生活中的學習… What I've learned in life…

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major “Waldstein”

BeethovenYouTube affords us the ability to compare different interpretations of the same classical music piece. After listening to numerous interpretations of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, op. 53 “Waldstein”, I personally like Wilhelm Kempff’s interpretation the best. A close second favorite is András Schiff. I also like Stephen Kovacevich and Daniel Barenboim but I found Kempff and Schiff sound better. For me, Alfred Brendel and Vladimir Ashkenazy are too deliberate in their playing of Beethoven’s piano sonatas and not enough passion. I have no doubt about their techniques, but I wonder if Brendel and Ashkenazy’s personalities are not fit for playing Beethoven. Understand, of course, that is just my personal opinion. Martha Argerich is way too fast, and it feels like she is trying to catch a train that is about to leave station. Artur Schnabel is a little too fast but otherwise I quite like his interpretation. Finally, Richard Goode doesn’t sound very clear to me on YouTube and I am not sure if that’s how he played or just the recording.

What do you think? Who is your favor Beethoven piano sonatas’ interpreter?

Here are the links:

Sheet Music: http://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No.21,_Op.53_(Beethoven,_Ludwig_van)

 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.