Todd A
pfm Member
This is something I’ve wanted to do since 2005. Walter Gieseking died before he could complete his ongoing Beethoven piano sonata cycle in progress for EMI, and for decades, EMI never saw fit to reissue all of the recordings on CD. The chance to hear all of the 50s studio Beethoven on CD was one of the main reasons I had to buy the complete Gieseking box. When combined with the radio broadcast set long available from Tahra, the lucky listener can hear Gieseking play 31 of the beloved 32. He never recorded Op 54, so a complete cycle can never be heard. But thirty-one gives the listener a pretty gosh darned good idea of what Gieseking could do. For my purposes, I am approaching the hybrid cycle as such: the 50s studio recordings come first and the Tahra set fills in the gaps. The first fifteen sonatas were all recorded in the 50s, as were Opp 31/2, 31/3, 49/1&2, 53, 57, 109, and 110. (There are also some earlier recordings of various sonatas recorded in the 50s, but those will not be included here.) So, after all these years, here goes.
The Op 2 trio, with repeats AWOL, starts off with Gieseking dispatching the opening Allegro of 2/1 with crisp, light playing. His independence of hands is very fine, the forward drive just swell, the mien Haydnesque. So far, so nice. The Adagio goes slow and pseudo-stiffly to start, almost like his Mozart. The Menuetto is quicker, spunkier, with a light, well-articulated trio, and the concluding Prestissimo has zip, drive, and adequate dynamic contrasts. A solid start. More than solid is 2/2, which starts with a peppy Allegro vivace, neatly dispatched with nice little touches here and there – eg, one plain diminuendo turned unplain as played. The Largo appassionato remains small scale and just a tad swift, but Gieseking keeps it tense. The Scherzo is dispatched with disarming ease and crispness and lightness. I have no way to know, of course, but it sounds like a single take. The concluding Rondo is indeed grazioso in the outer sections, and pointed and scherzo-y (hinting at 31/3, tying them together) in the trio. Nice. Op 2/3 fits Gieseking’s style, and sure enough, he sort of blithely plays the first movement, keeping it taut and quick throughout, but also relaxed much of the time. This is fun stuff, not heavy stuff. The Adagio is taken at a kinda quick pace, but Gieseking thumps out the bass notes and forte passages with some grit and keeps it classical in demeanor. This is not romantic or late LvB, after all. The first surprise comes in the Scherzo, where Gieseking starts and ends the piece slowly and deliberately, and with quite remarkable clarity and exacting touch. The trio zips right along in contrast. The concluding Allegro assai is the most perfectly suited movement for Gieseking, and he dispatches it with breezy elan, with energy and playfulness aplenty. A very good opening trio.
Op 4 starts off with Gieseking playing in well-behaved fashion, not rushing, playing everything cleanly and deliberately, but still with more than enough groove and energy to satisfy. The Largo is steady and well executed, but it lacks much in the way of expression, though it’s not needed in Gieseking’s approach. The Allegro sounds assertive, dark, and swift in the middle section, and light in the out sections, while the Rondo sounds quite light, and very Haydnesque. Very nice. The Op 10 trio starts with a 10/1 where Gieseking of course launches with extra-zippy ascending arpeggios, then moves to quick and nonchalant playing. There’s some tension, but it’s less drama then just quick and jaunty. A slow but not slow sounding Adagio and plucky Prestissimo, with neat runs, ends a predictably good take. 10/2, stripped down, comes across almost as a plucky, fun sonatina, almost all good times and note spinning, with only the middle section of the Allegretto sounding less than completely buoyant. The pianist brings his glib and slick insouciance to the Presto opener of 10/3, moving forward quickly and nimbly, in the musical equivalent of a bracing sports car drive through winding country roads. In the Largo, Gieseking brings his A game in terms of expressivity, starting off fairly light, but with dark undercurrents, gradually slowing down to a somber lament, and then building up to a satisfying if not thundering climax, and then tapering off. He wraps things up with a Menuetto that somehow sounds like a musical burden has been lifted, and a Rondo that’s peppy and fun. He scores in the first great sonata. The disc ends with the oft reissued stereo recording of Op 13. A hefty enough Grave and a zippy, zippy, zippy Allegro start things off, a pleasing and singing Adagio cantabile follows, and a quick and at times carefree Rondo caps off a fine, if not top ten or twenty version. Disappointingly, the transfer for Op 13 is notably less satisfactory than the super-budget EMI reissue from 1995. (I think I paid $3 for the disc.) I came across the same issue comparing the EMI References Mozart set and the 2022 Art & Son Studio remasterings in the complete box, but it is more pronounced here.
Gieseking’s style and musical personality are a natural fit for the Op 14 sonatas. With a few bits of faint humming from the pianist in these closely miked recordings, Gieseking starts 14/1 with a light, melodic, playful, but also serious Allegro, where he thwacks out the loudest passage with contained gusto and keeps things moving. Both the Allegretto and Rondo display a lightness of touch that delights, and the runs in the Rondo, along with the way Gieseking accents bass notes, spices things up a bit. A delight filled Allegro starts off 14/2, with rapid fire runs aplenty, and then Gieseking goes for the extra-slow approach in the Largo-like Andante and manages to pull it off, keeping it bouncing along and light. The Scherzo, in contrast, is a light, super-zippy breeze. In Op 22, Gieseking launches with an Allegro con brio that’s all energy and surface lightness along, bopping along until some gruff and humorous forte playing arrives, and some faux (or real) sloppiness. The way it’s delivered, it seems to look forward to the wonderful rude outbursts in 31/3, rendering this one of the most Beethovenian versions I’ve heard. The Adagio remains a bit taut, but the mien changes a lot, becomes more serious, with ample little touches and a serious adherence to the espressione designation. Plucky outer sections of the Menuetto flank a more intense middle section, and the Rondo is mostly a quick, light tuneful movement, though Gieseking tosses in something approaching truly intense playing in the second section. One of the great Op 22 recordings. The Andante opening of the first movement of Op 26 sounds splendid, and Gieseking plays up the variations nicely. He then rushes through the Scherzo in a nearly reckless and entirely exciting and satisfying manner. The Funeral March is taut but not rushed, with wide dynamic contrasts and a solemn as all get out feel. He caps things off with a vigorous, punchy Allegro. A superb disc.
Op 27/1 starts off light, quick, with jaunty, clipped playing in the Andante, then moves to even swifter, and still clipped playing in the Allegro section, and then goes right back to the Andante. In the third section, Gieseking delivers a depth charge left hand chord and then scampers around about it and does so right through to the return of the more rapid fire Andante section. The Allegro molto e vivace is boisterous and vibrant, and then Gieseking delivers a slow and expressive Adagio before closing out with an Allegro that sort of bops along to the end. Overall, a very good first quasi una fantasia. The well-known and oft-reissued stereo Mondschein, one of several different recordings in the big box, starts off slow, somber, and restrained, if not with ideally even accompaniment in the Adagio sostenuto. The Allegretto is just a tad on the broad side, and very uneventfully carries on until the quick, pointed, almost dramatic Presto agitato. The constant forward drive prevents excess drama. Overall, a very good second quasi una fantasia. The Pastorale starts with a peppy, cleanly articulated, sometimes rushed, and in a few spots not ideally edited (ie, sloppy) passages. But as with some other older piano recordings, and even some new ones, note imperfection doesn’t matter if the musical message is right, as here. Gieseking does a fine job building up to a stormy climax, and then backs off to cruise along until the Andante which Gieseking plays with a bit of bright tension in the outer sections, and some really sweet szforzandi in the middle section. The Scherzo is suitably jaunty, and the final Rondo, again underedited, lolls along with a nice rhythm and clean playing through to the end, though the coda has a bit of oomph tacked on.
At this point, it’s time to move from the Warner box to the Tahra box to cover 31/1. After the necessary ten seconds needed to get used to the recorded sound, one gets Gieseking on the wing. The opening Allegro vivace is zippy and fun, rushing forward, stopping for some outbursts. There are some unkempt passages, but this live recording has all the energy of a live performance, and Gieseking was often at his best in such situations. One gets the sense of real, live music making. Gieseking keeps things swift in the Adagio grazioso, with some clean, crisp trills, daring and dashing runs, and a playful and carefree mien, with a middle section where Gieseking fairly prances about. The Rondo gets dispatched with a light, playful touch that verges on the reckless – in a good way. There’s a sense of freedom in this recording lacking from the studio recordings. This is as unheavy a take on the work as exists. Moving back to the studio recordings for 31/2, and here one might not know the opening is supposed to be a Largo, or that the following section is Allegro, because it starts fast and them moves into an impatient, edgy, Presto (at least) that’s about nervous excitement and less about precise execution and editing. That’s OK, because it introduces a sense of reckless and freedom heard in the Tahra recordings. (It would be fun to know how many takes were used to put together the recording.) The Adagio remains comparatively quick and tense, with a quite lovely in unaffecting second section. Overall expressivity maybe iffy, but the movement works. Gieseking then closes with a nearly fiery, and more nearly occasionally reckless Allegretto, and one where tape overload appears in a couple places, but that just adds to the allure here. Op 31/3 starts off rather slowly and deliberately, and even after the introduction transitions into the faster section, Gieseking plays slowish and steady rather than quick and rambunctious. He thwacks out sfozrzandi nicely and builds up to a satisfying forte playing, but he never revs up. Things improve quite a bit in the Scherzo, which sounds more vibrant and fun. The Menuetto is then played quickly in the outer sections, and at a pleasant pace in the middle section, with fine and fun dynamic contrast. In the Presto con fuoco, Gieseking finally goes all Gieseking, playing super swiftly, with a rolling and rumbling bass line, nice accenting, a stormy and slightly sloppy middle section, and much more of a sense of fun and vitality. Gieseking plays the two Op 49 sonatas relatively serious, not treating them like lesser works, and playing with some lovely tone, especially in the second movement of 49/2. Ancient stereo sound is fine, but 49/2 sounds augmented or tweaked after the fact, like reverb was added in the newest remastering.
It's time for another switch up, this time from the big box to the GROC reissue, which sounds marginally superior for Opp 53, 57, 109, and 110. Gieseking starts Op 53 properly pianissimo and swift and keeps the movement moving forward at all times, never slowing down too much, but rather just enough, and only occasionally raising up to an overload inducing forte. The Introduzione sounds subdued and lovely but surfacey, which is fine, because what one wants is a Rondo with speed and drive and some wallop, and, after a solemn start, that’s what ones gets. Gieseking pushes right to the edge of recklessness, though this seems very studio bound, meaning one senses that short takes and edits were deftly employed. It’s all good because it sounds good. Gieseking goes for broke in Op 57, with an opening movement possessed of jittery tension, forward drive, and dramatic crescendos, pushing forward at full speed. It lacks subtlety; it has impact. Nice. He keeps things taut and forward moving in the Andante theme and variations second movement, with a couple serious respites, and then the bracing transition to the final movement arrives. Gieseking then backs off in volume but not tension or speed, and then he rushes headlong into exciting and nearly reckless playing, with oodles of energy. If it lacks ultimate impact of the St Annie or Richter variety, that hardly matters. Nice, again.
Now begins a long stretch of recordings from the Tahra set. Op 78 starts with somber and lovely playing in the Adagio cantabile opening, then moves to vibrant, quick, bright playing in the Allegro ma non troppo, with Gieseking’s fingers flying with live performance abandon. The Allegro vivace boasts boogie and fun in equal measure. Op 79 launches with a recklessly fast Presto alla tedesca, with the worse than normal sound of the set rendering a lot of the playing a hyper blur. It’s not unpleasant. The energy borders on the intense, and the acciaccatura is just plain fun. Gieseking vocalizes his way through the tense and lovely and heavier than normal but brisk Andante. The Vivace relaxes things a bit, sounding playful and bouncy, even in the middle section. Excellent. Recorded sound for 81a is quite poor, with lots of distortion and overload (it’s still not as bad as Dino Ciani’s set), but even through that, one hears a tense, solemn opening Adagio, and a nearly reckless Allegro. The fairly quick Abwesenheit possesses decent expressivity and the Das Wiedersehen is one of the fastest takes around, pushing the bounds of recklessness and excess, but it also sounds free and recital like, very much delivering Gieseking in person, though in bad sound. The Op 90 opening movement is characterized by intense, strong playing alternating with very fast, almost rushed passages, with little rest from the tension. It’s definitely “live”, with all that entails, and represents a step up qualitatively from 81a. The second movement sounds more lyrical, as it should, but Gieseking never abandons a tense overall mien.
Starting in on the late sonatas proper, Gieseking starts Op 101 with an Allegretto, ma non troppo that meets the “somewhat lively” designation, though it often sounds very contained for Gieseking, and he also adds some late LvB sound to it. It’s not rushed or reckless. It also builds to an overload inducing climax. The second movement march is not very march like, and more rapid-fire and punchy and almost reckless. Not bad, not bad at all. The Adagio comes off as pretty much a direct take, with hints of late LvB transcendence, but not a lot, and then the Allegro is quick, mostly clean, pretty clear, and quite energetic. This playing typifies a more middle period Beethoven style applied to late works. Op 106 is one of the few takes on the work that comes close to meeting the prescribed tempi and comes in at around thirty-seven minutes total. So zippy, zippy, zippy. It’s not that Gieseking plays anything nutso fast, it’s more that he plays everything swiftly, with no great slow-downs, no lengthy or dramatic pauses. It’s alla breva and closer in style to early or middle period playing than earth shattering late period drama. Sure, it’s not the tightest in terms of execution among speedy playing (he’s no Stewart Goodyear), but it’s quite good. The Scherzo offers more of the same. In the fairly swift Adagio – just under fifteen minutes – one can hear his swifter than swift approach more than in the opening movement. His take sounds tense, almost angry, in the first third or so, though it gradually morphs into more desolate and cold playing, though he never sheds the tension. (Tape distortion, overload, and breakup really harm parts of the movement sonically.) The final movement starts with a fairly straight Largo, moves to undulating and swift playing unlike any other version, then quickly and close to sloppily moves to a fugue that sounds fast, nicely clear, and completely unaffected. Some playing is rock solid, some less than perfect, and some borders on sloppy, but Gieseking keeps a high energy level and delivers a good, probably second tier type performance of the work.
Opp 109 and 110 switch back to the EMI GROC issue. These two recordings have long been favorite versions, up there with other LvB heavy-hitters. Gieseking starts of Op 109 with a gentle, contained, measured Vivace ma non troppo, never rushing or pressing anything. It’s not so much transcendental late LvB as introspective and dreamy, and even with the aged sound, one can hear pianissimo playing of phenomenal delicacy. The Prestissimo is quick but not rushed or hammered out, with Gieseking favoring a more flowing approach. To be sure, he wails on the keys when he needs to, but the level of refinement remains high. The final movement starts off with lovely, slow cantabile playing in the Andante theme, very considered and serious, and then moves to a first variation that sounds even lovelier, with perfectly measured accompaniment and slightly prominent right hand playing, but just to make one appreciate the beauty. The second variation is pointillistic and almost sounds like gentle post-war writing, while the third variation has a little bit of boogie and fun in it. The fourth variation then nicely revisits the opening feel, as does the sixth, with a boisterous fifth variation in between. The stylistic variety, touch, and not weighed down feel all contribute to a version that holds up fantastically well. Op 110 starts with a first movement that meets the title expertly in every area other than speed. It’s ever so slightly quick, but never even close to rushed, and it sings. It lacks heft and excess weight, yet still achieves a light transcendent sound. The Allegro molto is quick, pointed, with an almost prankish sound a la 31/3. Gieseking immediately switches up styles in the opening Arioso of the final movement, which entirely inhabits a late LvB soundworld. The fugue starts off slow and deliberate and meticulous and dreamy, with such perfect evenness that it kind of jars given Gieseking’s more common style. He builds up the volume and tension and increases the basic tempo just a bit as he proceeds, then plays a masterful diminuendo on his way back to the second Arioso, which sounds lovely and serene, and which in turn ends in repeated chords that slowly build to a satisfying volume. Gieseking then delivers a short and masterful transition, starts the inverted fugue in slow and dreamy fashion, but in short order transforms it into something more vibrant, faster, and even intense, which he carries on to the coda. Like 109, this holds up fantastically well. To close out the hybrid cycle, the Tahra Op 111 ends things. The Maestoso sounds conventional in pacing and dynamics and not especially dramatic or dark, while Gieseking dispatches the Allegro swiftly, with nimble fingerwork, and lots of energy, but little bite. On the plus side, some of the playing sounds pleasingly reckless. The second movement, coming in at under fourteen minutes, starts with a slow, lovely Arietta that stays even throughout, with no difference between the first and second half. The first variation, while still elevated and nearly transcendent, sounds much quicker than typical, and tenser, something which persist through the second variation. The boogie-woogie variation is the fastest I’ve heard, lacking in rhythmic vitality but maxing out energy. The fourth and fifth variations lack the transcendent sound I prefer, and instead remain infused with live performance energy and even seeming impatience. Some touches remind the listener that Gieseking was in total command, like those chains of trills. Overall, the last sonata does not rise to the same comparative level as Opp 109 and 110, but it’s still quite good.
After nearly twenty years, I finally got to hear as close to a complete cycle from Gieseking as one can hear. The Tahra set on its own, while it has nice things in it, has never been a favorite due to poor sound and too much playing in need of retakes. The EMI cycle, with so many sonatas completed, offers a chance to hear a big slug of what Gieseking and his producers were going for, and the results improve on the radio recordings. If anything, it makes the fact that the pianist died before completing the cycle that much more saddening, because it would have offered another long-standing rival to the other great German pianists who laid down cycles in the 50s. This hybrid cycle does not end up rivalling either Backhaus or Kempff overall, but in some specific sonatas, Gieseking stands with the greatest of the greats. I finally have the set I wanted for eons, and I am glad to have it.