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Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 9 Op 47

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Takako Nishizaki and Jenő Jandó. Nishizaki starts conventionally in the Adagio sostenuto, but she generates a small sound, which becomes more evident after Jandó joins and they play together. He often just drowns her out, without seeming to try. The musical approach is unfussy, straight-forward, and good enough for a library recording if one just wants to have the work. The Andante sounds like a slower, properly varied style approach, while the Presto has nice enough pep and drive. If the description sounds lackluster, it's because the playing falls into the completely competent but more than kind of dull category. Sub-par early Naxos sound doesn't help. Meh.
 
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Gerhard Taschner and Walter Gieseking. Turbo-charged Beethoven, that's what one gets here. Taschner opens the Adagio sostenuto nicely enough, and Gieseking dispatches his part nicely, but the Presto (more a Molto Prestissimo) is what the artists waited for, and in the fast passages they push things to and then past the breaking point. While things never fall apart, the playing borders on the reckless. Gieseking is comfortable zipping through anything, and Taschner seems so, too. There's definitely excitement aplenty. In slower passages, Taschner also makes sure to use some old school (older than one would have thought given his age at the time) vibrato that sounds excessive. The interpretive extremes reappear in the Andante. The overall timing is middle of the road, but the slow variations are slow and Taschner plays with excessive vibrato which sounds excessive because it lacks sweetness and doesn't add aural beauty, and the fast passages are dashed off. Gieseking does his thing like Gieseking does, and therefore holds more interest. The closing Presto, stripped of repeat and dashed off in under six minutes, is again more like a Molto Prestissimo and played with speed and recklessness that almost makes it seem like the artists wanted to finish up the session in time for a pressing lunch engagement. Meh-.
 
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Sayaka Shoji and Gianluca Cascioli. A study in contrasts with the Taschner/Gieseking recording. Shoji and Cascioli both open the Adagio sostenuto at slow and controlled tempi, and then they move into a Presto that is very restrained and studied in comparison. Both artists seem to have studied the score and almost over-prepared. Any hints of spontaneity seem entirely absent, and instead every single phrase, chord, and note seems planned down to the Nth degree. While that may seem like a criticism, it is meant as praise. Every once in a while, one appreciates a recording where everything, down to the exact decibel output of both the violin and piano, are precisely honed. Musical autopsies can be enjoyable. The Andante benefits even more from the studied approach the duo bring. Shoji can and does play with a gently beautiful tone, and Cascioli can and does the same, and they lighten their approach, with playing on the quiet end of the spectrum that simply beguiles. Shoji, in particular, creates an at times sweet and gently nuanced sound that really hits the spot, especially in the gorgeous and tender fourth variation. She and Cascioli turn the slow movement into the center of gravity for the work, bringing late period qualities to the music and playing. Very nice. The detail-oriented almost to a fault approach pays surprising dividends in the concluding Presto as Shoji floats her violin over Cascioli's (too?) meticulous right hand playing in some passages, with each note from each artist so cleanly articulated yet so subtle that one just sort of marvels at the musical transparency. Of course, energy and drive and snap go missing when compared to other versions, but this is not those versions. It's its own thing. Most enjoyable.
 
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Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov. And here's yet another widely contrasting recording. Faust and Melnikov take the repeat in the opener and play with verve approaching Taschner and Gieseking, but with preparation and control more akin to Shoji and Cascioli. Faust's tone is not the most robust or tonally lustrous, but her playing is super-precise and her dynamic range, as recorded, is superb. Melnikov, if anything, displays even more control. They combine to very good effect. In the Andante, they go for a light, springy, bouncy, rhythmically focused reading, with quicksilver dynamic contrasts and stop-on-a-dime phrasing. It's higher on ear-catching excitement than nuance, but it's high on nuance, too. Melnikov pounds out the opening chord of the final movement, and then the duo play a quick 'n' tight Presto closer, with more of that bouncy rhythmic playing that so captures the attention. Better than my memory suggested.
 
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Now's as good a time as any to get a HIP rendition out of the way. Jaap Schröder and Jos Van Immerseel paired up for this recording in the 90s, and from the first note one hears period instruments. The violin lacks projection and precision, but does sound warmer than pretty much every version to this point, even if the intonation annoys. But not as much as Immerseel's instrument. To be sure, I've heard much worse sounding period keyboards, but I've also heard much better. And I've heard better played. (Think Alexander Lonquich in his new set of the Cello Sonatas.) The duo get all the notes right and the general spirit of the Presto right, but the instruments sound broken. And some of Schröder's fast playing does not inspire confidence. The Andante brings Immerseel's fortepiano more to fore much of the time, and it doesn't hurt anything - and it doesn't help anything. Both players generate a more comfortable sound, but the instruments grate, especially the violin. The concluding Presto has enough pep but sounds small and doesn't have the dynamics or clean playing to satisfy. I doubt I listen to this recording again.
 
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Isabelle van Keulen and Hannes Minnaar. An unexpected cycle which I bought because it was five bucks. Keulen is not new to me, but Minnaar is (or was when I bought it), and let me say that they do some snazzy work here. Keulen does not go for the long, singing line, nor for a gorgeous one, but instead often (elegantly) slices her way through some passages, and seems to shorten note values, or at least taper the notes in such a way as to make it seem so. It's an elegant take on rambunctious fiddling in the opening movement. Playing along is Minnaar, who's just superb. His articulation is outstanding, his voice balancing, too, and while he can and does play with oomph, he never bulldozes his way through the music. And some little touches - perfectly weighted arpeggios, sforzandi that have attack but not bite, and a just generally supremely fine control and taste - almost make him the star of the show. The duo keep the Andante tight and springy pretty much throughout, with even the slower variations kind moving along. The effect is not at all unpleasant, and sort of makes the whole thing peppier. Minnaar hammers out the opening chord of the Presto and, at least rhythmically, sets the pace in the movement as the duo bop along quite nicely. Superb.
 
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Josef Suk and Jan Panenka. Suk starts more or less old school, with more than a little vibrato and a robust open, while Panenka joins him offering a piano equivalent. They then move through the Presto at a robust but not rushed tempo, and there's a robustness to the overall style and playing. Not a heaviness, not at all, a robustness. In the Andante, the duo effectively trade lead roles, whereas in the opener, Suk was the focus. Here, Suk keeps his vibrato and robust tone and Panenka offers a solid underpinning, though one might wish for a finer touch at times. Suk does lighten his touch a bit, too, delivering some lithe upper register playing. In the Presto, the duo again deliver robust playing, if not particularly zippy playing. Suk sort of becomes the star again, and with lilting double stops like he delivers a couple times, it sort of makes sense. The overall feel is old school reliable music making.
 
Well I have been inspired to do my own Kreutzer 'mini shoot-out' - partly inspired by this thread and partly by just finishing the Kreutzer chapter in Laura Tunbridge's hugely enjoyable new book 'Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces' (recommended...)
Admittedly I only have a measly half-dozen versions, but currently the front runner is Keulen/ Minaar, as much for him as her ! I very much like his concerto cycle so sort of knew what to expect, but his passage work and intelligent phrasing are a joy. It does help that this whole sonata cycle can be had at the moment for the princely sum of £3.99 on Qobuz - as can the entire symphony / concerto cycle !!
I don't rate the Midori/ Immerseel period cycle as much as others (though his instrument is better than some), but this led me to the Bonet referenced above - a much better recording and much nicer instruments. They take risks and sound almost improvisatory at times, but having read about the gestation of this piece, as well as the premiere, this is more than excusable - in fact, one can possible hear the master shouting 'bravo' as he reportedly did after a particular flourish from maestro Bridgetower in 1803...
 
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Aleksandra Kuls and Justyna Danczowska. Kuls starts with a slightly edgy Adagio sostenuto, a trait that never dissipates, and Danczowska enters with a forthright, clean piano sound, and then the two jump into the Presto. Danczowska adds a lot of heft, and the duo alternate between taking the lead nicely. They don't necessarily bring anything particularly or strikingly original to their playing, but the energy and directness work. The Andante theme sees Kuls relax her sound a bit, and when called on to do so in the rest of the movement she does. But it's the faster variations that really hit the spot, with ample snap and peppiness. The artists sound like they are having fun, though that could be an illusion. Too, the fourth variation sounds light, almost ethereal, especially for Danczowska's playing. The duo go all lively and bouncy in the Presto, which doesn't really let up throughout, but is also never sounds heavy or overdone. It's really quite exhilarating and would kill in person. SOTA+ sound helps things out.
 
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Willi Boskovsky and Lili Kraus. Boskovsky could never be accused of being the subtlest Beethoven interpreter on evidence of this recording. He starts the Adagio sostenuto a bit swiftly and plays the Presto with a touch of scruffiness in places. Kraus polishes things up a bit, but overall the opening movement is about energy and exuberance. In the Andante, if one can appreciate Boskovsky's generous vibrato - and who could not - then one gets a gentler treat, and Kraus adds a crisp classicism. In the faster variations, Boskovsky's less than lush playing reappears, but the approach lightens the music, making it sound quite nice. The Presto is just plucky as all get out, fun and light and bubbly and probably not for people who like Beethoven with more weight all the time. Old 50s mono has some defects, including tape overload and distortion, but it works well enough.
 
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Sarah Kapustin and Jeannette Koekkoek. Kapustin opens with a slow and rich Adagio sostenuto, and Koekkoek follows suit, with well-recorded heft. The Presto stays on the slightly broad side, and Kapustin's tone takes on a sharp edge in some higher register playing. Rather than explosive, intense energy, the duo brings a somewhat inevitable forward drive that pops up in some symphony recordings. The duo then deliver a relatively perkier than normal Andante and variations, keeping a more constant overall tempo flow. How much one likes such an approach may influence how much one likes this recording. The concluding Presto has more drive and pep than the opening movement, and more violin edge, too. Overall, the quality exceeds memories, but it is not a favorite.
 
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Kristóf Baráti and Klára Würtz. Baráti opens with a tense and not exactly slow Adagio sostenuto, and Klára Würtz mirrors the approach. The duo adopt a generally brisk overall approach, but end up using more flexibility than Kapustin and Koekkoek, though it would be difficult to describe the results as subtle. This is high voltage, high energy playing, which is no problem at all in itself, it's just when compared to something like Perlman/Ashkenazy, something goes missing. The duo go for a fast and direct Andante, to the point where the fourth variation sounds too rushed. They then close with a quick and perhaps slightly rough Presto. Here Würtz's steadiness and control lays the foundation for the conception, and while it bops along, it also pretty much fades from memory when the last note stops.
 
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Augustin Dumay and Maria João Pires. An extended and dramatic Adagio sostenuto intro by Dumay and tonally dark-ish but light entry by Pires segues to a Presto of some robustness, with Dumay in the lead. Some of his playing sounds inelegant, though purposely so. Ample energy and drive inform most of the playing, though some passages seem comparatively stiff, with one or two transitions lacking the seamlessness of others. For this recording, the Andante is where it's at. Pires comes to the fore more, which can only help, and the duo impart more than a little stylistic variegation into the variations. Dumay plays with more subtlety and beauty, and Pires, as is her wont, deliver nuance on top of subtlety, blended with just the right amount of heft. Little figurations sparkle and dance, her touch showing fine gradations up and down the spectrum. The Presto reverts to the Dumay led sound, and the same sometimes purposely inelegant playing. The duo does not barnstorm here, but there's plenty of pep and some humorous (in execution and emphasis) szforzandi from the fiddler and a charming overall mien. very nice.
 
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Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil. Grumiaux never, that I have heard, put a foot wrong. In the Adagio sostenuto, he reinforces that idea, with an elegance yet robustness that seduces, which then gets further reinforced as the playing switches gears on the Presto, where the quick playing never sounds rushed, but rather dispatched with ease. Haskil, for her part, offers mostly superb accompaniment, a few rough passages in the left hand playing notwithstanding. Her tone and range and attack all suit the music and her partner quite nicely, indeed. In the Andante, Grumiaux plays with such beauty and refinement that one just sort of basks in beauty. As good as Haskil is, Grumiaux really is on another level here, creating a sort of disparate quality; top notch and timeless meet. The variations each sound superb, reaching an apogee in the fourth, with Haskil fully matching Grumiaux, with Grumiaux himself offering purely delightful pizzicatti (how does he do that?) and trills so ethereal and light and beautiful and playful that one might find oneself sort of swaying and swooning to the playing. The Presto closes out with a sophisticated and smooth (too smooth? Nah.) Presto, where while the players are pretty much equals, still relies on Grumiaux's playing to lead the music forward, which works splendidly. This recording has been since I first heard, and will remain forever, one of my favorites.
 
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Henryk Szeryng and Arthur Rubinstein. The duo opt for no repeats, bringing the opening movement in at under eleven minutes, but they do not rush. Szeryng opens with a lovely, vibrato-rich Adagio sostenuto and Rubinstein is his tonally robust self and perfectly suited to accompany. Right from the moment they play together, there is a comfortableness to the music making that makes everything jell. There's enough energy, enough dynamic range, a perfect blend of instruments. If not as elevated as playing from some other duos, this recording offers a perfect example of why the mammoth Rubinstein box is such a great thing to have: grab a disc, any disc, and it is literally impossible to be disappointed. Anyway, back to the music: the Presto is not the fastest or most incisive or most anything, but it just sort of moves along. In the Andante, Szeryng's approach comes perilously close to sounding to vibrato-laden and syrupy - but it doesn't get there. Rubinstein knows what he's doing when he backs up his partner. One gets the sense that they worked together many times, because the back and forths have an ease, with tiny pauses or transitions that sound, well, natural. The brisk Presto sounds spunky, and Rubinstein, especially, delivers some sparkling high register playing. Rock solid stuff.
 
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Corey Cerovsek and Paavali Jumppanen. Coming into the comparisons, this set has been - and remains - my reference contemporary set. Entirely unsurprisingly, I was reminded why. Cerovsek layers on the vibrato in the Adagio sostenuto, and plays with a modern sensibility reconstruction of romanticism, while Jumppanen enters with clarity and perfectly judged touch to aid the fiddler, and then the duo launch into a Presto possessed of everything one wants. Ample energy, wide dynamic contrasts, effortless back and forths, perfect blending of instruments. When Cerovsek plays lower registers, he plays with fine poise and clarity, and Jumppanen varies his dynamics perfectly. When they accelerate the music together, it electrifies. Even in slower, less eventful passages, the perfect blending of instrumentalists cannot be denied. As kick-ass as the opener is, the Andante may be better yet. Cerovsek's playing is basically beyond reproach. He plays with a richness and warmth that kills criticism. Hardly less impressive is Jumppanen's playing, boasting some mean trills whenever he dispatches them, as well as a rhythmic sense in the faster variations that exude excitement. As in most of the best versions, the fourth variation is the highlight, with Jumppanen delivering some right hand playing of almost ridiculous attractiveness, and Cerovsek joining him, though he can't quite match Grumiaux's pizzicato magic. What he can and does do, abetted by Jumppanen, is deliver a coda with playing of beauty and at times serenity to make one greedily await the next note. Oh yeah. The closing Presto launches with a big ol' honkin' chord belted out by Jumppanen, and then it moves into super-frisky playing. Again, wide-ranging and perfectly executed dynamics mark out this performance, and the rhythmic foundation laid down by Jumppanen makes the music bubble until the end. Just, yeah. Add in some of the best sound available, and this here's one of the greatest recordings of the work yet made.
 
And now, a fusillade of five French fiddlers to finish: Fouchenneret, Capuçon, Ferras, Papavrami, and Francescatti. (OK, Papavrami was born in Albania, but he's been in France since he was a young kid, so he gets included here.)

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First, Pierre Fouchenneret and Romain Descharmes. Fouchenneret's open reminds the listener of Bach to an extent, and while not at all devoid of vibrato, he uses less than some others. Descharmes' playing stays kind of surface-deep to start, and he and the engineers cede slightly to Fouchenneret. As the music unfold in the Presto, the duo pick up the pace and play with more energy, and things sort of cumulatively pick up until the playing just before the coda assumes a sort of scale and oomph that satisfies handily. In the Andante, the duo keep things light start to finish, with some of the playing taking on an uncommonly dance-like feel, and Fouchenneret's highest register playing takes on a most appealing feathery sound. With an approach offered by the duo, one would expect, and one gets, a delightful and delicate fourth variation, too. The Presto has a very dance-like style to the playing, and the due keeps things light and playful more or less the whole way through. Very, very nice.
 
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Renaud Capuçon and Frank Braley. Capuçon opens with slow, almost vibratoless playing, and Braley enters with surface playing possessed of notably refined touch to back him up in the Adagio sostenuto, while in the Presto, they generate ample energy. While the dynamic contrasts sound snazzy and there's impact, the playing retains a certain lightness; it never becomes too heavy, while it displays a basically perfect level of musical drama. It's echt-French chamber music-making, which means it's very, very good. The Andante has more comparatively light playing, and here not just the fourth has it. It starts in with the first variation, and tickles the ear. Could one want more depth in the third variation? Maybe, but it's hard to say one would want something much more than what the ethereal and gorgeous fourth offers. Braley starts off the closing Presto with a bracing chord, and then he and Capuçon wind through the music with a nimble, responsive take. They takes turns leading, and the transitions sound smooth and easy. Superb modern sound only helps matters, and they didn't need help.
 
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