Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Looking for Beethoven Sonatas recordings (sound quality wie)

Hi!
Can someone recommend very high quality recordings of Beethoven Sonatas (and symphonies too are welcomed)?
By that of course I mean no hiss...etc.
Thanks!



PS Before any purist tries to put me down for putting audio quality above performance quality, I have my reason for this request and it is my choice to what I prefer to listen to in any case.

Do you want youtube recordings, DVD/CDs (which are usually good quality), or either?

If your only requirement is high-quality recording, no hiss, etc, then most recordings from the last 20 years should satisfy you. Choose whatever one.

The more recent, the better. Unless, of course, you want actual quality, but that's not what you asked for, is it.

Somehow I knew this will turn out this way...not surprising.

CDs as I would like to rip to flac after wards.

Sorry not quite sure what this means, but if I hear any good quality recordings I'll be sure to post.

Edit: I understand now

You asked the question. And you got an answer.

If you can afford this, it's really great I heard: it has more than the sonatas, though, and is very expensive... http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00000G405

Here's another more affordable choice: http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4777958

I like Gilels, but he died before completing all 32. The remastered version that you can get on CD sounds pretty good. Does anybody know if Bruno Leonardo Gelber recorded the 32?

For the symphonies, I actually really like John Eliot Gardiner!

Along with many critics, I like (and have) the Richard Goode recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas, complete on 10 CD's. Recorded by Nonesuch Elektra in the early 1990s, the sound quality is excellent.

I like Roger Norrington's Beethoven Symphonies on Angel/EMI with the London Classical Players. These are not "massive" interpretations of Beethoven, but, rather, period performances giving clarity of detail sometimes lost when performed by large forces.

Regards,

You definitely want a recent digital recording, in that case.

I can recommend Louis Lortie's on Chandos (he plays on Steinway, and Fazioli for the latest recordings) for the sonatas.
As for the symphonies, there's Simon Rattle's with the Wiener Philharmoniker, one of the best of big-band Beethoven around.

For the symphonies, Sir Charles Mackerras with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, on Hyperion. Absolutely electrifying and "in your face" interpretations (as this music should be, IMO).

Whatever! Move on, I dont need your attitude or opinion.



Awesome, surely will check the cheaper one but that other one....now got me thinking, expensive but then again, it is such a wonderful gift to myself


What a shame he could not complete them but still I will look for it too!
Thanks!

Excellent, another one for my research! Thanks

Great! Thank you for taking the time !


Thanks to all of you (well almost all of you but this is the internet so it comes with the territory lol_)!

I should have enough now to get what I wanted.

Regards!

Funnily enough, when someone posts here asking questions, they usually do. Not sure what your purpose was in posting, but I don't care to look into the matter any more closely.

It's worth investigating Paul Lewis who recorded the whole set a few years' back. I've heard his performances live and his is an interesting interpretation: more classical than romantic, very clear playing. Can't comment on the CD recording quality of course. He is a formidable performer: heard his Brahms 1st concerto live - very powerful, but with great control of the feelings and structure.

My caveat concerning the Schabel recordings is that they could not have been made later than the 40's, before the age of high fidelity and long before stereo, so they may not meet the OP's primary criterion of good sound quality.

Regards,

Schiff has some very well recorded Beethoven on ecm. No comment regarding the quality of the performance though.

I like Gilels for everything by anyone. He's probably in my top five pianists of all time.

I don't know much about conducting or orchestral music but my friend, who has been a choral conductor for over 50 years, thinks Gardiner is sensational.

I think Goode is a sensational pianist for Beethoven and many other composers like Bach, Chopin, and Debussy. He once said something like "I think each Beethoven Sonata has a personality and out of all of them the one I'd like to meet most in Op. 101.