Appassionata Recordings

[superman1980]

Hello all,

I am currently playing the 2nd and 3rd movement of Beethoven's Appassionata.
Which pianist do you think interprets these two movements the best?

Rubinstein:

Arrau:

Barenboim:

Thanks and regards.

[m1469]

Just got done listening to all three in full.  There are things that I liked about all of them.  Overall, I feel Barenboim has the most holistic, consistent, and integrated approach, taking into account the characteristics of the piano/instrument itself and that tied with general musical characteristics, the style of writing in general, his knowledge of the specific piece and of Beethoven's music, and then his own personality.  With the other two, even though there were things that I liked (sometimes a lot), overall I felt that some part of the "equation" was almost always out of balance.  

[faulty_damper]

I'm fond of none of those, however, Barenboim came out on top of those three.  Rubinstein and Arrau had technical issues they could not overcome to bring out the music.  Barenboim made an attempt at interpreting decent enough but his choice of tempi didn't bring out the music well enough.

The only recording I'm aware of with decent music making is John O'Connor's since he never drags the tempi and accurately articulates the phrases without muddling it.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

you might also want to check out Solomon (Cutner). Miraculously there is film of him playing the sonata on Youtube. He was considered a very fine Beethoven player before his career was cut short due to a stroke.

[chewbacca_90]

Gilels shines on the last two movements of this sonata. As much, if not more, than the first one.
You have a few interpretations to choose from. But I believe only the 60's live version and the 70's studio version, much slower, are on YT. He recorded it twice in the 50's, both at neck-breaking tempi (There's this famous 1951 recital where he dispatches the 3rd movement in 4:13 without the repetition.) I'd suggest the 1960's one.

Other good versions I can think of have already been suggested. Richter plays a very exciting 3rd movement, but his Andante con moto is a bit too frivolous for me.

Best,
Alex

[datuzi]

Kempff also has quite nice interpretation, really enjoyed the first movement he played.