EMI has just issued Stephen Kovacevich's latest installment of his
Beethoven piano sonata series.  This one (#56761) contains the three
opus 10 sonatas plus the "Pastoral" sonata.

Previous installments have been well received, and I assume the new disc
will be lauded as well.  Kovacevich is a superb pianist with keen insight
into Beethoven's idiom.

However (and there often is an however), the sound problems noted by
myself and other list members still persist and might even be worse than
in previous issues, because the particular sonatas on the new disc are
relatively early works.

What's the problem? To me, it sounds as if the microphone is within the
piano. This removes much of the delicate poetic nature of the works and
also means that the louder passages are "in your face".  To make matters
worse, the piano sound becomes distressingly "thin" in the higher
registers.  I tried as best I could with the help of my trusty equalizer
to mitigate these two sound problems but only obtained partial results.  So,
overall, after listening to one or more sonatas at a time, I feel like I've
been assaulted during a blitz.  I just don't understand why Kovacevich puts
up with the sound provided.

Dons' conclusion: Not Worth Your Time (unless you enjoy being aurally
bludgeoned).

Don Satz
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