Recordings of Beethoven Piano Cycles
prepared by Jens Laurson

 

Part 1 30s, 40s & 50s

Part 2 60s

Part 3 70s & 80s

Part 4 90s

Part 5 00s

This survey is meant to list all complete sets of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas and their availability in different markets, not to review them. 

For those of you wanting to let me know about series that I have apparently missed, please wait for my last instalment.

	Alfred Brendel I (stereo) 1961 - 1964 - Vox-Turnabout When Brendel set our to record Beethoven for Vox-Turnabout, it wasn't just the complete sonatas but indeed the (more or less) complete solo works for piano that he put on record. Brendel wasn't always proud of his early recordings and he went on to record the sonatas twice more for Philips... though what I've heard of this set (some of which is also in the Brilliant Beethoven box) holds up quite nicely, actually. Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany VOX 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
	Wilhelm Kempff II (stereo) 1964/65 - Deutsche Grammophon Wilhelm Kempff "II" is the classic among Beethoven sonata cycles. Why exactly that is the case is difficult to say, because Kempff convinces through subtlety and superb accounts of all the lesser known and 'little' sonatas. In the bigguns, he is rarely outright impressive. Kempff is not as perpetually understated as Backhaus and he can even be quite playful. Solid, in the best, most empathetically positive sense of the word. Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany DG Yes Yes Yes Yes
	Claudio Arrau I 1962 - 1966 - Philips To ears reared on Pollini, Arrau's Beethoven can take some time getting used to, in good part due to the deliberate tempos he often chooses. But it's incredibly musical stuff worth all that effort, even if some of the last five sonatas don't appear as grand as elsewhere. To many of its owners, the original Philips pressings set a new standard in piano reproduction. Availability: Just deleted. Country / Label USA UK France Germany Philips No (mp3) No No No
	Wilhelm Backhaus II (stereo*) 1958* - 1969 - Decca To paraphrase myself (referring to a Beethoven Concerto DVD): There is purpose behind every note; purpose at the service of the music, not Backhaus' own ego. No unnecessary tone or emotion comes from this outwardly impassive man; there is no smudging to 'improve' individual instances. Like less-than-refined brush strokes in great painting, an almost barren tone with Backhaus emerges as an essential part of the unadulterated whole. Backhaus is “nobility but not 'power', seriousness without pompousness, devotion with no show of 'piety'” and although it may be 'too little' for some, it amounts to 'everything' I ask of Beethoven. Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany Decca Yes Yes Yes Yes
	Maria Grinberg 1964 - 1967 - Melodiya Availability (as individual volumes and spottily): Country / Label USA UK France Germany Melodiya 1-2-3-4-5 -6-7-8-9 1-2-3-4-5- 6-7-8-9 1-2-3-4-5- 6-7-8-9 1-2-3-4-5- 6-7-8-9
	Friedrich Gulda II 1967 - Amadeo / Decca Friedrich Gulda's second set came at the very height of his technical facility and blew the (perceived) cobwebs off the 'heroic' Beethoven sonatas. It is a marvel of consistency and wondrous for the speed with which Gulda breezes through these works with a sense of joy and occasionally irreverence. Although I have other favorites for about every individual sonata (save the Moonlight) this is my go-to and reference set (even as Backhaus II remains my favorite). More intense than Kempff, never lumbering like Kuerti, nor professorially sincere like Schiff, consistently more engaging in the late Sonatas than Ashkenazy, more flexible than Backhaus, not as patricianly flowing as Arrau, Gulda somehow manages to combine a highly personal reading with a compromising stance that appeals to the many rather than offending most. It could be argued that the "fresh" approach isn't necessary anymore and that Gulda has a tendency toward the superficial, but to my ears that does not detract from this astonishing achievement. This cycle is part of what makes Brilliant's Complete Beethoven Edition so attractive and I've written a bit about it for WETA. Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany Decca/Eloquence Import Import Import Yes Brilliant Yes Yes Yes Yes Decca Australia Import Import Import Import
	Dieter Zechlin 1960 - 1969 (?) - Eterna / Berlin Classics Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany Edel Yes Yes Yes Yes
	Daniel Barenboim I 1965 - 1969 - EMI Daniel Barenboim is one of the few pianists who have recorded the complete cycle trice (Twice on CD, once on DVD). Quantity doesn't necessarily make up for quantity, though, and I have yet to truly appreciate either of his two first surveys. Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany EMI Yes Yes Yes Yes
	Robert Riefling 1960 - 1970 (?) - Valois Robert Riefling, 1938 Queen Elizabeth Competition winner, studied with Kempff and Edwin Fischer, among others. Not currently available.
	Claude Frank 1967 - 1969 - RCA Victrola Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany Music & Arts Yes Yes Yes Yes
	Paul Badura-Skoda I 1969 - 1970 - Gramola Paul Badura-Skoda's "Viennese" Beethoven survey on a Boesendorfer Grand. Overshadowed at the time by the more famous to have come just before him and those who would come just after him, but a connoisseur's Echt-Austrian cycle. Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany Gramola No Yes Yes Yes
	Dino Ciani 196? - 1970 - Dynamic Live, and notably so. Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany Dynamic Yes Yes Yes Yes
	Eric Heidiseck 1967 - 1973 - EMI Availability: Country / Label USA UK France Germany EMI Yes Yes Yes Yes

>>> Part 3: 1970s

This survey was originally published on the Ionarts blog. 

If you have additional information about recording dates, availability, cover art -- or corrections and additions -- your input is much appreciated.

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