Amazon古典掠影

中午帮朋友看看有没有Amazon的邮件回复，心血来潮到Amazon看了看古典CD，东西好全，编排也不错。重点看看了EMI的“分店”，拿下了几乎所有的除已有的肖邦圆舞曲之外Dinu Lipatti录音，其实也就是一次音乐会和一张协奏曲、一张巴赫、莫扎特奏鸣曲等。也花了点时间搜索了一下Michelangeli，碟子也不少，不过最超值的还是Philips的那套20世纪钢琴家，几乎包括了他原来单张正价里4-5张的精华，可惜Currently Unavailable。也不知道哪里有了，国内卖碟都慢，希望哪天有机会能遇到。Schnabel是最可惜的，一直想收他在EMI的贝多芬奏鸣曲全集。看了下面的评论，让我认识了一家新公司。

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: Schnabel's fascinating approach to Beethoven, December 25, 2004 Reviewer: madamemusico "madamemusico" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews    Though several fine pianists (and Daniel Barenboim) have all taken a stab at the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven, among them Wilhelm Kempff, Alfred Brendel, Claude Frank and Russell Sherman--all of whom had wonderful moments in their sets--the only two pianists who have truly captured the Beethovian magic throughout their cycles were Artur Schnabel and John O'Conor, for completely opposite reasons. Schnabel was probably the only pianist of his era who played the piano in a manner reminiscent of Glenn Gould. He preferred an instrument with a lean tone, used the sustain pedal very rarely, and worked very hard to bring out inner voices, counterpoint, fugues and canons. He played all of the fast movements at Beethoven's written tempi, even when his flawed technique was not up to the task (the worst example being the first movement of the "Hammerklavier"), and all of the slow movements slower than written. In many of these he was able to bring out a "spiritual" quality that went straight to the heart of those Beethoven-lovers who saw his music in this vein. Yet in relistening to his complete set, modern ears hear more problems in the later sonatas (22-32) than our forebears probably heard: inaccurate playing of syncopated rhythms, for example in Sonata No. 29, and sometimes clumsy handling of some of those slow movements (i.e., the first movement of Sonata No. 12). In many other sonatas, however-including the Op. 49 pair, which were, after all, very early sonatas simply published in the middle of the series-his approach was nonpareil and still remains an object-lesson for aspiring Beethoven pianists. O'Conor, by contrast, uses a rich-toned Steinway, is a master technician and a master of pedal effects. His Beethoven does not always follow the written dynamic contrasts, especially in most of the early sonatas (1-11), because, as he told me, "the fortepianos of Beethoven's time were incapable of them." Historically accurate, but not necessarily the composer's intentions. We know that he was delighted when more powerful pianos appeared, shortly before he lost his hearing for good (around 1805), and that he stated to friends that he thought of all his sonatas being played on that kind of instrument. Yet, paradoxically, O'Conor's more legato phrasing and singing tone often brings out the very best in Beethoven, particularly in sonatas 22-32 but also in numbers 12, 14 ("Moonlight") and 16, where he scores many points in continuity over Schnabel. Moreover, he, too, brings out many of the inner voices whenever contrapuntal effects are called for, and combined with his sterling technique and "binding" of phrases, this can create a mesmerizing effect. I therefore feel that the best of both pianist's sets can combine to make a very satisfying set of the 32 sonatas. Your choice between them will, of course, be a matter of personal taste, but I can assure you that EMI's remastering of the Schnabel recordings is nothing less than miraculous. Only rarely does one hear even the merest swish of the old 78-rpm records. They are noiseless, bringing out the very finest nuance of Schnabel's playing. And the O'Conor set is, of course, digital, though I find that boosting the treble is sometimes necessary as Telarc has always tended to prefer somewhat dull sound.

the ecstasy and the agony, December 11, 2004 Reviewer: peer gynt - See all my reviews Beethoven 10/10 Schnabel 10/10 EMI's transfers of these legendary recordings 0/10 - worthless rubbish - my deaf cat could do a better job. Go for the Naxos - they know what they are doing... Unfortunately I am unable to give this no stars - how much it is deserved!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: The rhytm is the form in movement!, July 31, 2004 Reviewer: Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews       Artur Schnabel plays Beethoven keeping in mind this previous staement. The notes he recreates demands a special atention , because he seems to sculpt every phrase , every arpegio in a language which trascends the music itself . He seeks the real and hidden intention behind the score . The set has however peaks and some lows . Let 's name the peaks : The 1 to 7 , 10 ,17 , 20 , 27 , 28 sonatas , Les adieux have no equals . You may find an astonishing 27 in Egon Petri version for instance . Forget about the Tempest sonata , Schnabel stole it for himself amd made from its own . The 28 was the first Sonata that I listened with Schnabel in 1970 and I really don ' t know about another performance . In the last sonatas , I think Schnabel is not in his top form . The 31 Sonata has a performer : Daniel Barenboim in the eighties , the Waldstein Sonata has to me (three unforgettable versions : Frau Carreno (1905) , Ely Ney (1950) and Paul Badura Skoda (1971) ) . The Hammerklavier finds his ideal performer in Wilhelm Kempff (the fifties mono recordings ). The 32 and has with Badura Skoda (1973) his esential performer. The Apassionata Badura Skoda (1978) , Barenboim (eighties in a video recording) and Rudolf Serkin fifties. In the Diabelli I rather prefer the Tatiana Nikolayeva version . And I miss a great reading of the Patethique of Edwin Fisher from the fifties and a superb version of William Murdoch from the thirties. Solomon gives an interesting Hammerklavier and 30 too . But this set as a whole is a must for you .

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: Seek out the Dante set, May 2, 2004 Reviewer: Jeffrey Lipscomb (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews    I first bought Schnabel's complete Beethoven Sonatas in a big Angel LP box set back in 1963 - paying for it with the proceeds from many a high school lawn mowing allowance. Later on I got the mono Kempff set from the 1950's on DG - which I still have. Then came the Phillips set by Arrau - these three sets gave me many hours of fascinating comparisons, with the Schnabel my over-all favorite. When I decided to get the Schnabel set on CD, I first did a few comparisons. I was frankly appalled when I heard this EMI set - it is distinctly inferior even to my Angel LP's (which in turn I suspect were inferior to the earlier RCA LPs). Then I had an opportunity to hear the Pearl set. In the main I found the Pearls to be "plain Jane," unfiltered transfers from pretty noisy 78's. Then I chanced to come across the 14-disc Dante set, which also includes all the miscellaneous Beethoven piano music recorded by Schnabel (bagatelles, variations, etc.) PLUS the 5 concertoes with Malcolm Sargent AND the later Emperor with Galliera. I was lucky: the 14-disc set was selling as a discontinued remainder item for just $28. The sound is superb - vastly superior to anything else I have heard. Schnabel's interpretations are inspired, even when his fingers are hitting a few wrong notes (most notably in the Hammerklavier Sonata - and even there, his Adagio is simply unequalled in my experience). I also treasure a CD box set of the complete sonatas recorded in the 1950's for EMI by French pianist Yves Nat, some of whose performances I even prefer to Schnabel's. These two box sets are the cornerstone of my Beethoven piano collection - they are supplemented by many individual sonatas from the likes of Richter, Levy, Renard, Hungerford, and Gieseking. My advice: Schnabel's Beethoven Sonata recordings belong in any serious piano collection. However, I would definitely avoid this EMI set and explore the alternatives. My choice is the Dante set.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: The Best but..., October 10, 2003 Reviewer: Ryan Kouroukis (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews I had this set and was completely satisfied with it for the longest time, until I wanted more Schanbel playing Beethoven. I did some research on the net and found a set on ebay that not only contained the complete Sonatas but had all the Concertos, Variations and Bagatells that Schnabel did! Let me tell you again. THE COMPLETE SOLO PIANO AND CONCERTO RECORDINGS OF BEETHOVEN BY SCHNABEL!!! This was too good to be true, so I went out on a limb and ordered it. When I got it, I was holding gold my friend! 14 CD's in a slim case boxed set! Okay, so I'm happy eh, but now for the transfer test...I compared the EMI tranfers to the transfers this French label called DANTE did. Absolutely unbelievable! I'm listening to the Dante versions and I hear clarity, volume and depth, and hardly any hiss! I put on the EMI versions and I hear large hiss, muffled clarity and hardly any piano depth from the recordings. I was astounded! I immediatly sold the EMI. Now, I also noticed that in the EMI, they don't always give each movement its own track, they sometimes link 2 movements together in 1 track (weird). But in the Dante they give each movement its own track and present the sonatas in complete chronological order, whereas in the EMI the order of the sonatas are mixed up a bit (which doesnt matter anyway). But I'm just letting you know. The Pearl transfers are better than EMI, and the Naxos are not bad too, except for the full hiss. but these are all available as singles pretty much right now. If you invested in all of these, you'd wind up with no more room in your collection! If you want "the" Schnabel set, spend the time to look for the DANTE 14 CD slim box set, remember I found it on ebay. I paid full price though, but it's been the best purchase I ever made in my life! (I would still recommend the EMI set to anybody, just because it's Schnabel playing Beethoven). GOOD LUCK and ENJOY!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Under a musical spell, September 29, 2003 Reviewer: John (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews I personally recommend this EMI box set of Schnabel playing Beethoven. Schnabel has tremendous power, excellent dynamics and also plays delicate. He was the first pianist to make me sit down and just...LISTEN! It was that moment were I knew Schnabel was somebody very special. You might say he put me under a musical spell and I'm probably not the first. The sound quality isn't that dull, lifeless or muffled as one critic noted, but possibly the Pearl set or the recent NAXOS series is a better sonic choice. All I know for sure is this EMI set has done me right for many, many years. The human ear adjusts quickly and the sound quality soon becomes "good enough" so you can enjoy these incredible (sparkling and flowing) recordings from the 1930's.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful: Schnabel was brilliant... but, July 10, 2002 Reviewer: Kerr Dressi "K N D" (Gainesville, Ga United States) - See all my reviews This is a good set to get if you just want to get the entire Beethoven collection. I would recommend a more modern recording such as the Serkin (more modern than Schnabel at least) recordings and some of the other individuals. Arthur Schnabel was one of the best pianists and he was one of the leading authorities on Beethoven (just because of his close relation in instructor/pupil lineage). His edition of the Sonatas, the scores, are the best things to get. Walter Hautzig, one of Schnabel's pupils asked Schnabel after a concert refering to a section of one of the sonatas. "You played [it] very well but i have a question. In your recoding you played it staccato and in your performance you used full pedal. Why is that?" I believe it has something in the Op111. The response... "Those recordings... I knew nothing of Beethoven then." And it is true. Walter Hautzig, who commonly gives master classes and performs all over the world agrees that the recording of the Beethoven Sonatas by Schnabel are not the best. Schnabel often didn't like making recordings and since these are on LP there was a sense of TIME being important so many of the movements are taken at faster speeds, even rushed. Many slow movements are not taken at their proper tempos (if there is such a thing). On top of that the transfer from the LP isn't of the best quality and EMI might be at fault for that. I would highly recommend the Schnabel Beethoven scores for studying the sonatas as they are, in my mind and in the mind of many others, the best Beethoven sonatas around, just ignore the fingerings. Schnabel had small hands and his fingerings accomodate for that, and technique was never something he stressed in his teachings.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: a masterpiece - but get the pearl edition, April 26, 2002 Reviewer: avraham stoler (Chicago) - See all my reviews    this was the first set i ever got of the beethoven sonatas, and i still feel that this one is the best. (i also own the complete richard goode and kempff (mono) sets, and many other single cd's and partial sets, like solomon's 18 recorded sonatas for example). schnabel's approach is unique - he tends to play the outer movements quicker that usual, and the inner movements slower than usual. he is simply mesmerising in the slow movements, same as, say, michaelangeli on the ravel concerto, and full on energy in the others. he takes some freedom to himself - after all he said that "it is a mistake to imagine that all notes should be played with equal intensity or even be clearly audible". i know that some will object to his way, or say that his "pianisn" has been surpassed, but for me the merit of the recording does not only depend on technical considerations. there are some pianists who have perfect technique but can be pretty boring and calculated (no names here ^ ^). in short, he is a supreme artist, and a very good pianist, which together makes for a fascinating set, for me the best one. of course, no complete set can be the best in all sonatas. for some of them there are better recording by others. but compared to other complete sets its really a very very appealing one. you certainly want it in your collection if u need more than one set; if u want only one then its a matter of taste. some will prefer goode's relaxed classicism or kempff's poetry. if you decide to buy this, DO NOT buy the EMI version. the pearl version costs about twice - but, paying the price of higher background hiss, u get MUCH better sound. nothing sounds muddy and compressed anymore, as if u r listening to old 78's. actually i believe thats what it is - transfers from 78's with no or almost no filtering and compressing. the pearl version is called "schnabel plays beethoven", and has 5 volumes. it includes the diabelli variations and a few other minor pieces.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: Avoid this and get the Pearl, January 21, 2002 Reviewer: Ralph J. Steinberg "Lover of German Music" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews    If EMI's CD transfer is anything like what they did on LP, this set will be a travesty. I remember the amazing colors that the Victor LPs of this set had, in contrast to the Angel Great Recordings of the Century pressing. The Pearl set costs more than twice the EMI, but the sound is truly fresh and full, very much like a mint set of 78's would sound. Schnabel's Beethoven belongs in every collection as the definitive statement, but in a version in which all of its glories are revealed. The EMI won't do, get the Pearl.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: A Masterpiece, July 27, 2001 Reviewer: "johnpiano2" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews I feel the last reviewer was overly negative about this set, despite making some legitimate points. First let me say that I do not recommend the present set as a first choice for the complete sonatas, much less as a first choice for a cd purchase of some the sonatas. I recommend either complete version by Kempff over the present one. For an introduction to the sonatas, my main recommendation are the recordings by Solomon. Solomon recorded 18 of the 32 sonatas, including the popular named sonatas and the last sonatas, and these recordings are my prime recommendation. Having made these recommendations, I point out that for a pianophile, one should have as many recordings of the Beethoven sonatas by as many pianists as possible. Afterall, these are some of the very deepest and most beautiful creations in the piano literature. I recommend having recordings by Solomon, Kempff, Richter, Brendel, Kovacevich, and Schnabel. The talent of Schnabel lies in his interpretation of the music, his intellectual, musical, and spiritual understanding of the music. Schnabel was never considered a great piano virtuoso and technician in his own day, but rather a musician. Sometimes his technical flaws do distract from the music. Schnabel's genius lies in his ability to capture the essence of the character of the music. I don't agree with the last reviewer's remarks that we've surpassed Schnabel in the years since these recordings. I doubt many pianists nowadays have a better understanding of the music of Beethoven's sonatas than Schabel, or could even approach his understanding. Certainly many people could execute the notes more perfectly, but the same was true in Schnabel's own day. He was never considered a great technician. I wasn't bothered much by the sound quality of the recording, contrary to some other reviewers. I think recordings of Schnabel belong in any library of Beethoven sonatas, though it really depends on what you can afford and how far you have progressed in your purchases. If you haven't a lot of other recordings already, you might be somewhat disappointed if you make this purchase. But if you've already explored Solomon, Kempff, and Richter, I recommend trying out Schnabel. 可惜，当我上网搜索Dante（包括到ebay搜索看有没有卖的）的时候，几乎都是历史资料，没有发现公司的网址。一直搜索到一个国内的论坛才看到惊人的一句“Dante早倒闭了倒是真的”，悲从心中起啊，看来要买到评论中所说的14张全集得靠天命了，唉。为Dante默哀吧…… _______________________________________________________ 写完上面的内容，又跑到Amazon上看了看，忽发奇想，既然总站没有，那到其他分站看看啊。依次跑了英国、法国、加拿大和德国。语言障碍最大的是德国，前几个倒都还能看明白，反正dante的那套全集是没有。最后终于在德国找到了曾经的记录http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000286FT/qid=1109771396/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_0_4/028-0479188-5017358 。可惜也是没有货，反倒是接受代售。Michelangeli在Philips的那两套双张销售也很好，只在加拿大看到销售第二卷，第一卷几个国家都没有。逛了一大圈，对几个国家的价格倒是有了点体会，具体也没有仔细研究，大致上看英国最贵，虽说看着数目差不多，可人家的单位是英镑啊，按照今天的牌价就是15.92:1，算下来要人民币200一张普通碟；欧元国家——法国、德国比较接近，大致和国内的132元一张差不多（实际大概120一张）；加拿大的价格也差不多这个价。总体来说，还是美国总站的最便宜了，如果买多几张，加上运费比国内也要便宜得多。呵呵，平时还是乖乖呆在美国总站吧:P 对了，最后介绍一个我看德国网站时候的在线翻译系统吧 http://www.chinatime.de/new/03.htm 效果当然一般，不过翻译几个关键的词还行:)