Given that Backhaus re-recorded the Beethoven sonatas in stereo
- with one exception, the Hammerklavier - his earlier
mono set might be thought to be supplanted, at least sonically.
That was the intention when the later set was made, and the
mono set has been very much the lesser known quantity. If you
have the sonata cycle by Backhaus it’s more likely than
not that you’ll have the stereo set, whereas with Wilhelm
Kempff’s two cycles it’s not quite so simple and
it’s as likely that you’ll have the outstanding
and frequently available mono as the stereo. Now that Pristine
Audio has restored this mono set, as well as Backhaus’s
Beethoven concerto cycle, there is far greater choice in these
matters than before.
One reason the mono set was so soon supplanted was perhaps the
then ineradicable nature of some of its purely technical and
acoustic problems. The later set was a very much more effective
one from these standpoints. That, too, will have had some bearing
on the lack of subsequent LP and CD re-releases of this set,
though there was an Italian production some years ago, to which
I’ve not had access and which, in any case, is no longer
available in conventional disc form, and I don’t think
it’s available as a download either.
What follows is a brief pointer as to some of the performances,
their strengths and limitations, and some of those technical
problems.
Both Op.22 and Op.26, the Funeral March, are highly elevated
examples of Backhaus’s art. In both there are examples
of rubati that may be thought obtrusive, but this seems of little
account when the playing is projected so thoughtfully, and sensitively.
Op.26 is a particularly good place to start in the Backhaus
pilgrimage. The Moonlight is no-nonsense, direct and
rather heavy in places, and not always rhythmically tight enough,
whilst the Pastoral adopts a rather smoothed out, but
tersely rough approach which will certainly appeal to some.
The Op.49 duo are small scale but attractively dispatched. The
Waldstein is extremely fine; he always played this resourcefully,
energetically and successfully, even emphatically in places.
The Appassionata is a success in Backhaus’s own
terms, which are those of technical accomplishment and a certain
intensity without, in the slow movement, any prettifying. This
last quality, Beethovenian beautification, was not one in Backhaus’s
arsenal, and nor would he have wished it to have been; any more
than Arrau was - his word - ‘lacy’ in Beethoven
or any other composer, come to that. In their different ways
these two pianists approached Beethoven with total integrity.
Les Adieux is rather dry-eyed, though this relatively
formal, almost objectified account is not without expressive
- or modified expressive - interest. He certainly emphasises
some of the rough-hewn quality embedded in the music, even if
not all the structural solutions he finds seem wholly convincing.
Op.90 in E minor is taken with considerable romantic latitude
in places, where Backhaus’s rubato - always a contentious
interpretative area - can seem structurally dangerous.
The Hammerklavier, which served both cycles, is a monumentally
authoritative, direct and technically imposing reading drawing
on all his long years of experience. Some find it rather dour
but it has a remarkable ability to concentrate attention and
listening to this April 1952 performance reminds one, yet again,
of his technical excellence. Live recordings given far later
than this studio one, a few of which I’ve reviewed here,
bear out the point. He was exceptionally well prepared in any
circumstance.
Op.109 is direct, shorn of artifice but sometimes rather stolid.
It lacks the philosophical elevation of Wührer, and the
intense concentration of Solomon. Op.110 is decidedly more impressive,
indeed one of the most sheerly impressive and commanding performances
in this set. His acute awareness of structure is not, here,
derailed by imposed rubati; his tone remains rounded and full,
and the performance is cumulatively very moving.
Andrew Rose has applied his interventionist technology to attempt
to ameliorate some of the more grievous problems inherent in
this Decca series. Prominent seems to have been terrible pitch
problems. I can certainly hear something of the acoustic deficiencies
that bedevilled parts of the cycle, but I can also see that
these have been dealt with sensitively, even though sterner
listeners may suggest that the intervention level on the acoustic
matter - as opposed to pitching, where we should all be agreed
- is perhaps excessive. That’s a personal matter and I
would suggest that it’s been successfully done.
This review has only scratched the surface of the cycle. The
most important point to note is that it is now available, whereas
before it was hard to source. One can endlessly compare and
contrast this earlier set with the later one, as well as contrasting
Backhaus with such widely divergent stylists as Schnabel, Arrau
and Kempff - just for a start - which should keep one, if so
inclined, busy for a considerable amount of time.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review of Decca release of the later (1952-69)
Backhaus complete set of sonatas by Ian
Bailey
Masterwork Index: Beethoven
piano sonatas
Track-listing
CD 1 [79:27]
Piano Sonata in F minor, Op.2 No. 1 (1795) [14:41]
Piano Sonata in A major, Op.2 No. 2 (1795) [19:27]
Piano Sonata in C major, Op.2 No. 3 (1795) [22:02]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 7 (1796-7) [23:20]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 051[79:27]
CD 2 [70:08]
Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 10 No. 1 (1796-8) [14:01]
Piano Sonata in F major, Op, 10 No. 2 (1796-8) [10:15]
Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 10 No. 3 (1796-98) [19:07]
Piano Sonata in C minor Op. 13, Grande Sonate Pathétique
(1798-99) [15:55]
Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 14 No. 1 (1798-99) [10:51]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 052 [70:08]
CD 3 [66:40]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 14 No. 2 (1798-99) [12:57]
Piano Sonata in B flat major, Op. 22 (1799-1800) [21:13]
Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op. 26 (1800-01) [18:38]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 27 No.1 Sonata quasi una
Fantasia (1800-01) [13:52]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 053 [66:40]
CD 4 [75:27]
Piano Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Sonata quasi
una Fantasia, Moonlight (1801) [15:10]
Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 28, Pastorale (1801) [19:26]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 31 No. 1 (1801-02) [19:23]
Piano Sonata in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 The Tempest (1801-02)
[21:23]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 054 [75:27]
CD 5 [64:29]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 31 No. 3 (1801-02) [18:46]
Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 49 No. 1 (1795-98) [6:54]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 49 No. 2 (1795-96) [7:28]
Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 53 Waldstein (1803-04) [21:29]
Piano Sonata in F major, Op. 54 (1804) [9:43]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 055 [64:29]
CD 6 [55:41]
Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 57, Appassionata (1804-05)
[20:17]
Piano Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 78 (1809) [9:50]
Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 79 (1809) [9:27]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 81a, Das Lebwohl (Les
Adieux) (1809-10) [16:06]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 056 [55:41]
CD 7 [71:01]
Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 90 (1814) [12:08]
Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 101 (1816) [17:27]
Piano Sonata in B flat major, Op. 106. Für das Hammerklavier
(1817-18) [41:23]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 057 [71:01]
CD 8 [56:26]
Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 109 (1820) [17:33]
Piano Sonata in A flat major, Op. 110 (1821) [17:15]
Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 111 (1821-22) [21:39]
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM 058 [56:26]
Wilhelm Backhaus (piano) 