Not to mince words, I have five. And this from a guy who usually disdains such collections. But there are exceptions.
-- Schnabel. (Of course) But he can be overly fierce.
-- Claude Frank. He was Artur's pupil and the best modern exponent of that tradition.
-- Yves Nat. Nat's not a name that may come first to mind, or to mind at all, but this Frenchie has complete control of the early sonatas and does not flinch from the later ones. The CD box set is reasonably priced around $50.
-- Annie Fischer. She was my first choice until recently, with many exquisite performances and rarely a loser. The Hungaroton people let her come into the studio whenever she felt ready to record. The group of CDs are available only individually, at full price, from Qualiton. If pressed I could recommend the two or three best.
-- Dino Ciani. I know, *who*? Friends, this Italian fellow (who in 1970 died the Italian way, in a fast car on the via Flaminia outside Rome) is simply the greatest Beethoven pianist that ever lived. Every performance in this set is top-rank, several of them stupendously so. Time and again he plays things you've never actually heard before, and when he does, you exclaim, not Wow that Ciani! but Wow that Beethoven! Where has be *been* all my life!?
Cortot's star pupil, Ciani exalts the cantabile element in every sonata, yet when required unleashes thunder and lightning. Introspection is followed by exuberance, followed by pure song. This man is a master who *must* be heard by all.
And does he take chances? For an encore to the Hammerklavier, he chooses -- to repeat the last movement! And it's even better!
Only one problem. While the recordings are all live (Turin, late 1970), which is good, the pickup is from the audience. I've heard lots worse sound, but you have to be prepared for this. Believe me though, you'll hear right through that situation straight into the heart and mind of Beethoven.
Count ourselves blessed to have these documents, recently discovered and reissued. But perhaps the best news of all, I'll leave to the purchase-point description in the URL. You'll hardly believe your good fortune.
clark
[The original appears at (Open in New Window)
[The original appears at http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/music/messages/129397.html and garnered some very unpleasant response, let me tell you. As a reply to that, I wrote another piece which I'll add here as a reply to this post.]
[By the way, the store above is in backorder mode for the set.]