It's been some time since I issued Part 2, so I'll give a little
recap.  Serkin's Opus 27 E flat major is an excellent performance, but the
Moonlight Sonata suffers from a lackluster and uninvolving reading.  Given
that the Moonlight is the more popular and inspired work, this does not
bode well for the Serkin disc.  The "Appassionata" Sonata, Opus 57, remains
and Serkin's performance of it will determine whether this disc has any
staying power.

Beethoven's Appassionata was composed in the 1804-06 time period and
derived its name from Beethoven's Hamburg publisher Cranz.  Written about
at the time of the Waldstein Sonata, the Appassionata is darker and more
austere.  In form, two allegros frame an Andante in a theme and variations
mode.

I tend to think of the first movement, Allegro assai, as a great example of
Beethoven's multi-faceted music:  urgency, danger, apocalypse, impetuosity,
surprise, intense anger, heroism, and lyricism of exquisite beauty.  This
movement is not the perpetual energy music possessed of the last movement
of the Moonlight Sonata.  The music strikes me as a hotbed of tension which
keeps shifting from a need for serenity to a urgent requirement to collect
and release energy.  There is a great deal of brooding as the emotional
pulse never finds its destination until the conclusion where energy is
amassed tightly, released in gushes of sound, and finds its center of rest.

Brendel's performance of the first movement is rather muted and
not very rewarding.  His is a well-manicured reading which misses the
impetuous nature of the music; even the powerful passages are smoothed over
and rendered somewhat ineffectual.  Pletnev is much more demonstrative,
although his slow eleven minute performance is not my ideal; his
conclusion, however, is definitely my ideal.  Just listening to the Pletnev
and Brendel endings basically tells all concerning their differences, and
Pletnev towers above Brendel.  Arrau, like Pletnev, is in the eleven minute
range and handles it even better.  Every passage is interesting, and Arrau
is so precise and aristocratic.  He sounds to me like the Energy Czar and
is particularly effective in the more lyrical passages.  Andras Schiff is
on an even higher level; everything sounds natural.  The weight he gives
the agitated sections is so strong while maintaining a high degree of
musicality.  I love his pace and accenting.  Best of all, with Schiff I
*feel* the energy flow shifting back and forth; you can't ask for more than
that except the conclusion could have had a better build-up.

Russell Sherman and Robert Taub are each well under ten mintues, and that's
the speed I prefer.  However, I have little positive to say about Sherman's
performance.  Like Brendel, he is much too subdued and often ends up
sounding slower than even Arrau.  Sherman is particularly weak at storing
energy.  Taub has much more vitality than Sherman and uses it to his
advantage; I do find that Taub fares better in the more agitated passages
than the softer ones where he is frankly boring.  Poetic beauty doesn't
seem to be his strength here.

Peter Serkin doesn't do well at any energy level.  His performance is not
tonally beautiful or impetuous.  It often drags, betraying its ten minute
length.  The reading is a series of episodes not displaying much
connection.  Serkin takes masterful music and reduces it significantly.

The second movement, Andante con moto, presents a theme with three
variations followed by a "reduced" return to the basic theme.  As the
variations progress, dimunition/note density takes over.  The effect of
all this is an increasing storing of energy; it's a natural and cumulative
impact that is at the heart of the music.  Also, the basic theme does not
have to be played in a sedate manner; I think it is better when strongly
projected.  There is much tension in this movement, and forward momentum
needs to be strong in order for the cumulative impact to fully mature.

Sherman, Schiff, and Pletnev give lovely performances, but that's about it.
They are too sedate, not sufficiently projected, and need more forward
momentum.  Another way of looking at it is that they pretty much disregard
the "con moto" instruction.

Taub, Arrau, and Brendel are great.  They provide everything that the other
three don't and make the music a magical experience.  Taub and Arrau are
quite slow, and I don't even notice it except for the third variation where
they both have trouble with momentum.  Brendel is quick and wonderful.
The urgency in his reading is outstanding, and his third variation is a
perpetual cycle of storing and releasing energy.  The man really wakes up
from his lackluster first movement.

Which grouping does Serkin reside in? Unfortunately, he's in the low group
- not enough energy, variety, or momentum.  Brendel's the master of the
versions reviewed.  Concerning Serkin, I recently perused the reviews of
the disc in Gramophone and American Record Guide.  Although both reviewers
had some fine compliments about the disc, their conclusions were not
favorable.  I haven't found much value to the recording; sometimes I think
that some reviewers are intent on finding something good to say when it
doesn't really exist.

The last movement of the Appassionata, Allegro ma non troppo, is one of
Beethoven's most exciting and agitated piano sonata movements.  Robert
Taub makes a mess of it:  unmusical, terrible flow, banging all over the
spectrum alternating with a very weak foundation, and about as boring a
rendition as can be.  Arrau is like a beacon of light in comparison, but
I've heard better.  He's not wild enough; aristocracy has its limits.
I prefer Brendel who has a stronger foundation and more exciting
expressiveness.  Sherman clocks in at a little under eight minutes; he
considers this tempo "dangerously fast".  Actually, he does fairly well
with the greater speed.  It's an exciting reading with just a few problems
negotiating the increased tempo.  Concerning fast tempos, Pletnev is the
quick one of this grouping with a timing of 7'31" and is as effective as
Sherman.  Schiff is very good with an appealing sinister quality.  Serkin
takes well over 9 minutes and starts off poorly, sounding as if he's in
slow motion.  He continues this way through the coda which is supposed to
be presto.  At least Serkin does provide some fine power to the movement,
but he's only better than Taub.  I realize I haven't been as detailed on
the third movement as the previous two; frankly, I've had my fill of
listening to Serkin.

Don's Conclusion:  Don't buy the Serkin recording, and don't spend valuable
time listening to it either.  This is not good music-making.  I'm confident
there are dozens of versions of the Moonlight and Appassionata Sonatas
superior to Serkin's performances.  I've always had a great deal of respect
for Serkin as an artist, and this particular effort is way below his
potential.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]