acquainting myself with the music in Solomon's hands, Schnabel's recording made perfect sense as well!

Some performances of music really unlock the mysteries contained, once and for all.

Annie Fischer has that talent with Beethoven. The music seems more easily understood in any performance after it!

George

If you want more Annie Fischer playing Beethoven, there are here earlier EMI recordings which are superb if you can find it, as well as some on BBC Legends. Plus there's a new-ish release, which I just learned of last weekend, that has her version of the 1st and 5th concertos to go with the 3rd (of which three versions are available). There are five other concertos in this DVD/CD combo set. I've finished the Emperor, which I'll detail later in my next installment of my Emperor log, and look forward to the rest.



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Dear Todd,

I can imagine that I shall be finding more and more of her playing now!

It is very special to have such revealing, and musical playing. And goodness, she has the technical command to bring off her readings so perfectly!

ATB from George

PS: Do you remember this thread, where we had an interesting conversation about Artur Schnabel?

I think I can blame you for me spending so much on Annie Fischer's set! You got me grabbing every chance to hear her performances on records, and eventually buying them, so many thanks!

http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3801938...491976666#4491976666