Nimbus
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Roberts
$69.99
Only 3 left
Details
- Composer
- BEETHOVEN, LUDWIG VAN
- Artist
- Bernard Roberts
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Nimbus
- Released
- May 01, 2005
- Catalog #
- NI1774
- UPC
- 710357177422
About
Overall, I’d certainly strongly endorse the complete Nimbus set for reliable performances.
The arrival on the scene of a bright new talent in the Beethoven Piano Sonatas in the form of the young Korean pianist HJ Lim (EMI Classics 50999 7041855 2) has prompted me to return to the Nimbus set. The virtues of complete sets by the likes of Alfred Brendel (Philips 438 1342 – see June 2011/2 Download Roundup) and Wilhelm Kempff (DG – see below) are well enough known but, for some reason, we seem never to have got around to reviewing the Nimbus set with Bernard Roberts. Not the least of its virtues is that, with some ingenious organisation, the CD set is far less bulky than you might imagine: the 11 CDs come in two double-size cases, holding five discs plus booklet and six discs respectively, all housed inside a cardboard slip case.
I actually started to write a review of the complete Nimbus set a year ago, and lost what I’d written, apart from some notes and jottings, when my computer crashed. I was able to piece some of these together in time for the November 2011/2 Download Roundup, but fortunately, when I lost what I’d written, my friend Geoffrey Molyneux, who knows a great deal more about pianism than I ever did and has owned the Nimbus set for some time, came to the rescue. I promised then to patch my notes back together to finish that review but got around only partially to doing it.
Whereas Roberts’ recordings arose from mature consideration, HJ Lim has committed the whole œuvre to disc at an early stage in her career, whether from brave assurance or youthful bravado I was very interested to find out. You can do so for yourself from the Naxos Music Library if you have access to that extremely valuable service. They offer both the first two 2-CD single volumes and the complete set. As they also have the Roberts recordings, that’s a good way to compare for yourself.
Volume 1 from Lim contains Sonatas 29 Hammerklavier, 11, 26 Les Adieux, 4, 9, 10, 13 Quasi una fantasia and 14 Moonlight ( 730092, 2 CDs for around £12.50). The complete set (omitting the Op.49 sonatas because Beethoven didn’t intend them for publication) comes on 8 CDs for around £40 ( 4649522). Those willing to download can obtain Volume 1 for £6.99 from sainsburysentertainment.co.uk. They also have the complete 8-CD set to download for £10.99, though you may prefer to obtain this from amazon.co.uk for £12.99, complete with the pdf version of the booklet.
Lim opens both Volume 1 and the complete set with the Hammerklavier Sonata. She takes the first movement at a cracking pace – 10:24 against Roberts’ 11:42, making her performance commensurate with Earl Wild, at 10:20 one of the fastest ever accounts (Ivory Classics 76001). I was impressed by her technique; it makes a barnstorming opening to the set, but it’s all a bit too much unvaried and ‘hell-for-leather’; at his slightly slower tempo Roberts achieves much more light and shade in this movement and throughout the work, not least in his reading of the slow movement, where his 17:58 allows him to achieve Innigkeit without sounding portentous. At 12:50 Lim is certainly appassionato; she doesn’t sound as rushed as I might have expected from the different timings, but she doesn’t quite achieve the affective quality demanded by the marking con molto sentimento.
Artur Schnabel’s recording of this sonata may come on an album subtitled ‘Scholar of the Piano’ (EMI Icons 2650642) but there’s much more than scholarship involved in his performance. This remains my benchmark, especially for the slow movement: his tempo almost exactly matches that of Roberts, but he captures the affective qualities even more without ever sounding ponderous. His recording comes with a degree of light surface noise, but it’s never excessive and the piano tone is truly remarkable for its age. Nevertheless, Roberts offers a better-recorded modern alternative that I can certainly live with.
I should add that reviewers have been very much divided about Lim’s performances; some have seen a great deal more of value in them than I have. In the finale of the Hammerklavier I hear some of the qualities that her admirers postulate – she’s actually very little faster overall than Schnabel and her playing is certainly risoluto – but my own ultimate judgement hinges on whether I would wish to add her complete recording or Volume 1 to my over-crowded collection. I have to say that I wouldn’t, even at the attractive prices that I’ve mentioned.
On the other hand, I would certainly have considered purchasing the Roberts set, especially at the special price of £28 post free for which it’s offered by MusicWeb International. You won’t even find them as a download for less. I know that I’m effectively blowing our own trumpet, but I dipped into sonatas from every period of Beethoven’s working life, comparing what I heard with other versions that I knew, and found that Roberts stood up well to the competition in every respect. He is not always top dog in a particular sonata, but nearly always close. The whole set is so inexpensive that I would recommend beginners to buy it and to add individual recordings later.
CD 1 of the Nimbus set gets off to a quiet start with Sonata No.1 from 1795. Though there are signs of the distinctive Beethoven manner to come here, Roberts doesn’t stress these by over-egging the pudding; he gives a very satisfying, neat, tidy, but not too delicate account, taken at a fairly brisk pace throughout, though never sounding rushed. The same is true of No.2 and No.3, which open CD 2 and CD 3 respectively.
You might expect Lim to do particularly well in these youthful sonatas, so I turned to her account of No.1 in expectation. Predictably her tempi are consistently a little faster than Roberts’, but not to a huge extent. There’s certainly lightness of touch but it’s allied with underlying strength and I enjoyed this performance.
Nimbus CD 1 closes with the Appassionata Sonata, from Beethoven’s middle period. Roberts gives this, right from the start, the soulful treatment which its name implies. In the opening movement he takes Beethoven’s marking allegro assai with a pinch of salt, perhaps thinking, as I have seen suggested, that Beethoven sometimes confused the French assez (fairly) and the Italian assai (very). Whatever the reason, 10:13 – almost a minute longer than most performances – seems to me to be reasonable for this movement, especially as Roberts indulges in a degree of rubato (not excessive) to achieve it. I’m with Roberts and his slightly weightier tempo here, but if you are looking for a compromise, Jenö Jandó on Naxos (8.550294, with No.21 and No.23) – as usual reliable without being exceptional – splits the difference between Roberts and the ‘mainstream’, as does Alfred Brendel on his early Vox recording (CDX-5042, 2 CDs: Nos.16-19, 21-23 and 26 – or Alto ALC1016, Nos.8, 14, 23 and 26). In his recording of the Appassionata with the Emperor Concerto (Philips 468 6662, with VPO/Rattle), Brendel is even closer to Roberts in this movement.
There’s respect for the marking andante con moto, too, from Roberts in the second movement, though I might have welcomed a slightly faster pace at the outset. In the finale he observes both parts of the marking ( allegro non troppo), so there’s nothing headlong, but there is plenty of power and emotion and the concluding bars are taken at a virtuoso pace. Overall I found this a very satisfying account, bringing a degree of new light to a well-known work without being at all quirky. Listening to it a second time was even more convincing.
Predictably, Lim allies herself throughout with those who take a faster view of this sonata, though her tempi are not extreme she actually takes the opening movement slightly slower than Angela Hewitt on the first volume of her Beethoven recordings. Lim takes the finale at quite a lick but so, for example, does Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca Eloquence 480 1309). Though her version certainly works for me, so too does Roberts’.
If HJ Lim has set her interpretations down at an early stage in her career, David Wilde is something of a wonder for the opposite reason – though well into his seventies, he’s only just entered the limelight, yet he plays with a combination of the technique of a young virtuoso and the maturity of a seasoned practitioner on his recording of Nos. 21 Waldstein, 17 Tempest and 31 (Delphian DCD34090: Recording of the Month and November 2011/2 Download Roundup.)
The d minor Sonata, Op.31/2, the Tempest, dates from the transitional period between the earliest works, such as the Op.18 Quartets, and the very productive middle period. This was the period of the Third Piano Concerto when Beethoven’s music was beginning to break away from the influence of the previous generation of Haydn and Salieri. Wilde takes a more expansive view of the first movement, adopts roughly the same tempo as Roberts for the adagio, and is slightly faster in the allegretto finale. I thought Roberts somewhat routine in this sonata, especially in the adagio, which sounds ponderous rather than affective.
I certainly preferred Wilde in the finale, though Brian Reinhart, for all his admiration of the album as a whole, had some reservations here. Roberts’ finale offers us the letter of the music with exemplary technique, but it seems to miss the last degree of joy. I appreciate that it’s allegretto, not allegro, but I felt that Wilde’s 7:05 was more in the spirit of the music than Roberts’s 7:26. The latter seems to offer a view of a composer who is not yet completely his own man, not yet what Roberts himself describes in the brief notes as ‘dynamic, deeply expressive and visionary’. Lim rattles through this movement at an unbelievable 6:01; that’s preferable to Roberts and I can only marvel that none of the phrasing is slurred at this speed, but Wilde’s is the version of this sonata to have.
Though my recommendation of the Nimbus set overall holds, therefore, this illustrates the hazards of relying on just one artist throughout; for this sonata I’d certainly add another version. Though I listened to Roberts on CD and to Wilde from an mp3 download (albeit at the full 320kb/s rate, from classicsonline.com), which ought to give Roberts an edge, Wilde sounded more dynamic from the very opening of the first movement, the slow movement a little more expressive and the finale a little more joyful. Both Wilde and Roberts are preferable here to Thomas Sauer, whose recording of the Op.31 Sonatas I found somewhat wanting (MSR Classics MS1284).
David Wilde offers the middle-period Waldstein Sonata, No.21 on his new recording, one of the works also available separately from Nimbus. Wilde, who takes both sections very slightly faster than Roberts, is closer to the general consensus and on the whole slightly preferable. This time I think the contest between the two pianists a little less weighted in Wilde’s favour, though generally agreeing with Brian Reinhart, who thought this probably the highlight of the disc.
Lim plays the Waldstein on the second disc of Volume 2 – CD4 of the complete set. Here again, the tempo of the first movement is too hectic: at 9:58 against Wilde’s 10:48 and Roberts’s 11:05, the music doesn’t have time to breathe. The same is true of the Introduzione, here tracked as a separate movement, as on the Wilde recording. The final Rondo is a real tour de force combined with real delicacy in the slower sections, though the transition between the two can sound a little abrupt and brutal.
BR was slightly less impressed by Wilde’s take on the late sonata, Op.110. These late works are as difficult to bring off as the Late String Quartets with which they are contemporaneous; both perplexed Beethoven’s audiences and both can provide difficult listening even for modern ears.
There’s one set of the late sonatas that remains my benchmark: Wilhelm Kempff on DG E453 0102, an inexpensive 2-disc set of Nos. 27-32 from his 1960s stereo recordings. I didn’t consult him in the case of the Hammerklavier for fear of seeming to be unduly influenced by nostalgia, but I can’t resist calling Kempff into comparison for No.31, Op.110. Jens Laurson, writing about Kempff’s recordings in a survey of what was available at the time (2009) finds it hard to pin down exactly what it is that makes Kempff’s Beethoven so superb. Overall I can’t better his summing up – ‘Solid, in the best, most empathetically positive sense of the word.’
Kempff and Roberts adopt almost exactly the same tempo in each of the opening movements of Op.110, with Wilde just a little slower than either. All three combine the cantabile and molto espressivo aspects of the first movement very well. Wilde is a little faster in the adagio and fuga but, again, there’s very little in it. Kempff, on whose recording DG run these last two sections together, takes just 9:44 overall against Roberts’ 11:24 and Wilde’s 11:15. Both sections from Kempff are faster: his adagio is certainly more non troppo than from Roberts or Wilde, without losing any of its emotive power, and his fugue is certainly allegro without losing sight of the non troppo marking and without sounding hurried. As good as Roberts and Wilde are here, I’d certainly also want Kempff’s recording as an alternative.
Lim is even faster in the adagio and fuga – tracked together on her recording, as with Kempff, and coming in at just 8:34. She starts the adagio portentously and she’s generally both affective and effective in this section; by the clock she’s the fastest of all the recordings that I compared without seeming unduly hasty. Indeed, though she’s a minute faster overall even than Kempff, I enjoyed her take on this sonata more than I had expected.
Lim ends volume 1 with the Moonlight Sonata. In the first movement she’s notably faster than Roberts and at least some of the magic is lost thereby; a good deal less than you might imagine from the comparative timings, but Roberts captures the fantasia and allows us much better to see that the nickname is apt. I didn’t enjoy Lim’s tentative account of the second movement; it’s as if she were thinking out her approach on the spot where Roberts knows where he’s going from the start. Lim’s finale is sufficiently agitato but here again there’s too much of a scrabble, even at a basic tempo not much faster than that of Roberts, and I thought her less than fully involved with the music.
One advantage of the Delphian recording concerns the inclusion of Wilde’s own notes, which are informative not only about the music but also about some of his decisions in performance. Even at the extremely advantageous price, I could have wished that Nimbus had also offered more detailed notes; you get just the playing times plus two pages on the music and a page on Bernard Roberts. If you purchase the Lim complete recording as a download from amazon.co.uk, the booklet of notes comes as part of the deal; I haven’t seen this, but I understand that some of HJ Lim’s thoughts are a little bizarre.
Overall, then, I’d certainly strongly endorse the complete Nimbus set for reliable performances – often much than that – a decent quality of recording and sheer value. I’d want to supplement it with individual recordings from some of the artists whom I’ve mentioned. Regrettably, despite their availability at a most advantageous price, neither of the individual twofers from HJ Lim’s new recordings nor her complete set would be among them. Give her Beethoven a few years to settle down and a complete set from her may well be well worth hearing. Meanwhile, if you’re looking to supplement Roberts with performances from a young pianist on top form, try Ingrid Fliter in Nos. 8 Pathétique, 17 and 23 Appassionata (EMI 045732: Bargain of the Month and September 2011/2 Download Roundup).
-- Brian Wilson, MusicWeb International
The arrival on the scene of a bright new talent in the Beethoven Piano Sonatas in the form of the young Korean pianist HJ Lim (EMI Classics 50999 7041855 2) has prompted me to return to the Nimbus set. The virtues of complete sets by the likes of Alfred Brendel (Philips 438 1342 – see June 2011/2 Download Roundup) and Wilhelm Kempff (DG – see below) are well enough known but, for some reason, we seem never to have got around to reviewing the Nimbus set with Bernard Roberts. Not the least of its virtues is that, with some ingenious organisation, the CD set is far less bulky than you might imagine: the 11 CDs come in two double-size cases, holding five discs plus booklet and six discs respectively, all housed inside a cardboard slip case.
I actually started to write a review of the complete Nimbus set a year ago, and lost what I’d written, apart from some notes and jottings, when my computer crashed. I was able to piece some of these together in time for the November 2011/2 Download Roundup, but fortunately, when I lost what I’d written, my friend Geoffrey Molyneux, who knows a great deal more about pianism than I ever did and has owned the Nimbus set for some time, came to the rescue. I promised then to patch my notes back together to finish that review but got around only partially to doing it.
Whereas Roberts’ recordings arose from mature consideration, HJ Lim has committed the whole œuvre to disc at an early stage in her career, whether from brave assurance or youthful bravado I was very interested to find out. You can do so for yourself from the Naxos Music Library if you have access to that extremely valuable service. They offer both the first two 2-CD single volumes and the complete set. As they also have the Roberts recordings, that’s a good way to compare for yourself.
Volume 1 from Lim contains Sonatas 29 Hammerklavier, 11, 26 Les Adieux, 4, 9, 10, 13 Quasi una fantasia and 14 Moonlight ( 730092, 2 CDs for around £12.50). The complete set (omitting the Op.49 sonatas because Beethoven didn’t intend them for publication) comes on 8 CDs for around £40 ( 4649522). Those willing to download can obtain Volume 1 for £6.99 from sainsburysentertainment.co.uk. They also have the complete 8-CD set to download for £10.99, though you may prefer to obtain this from amazon.co.uk for £12.99, complete with the pdf version of the booklet.
Lim opens both Volume 1 and the complete set with the Hammerklavier Sonata. She takes the first movement at a cracking pace – 10:24 against Roberts’ 11:42, making her performance commensurate with Earl Wild, at 10:20 one of the fastest ever accounts (Ivory Classics 76001). I was impressed by her technique; it makes a barnstorming opening to the set, but it’s all a bit too much unvaried and ‘hell-for-leather’; at his slightly slower tempo Roberts achieves much more light and shade in this movement and throughout the work, not least in his reading of the slow movement, where his 17:58 allows him to achieve Innigkeit without sounding portentous. At 12:50 Lim is certainly appassionato; she doesn’t sound as rushed as I might have expected from the different timings, but she doesn’t quite achieve the affective quality demanded by the marking con molto sentimento.
Artur Schnabel’s recording of this sonata may come on an album subtitled ‘Scholar of the Piano’ (EMI Icons 2650642) but there’s much more than scholarship involved in his performance. This remains my benchmark, especially for the slow movement: his tempo almost exactly matches that of Roberts, but he captures the affective qualities even more without ever sounding ponderous. His recording comes with a degree of light surface noise, but it’s never excessive and the piano tone is truly remarkable for its age. Nevertheless, Roberts offers a better-recorded modern alternative that I can certainly live with.
I should add that reviewers have been very much divided about Lim’s performances; some have seen a great deal more of value in them than I have. In the finale of the Hammerklavier I hear some of the qualities that her admirers postulate – she’s actually very little faster overall than Schnabel and her playing is certainly risoluto – but my own ultimate judgement hinges on whether I would wish to add her complete recording or Volume 1 to my over-crowded collection. I have to say that I wouldn’t, even at the attractive prices that I’ve mentioned.
On the other hand, I would certainly have considered purchasing the Roberts set, especially at the special price of £28 post free for which it’s offered by MusicWeb International. You won’t even find them as a download for less. I know that I’m effectively blowing our own trumpet, but I dipped into sonatas from every period of Beethoven’s working life, comparing what I heard with other versions that I knew, and found that Roberts stood up well to the competition in every respect. He is not always top dog in a particular sonata, but nearly always close. The whole set is so inexpensive that I would recommend beginners to buy it and to add individual recordings later.
CD 1 of the Nimbus set gets off to a quiet start with Sonata No.1 from 1795. Though there are signs of the distinctive Beethoven manner to come here, Roberts doesn’t stress these by over-egging the pudding; he gives a very satisfying, neat, tidy, but not too delicate account, taken at a fairly brisk pace throughout, though never sounding rushed. The same is true of No.2 and No.3, which open CD 2 and CD 3 respectively.
You might expect Lim to do particularly well in these youthful sonatas, so I turned to her account of No.1 in expectation. Predictably her tempi are consistently a little faster than Roberts’, but not to a huge extent. There’s certainly lightness of touch but it’s allied with underlying strength and I enjoyed this performance.
Nimbus CD 1 closes with the Appassionata Sonata, from Beethoven’s middle period. Roberts gives this, right from the start, the soulful treatment which its name implies. In the opening movement he takes Beethoven’s marking allegro assai with a pinch of salt, perhaps thinking, as I have seen suggested, that Beethoven sometimes confused the French assez (fairly) and the Italian assai (very). Whatever the reason, 10:13 – almost a minute longer than most performances – seems to me to be reasonable for this movement, especially as Roberts indulges in a degree of rubato (not excessive) to achieve it. I’m with Roberts and his slightly weightier tempo here, but if you are looking for a compromise, Jenö Jandó on Naxos (8.550294, with No.21 and No.23) – as usual reliable without being exceptional – splits the difference between Roberts and the ‘mainstream’, as does Alfred Brendel on his early Vox recording (CDX-5042, 2 CDs: Nos.16-19, 21-23 and 26 – or Alto ALC1016, Nos.8, 14, 23 and 26). In his recording of the Appassionata with the Emperor Concerto (Philips 468 6662, with VPO/Rattle), Brendel is even closer to Roberts in this movement.
There’s respect for the marking andante con moto, too, from Roberts in the second movement, though I might have welcomed a slightly faster pace at the outset. In the finale he observes both parts of the marking ( allegro non troppo), so there’s nothing headlong, but there is plenty of power and emotion and the concluding bars are taken at a virtuoso pace. Overall I found this a very satisfying account, bringing a degree of new light to a well-known work without being at all quirky. Listening to it a second time was even more convincing.
Predictably, Lim allies herself throughout with those who take a faster view of this sonata, though her tempi are not extreme she actually takes the opening movement slightly slower than Angela Hewitt on the first volume of her Beethoven recordings. Lim takes the finale at quite a lick but so, for example, does Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca Eloquence 480 1309). Though her version certainly works for me, so too does Roberts’.
If HJ Lim has set her interpretations down at an early stage in her career, David Wilde is something of a wonder for the opposite reason – though well into his seventies, he’s only just entered the limelight, yet he plays with a combination of the technique of a young virtuoso and the maturity of a seasoned practitioner on his recording of Nos. 21 Waldstein, 17 Tempest and 31 (Delphian DCD34090: Recording of the Month and November 2011/2 Download Roundup.)
The d minor Sonata, Op.31/2, the Tempest, dates from the transitional period between the earliest works, such as the Op.18 Quartets, and the very productive middle period. This was the period of the Third Piano Concerto when Beethoven’s music was beginning to break away from the influence of the previous generation of Haydn and Salieri. Wilde takes a more expansive view of the first movement, adopts roughly the same tempo as Roberts for the adagio, and is slightly faster in the allegretto finale. I thought Roberts somewhat routine in this sonata, especially in the adagio, which sounds ponderous rather than affective.
I certainly preferred Wilde in the finale, though Brian Reinhart, for all his admiration of the album as a whole, had some reservations here. Roberts’ finale offers us the letter of the music with exemplary technique, but it seems to miss the last degree of joy. I appreciate that it’s allegretto, not allegro, but I felt that Wilde’s 7:05 was more in the spirit of the music than Roberts’s 7:26. The latter seems to offer a view of a composer who is not yet completely his own man, not yet what Roberts himself describes in the brief notes as ‘dynamic, deeply expressive and visionary’. Lim rattles through this movement at an unbelievable 6:01; that’s preferable to Roberts and I can only marvel that none of the phrasing is slurred at this speed, but Wilde’s is the version of this sonata to have.
Though my recommendation of the Nimbus set overall holds, therefore, this illustrates the hazards of relying on just one artist throughout; for this sonata I’d certainly add another version. Though I listened to Roberts on CD and to Wilde from an mp3 download (albeit at the full 320kb/s rate, from classicsonline.com), which ought to give Roberts an edge, Wilde sounded more dynamic from the very opening of the first movement, the slow movement a little more expressive and the finale a little more joyful. Both Wilde and Roberts are preferable here to Thomas Sauer, whose recording of the Op.31 Sonatas I found somewhat wanting (MSR Classics MS1284).
David Wilde offers the middle-period Waldstein Sonata, No.21 on his new recording, one of the works also available separately from Nimbus. Wilde, who takes both sections very slightly faster than Roberts, is closer to the general consensus and on the whole slightly preferable. This time I think the contest between the two pianists a little less weighted in Wilde’s favour, though generally agreeing with Brian Reinhart, who thought this probably the highlight of the disc.
Lim plays the Waldstein on the second disc of Volume 2 – CD4 of the complete set. Here again, the tempo of the first movement is too hectic: at 9:58 against Wilde’s 10:48 and Roberts’s 11:05, the music doesn’t have time to breathe. The same is true of the Introduzione, here tracked as a separate movement, as on the Wilde recording. The final Rondo is a real tour de force combined with real delicacy in the slower sections, though the transition between the two can sound a little abrupt and brutal.
BR was slightly less impressed by Wilde’s take on the late sonata, Op.110. These late works are as difficult to bring off as the Late String Quartets with which they are contemporaneous; both perplexed Beethoven’s audiences and both can provide difficult listening even for modern ears.
There’s one set of the late sonatas that remains my benchmark: Wilhelm Kempff on DG E453 0102, an inexpensive 2-disc set of Nos. 27-32 from his 1960s stereo recordings. I didn’t consult him in the case of the Hammerklavier for fear of seeming to be unduly influenced by nostalgia, but I can’t resist calling Kempff into comparison for No.31, Op.110. Jens Laurson, writing about Kempff’s recordings in a survey of what was available at the time (2009) finds it hard to pin down exactly what it is that makes Kempff’s Beethoven so superb. Overall I can’t better his summing up – ‘Solid, in the best, most empathetically positive sense of the word.’
Kempff and Roberts adopt almost exactly the same tempo in each of the opening movements of Op.110, with Wilde just a little slower than either. All three combine the cantabile and molto espressivo aspects of the first movement very well. Wilde is a little faster in the adagio and fuga but, again, there’s very little in it. Kempff, on whose recording DG run these last two sections together, takes just 9:44 overall against Roberts’ 11:24 and Wilde’s 11:15. Both sections from Kempff are faster: his adagio is certainly more non troppo than from Roberts or Wilde, without losing any of its emotive power, and his fugue is certainly allegro without losing sight of the non troppo marking and without sounding hurried. As good as Roberts and Wilde are here, I’d certainly also want Kempff’s recording as an alternative.
Lim is even faster in the adagio and fuga – tracked together on her recording, as with Kempff, and coming in at just 8:34. She starts the adagio portentously and she’s generally both affective and effective in this section; by the clock she’s the fastest of all the recordings that I compared without seeming unduly hasty. Indeed, though she’s a minute faster overall even than Kempff, I enjoyed her take on this sonata more than I had expected.
Lim ends volume 1 with the Moonlight Sonata. In the first movement she’s notably faster than Roberts and at least some of the magic is lost thereby; a good deal less than you might imagine from the comparative timings, but Roberts captures the fantasia and allows us much better to see that the nickname is apt. I didn’t enjoy Lim’s tentative account of the second movement; it’s as if she were thinking out her approach on the spot where Roberts knows where he’s going from the start. Lim’s finale is sufficiently agitato but here again there’s too much of a scrabble, even at a basic tempo not much faster than that of Roberts, and I thought her less than fully involved with the music.
One advantage of the Delphian recording concerns the inclusion of Wilde’s own notes, which are informative not only about the music but also about some of his decisions in performance. Even at the extremely advantageous price, I could have wished that Nimbus had also offered more detailed notes; you get just the playing times plus two pages on the music and a page on Bernard Roberts. If you purchase the Lim complete recording as a download from amazon.co.uk, the booklet of notes comes as part of the deal; I haven’t seen this, but I understand that some of HJ Lim’s thoughts are a little bizarre.
Overall, then, I’d certainly strongly endorse the complete Nimbus set for reliable performances – often much than that – a decent quality of recording and sheer value. I’d want to supplement it with individual recordings from some of the artists whom I’ve mentioned. Regrettably, despite their availability at a most advantageous price, neither of the individual twofers from HJ Lim’s new recordings nor her complete set would be among them. Give her Beethoven a few years to settle down and a complete set from her may well be well worth hearing. Meanwhile, if you’re looking to supplement Roberts with performances from a young pianist on top form, try Ingrid Fliter in Nos. 8 Pathétique, 17 and 23 Appassionata (EMI 045732: Bargain of the Month and September 2011/2 Download Roundup).
-- Brian Wilson, MusicWeb International
Tracklist 101 tracks
- Disc 1
-
1 I. Allegro 04:00
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 04:00
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Adagio 04:50
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Adagio
- Duration
- 04:50
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Allegretto 03:01
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Allegretto
- Duration
- 03:01
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 IV. Prestissimo 04:57
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Prestissimo
- Duration
- 04:57
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 I. In tempo d'un menuetto 05:24
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. In tempo d'un menuetto
- Duration
- 05:24
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 II. Allegretto - Più allegro 07:03
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Allegretto - Più allegro
- Duration
- 07:03
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 I. Allegro assai 10:13
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Allegro assai
- Duration
- 10:13
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 II. Andante con moto 06:46
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Andante con moto
- Duration
- 06:46
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 III. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto 08:11
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto
- Duration
- 08:11
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 2
-
1 I. Allegro vivace 07:30
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro vivace
- Duration
- 07:30
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Largo appassionata 07:10
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Largo appassionata
- Duration
- 07:10
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Scherzo: Allegretto 03:13
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Scherzo: Allegretto
- Duration
- 03:13
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 IV. Rondo: Grazioso 07:16
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Rondo: Grazioso
- Duration
- 07:16
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 I. Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo 07:30
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo
- Duration
- 07:30
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 II. Allegro vivace 03:10
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Allegro vivace
- Duration
- 03:10
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 I. Allegretto, ma non troppo 04:04
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Allegretto, ma non troppo
- Duration
- 04:04
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 II. Vivace alla marcia 06:51
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Vivace alla marcia
- Duration
- 06:51
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 III. Adagiio, ma non troppo, con affetto - Allegro 10:54
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. Adagiio, ma non troppo, con affetto - Allegro
- Duration
- 10:54
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 3
-
1 I. Allegro con brio 10:38
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro con brio
- Duration
- 10:38
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Adagio 07:04
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Adagio
- Duration
- 07:04
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Scherzo: Allegro 03:32
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Scherzo: Allegro
- Duration
- 03:32
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 IV. Allegro assai 05:43
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Allegro assai
- Duration
- 05:43
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 I. Andante 04:26
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. Andante
- Duration
- 04:26
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 II. Rondo: Allegro 03:44
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Rondo: Allegro
- Duration
- 03:44
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 I. Allegro con brio 11:05
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Allegro con brio
- Duration
- 11:05
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 II. Introduzione: Adagio molto - III. Rondo: Allegretto moderato 15:00
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Introduzione: Adagio molto - III. Rondo: Allegretto moderato
- Duration
- 15:00
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 4
-
1 I. Allegro molto e con brio 08:53
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro molto e con brio
- Duration
- 08:53
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Largo, con gran espressione 08:50
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Largo, con gran espressione
- Duration
- 08:50
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Allegro 05:40
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Allegro
- Duration
- 05:40
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 IV. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso 07:45
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso
- Duration
- 07:45
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 I. Allegro 08:09
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 08:09
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 II. Andante 05:26
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Andante
- Duration
- 05:26
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 III. Scherzo: Allegro assai 03:35
- Track
- 7
- Title
- III. Scherzo: Allegro assai
- Duration
- 03:35
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 I. Adagio - Allegro 07:38
- Track
- 8
- Title
- I. Adagio - Allegro
- Duration
- 07:38
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 II. Andante espressivo 04:00
- Track
- 9
- Title
- II. Andante espressivo
- Duration
- 04:00
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
10 III. Vivacissimamente 06:13
- Track
- 10
- Title
- III. Vivacissimamente
- Duration
- 06:13
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 5
-
1 I. Allegro molto e con brio 05:57
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro molto e con brio
- Duration
- 05:57
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Adagio molto 08:34
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Adagio molto
- Duration
- 08:34
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Finale: Prestissimo 04:32
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Finale: Prestissimo
- Duration
- 04:32
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 I. Allegro 06:15
- Track
- 4
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 06:15
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 II. Allegretto 03:50
- Track
- 5
- Title
- II. Allegretto
- Duration
- 03:50
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 III. Presto 02:31
- Track
- 6
- Title
- III. Presto
- Duration
- 02:31
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 I. Presto 06:50
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Presto
- Duration
- 06:50
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 II. Largo e mesto 09:12
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Largo e mesto
- Duration
- 09:12
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 III. Menuetto: Allegro 02:47
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. Menuetto: Allegro
- Duration
- 02:47
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
10 IV. Rondo: Allegro 03:50
- Track
- 10
- Title
- IV. Rondo: Allegro
- Duration
- 03:50
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 6
-
1 I. Allegro con brio 08:00
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro con brio
- Duration
- 08:00
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Adagio con molta espressione 07:36
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Adagio con molta espressione
- Duration
- 07:36
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Menuetto 03:17
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Menuetto
- Duration
- 03:17
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 IV. Rondo: Allegretto 06:34
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Rondo: Allegretto
- Duration
- 06:34
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 I. Allegro ma non troppo 04:55
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. Allegro ma non troppo
- Duration
- 04:55
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 II. Tempo di menuetto 03:22
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Tempo di menuetto
- Duration
- 03:22
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 I. Allegro 10:27
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 10:27
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 II. Andante 06:28
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Andante
- Duration
- 06:28
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 02:24
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
- Duration
- 02:24
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
10 IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo 05:08
- Track
- 10
- Title
- IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
- Duration
- 05:08
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 7
-
1 I. Presto alla tedesca 05:32
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Presto alla tedesca
- Duration
- 05:32
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Andante 02:31
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Andante
- Duration
- 02:31
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Vivace 02:06
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Vivace
- Duration
- 02:06
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 I. Allegro 08:57
- Track
- 4
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 08:57
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 II. Adagio 08:23
- Track
- 5
- Title
- II. Adagio
- Duration
- 08:23
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 III. Allegretto 07:26
- Track
- 6
- Title
- III. Allegretto
- Duration
- 07:26
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 I. Allegro 09:01
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 09:01
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 II. Scherzo: Allegretto vivace 05:56
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Scherzo: Allegretto vivace
- Duration
- 05:56
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 III. Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso 04:26
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso
- Duration
- 04:26
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
10 IV. Presto con fuoco 04:47
- Track
- 10
- Title
- IV. Presto con fuoco
- Duration
- 04:47
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 8
-
1 I. Andante 05:33
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Andante
- Duration
- 05:33
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Allegro molto e vivace 01:56
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Allegro molto e vivace
- Duration
- 01:56
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Adagio con espressione 02:56
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Adagio con espressione
- Duration
- 02:56
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 IV. Allegro vivace 05:45
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Allegro vivace
- Duration
- 05:45
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 I. Allegro 11:42
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 11:42
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 II. Scherzo: Assai vivace 02:52
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Scherzo: Assai vivace
- Duration
- 02:52
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 III. Adagio sostenuto 17:58
- Track
- 7
- Title
- III. Adagio sostenuto
- Duration
- 17:58
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 IV. Largo - Allegro risoluto 11:53
- Track
- 8
- Title
- IV. Largo - Allegro risoluto
- Duration
- 11:53
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 9
-
1 I. Allegro 07:06
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Allegro
- Duration
- 07:06
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Allegretto 03:31
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Allegretto
- Duration
- 03:31
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Rondo: Allegro comodo 03:24
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Rondo: Allegro comodo
- Duration
- 03:24
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 I. Allegro vivace 06:48
- Track
- 4
- Title
- I. Allegro vivace
- Duration
- 06:48
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 II. Adagio grazioso 09:20
- Track
- 5
- Title
- II. Adagio grazioso
- Duration
- 09:20
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 III. Rondo: Allegretto 06:48
- Track
- 6
- Title
- III. Rondo: Allegretto
- Duration
- 06:48
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 I. Vivace ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo 04:02
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Vivace ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo
- Duration
- 04:02
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 II. Prestissimo 02:39
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Prestissimo
- Duration
- 02:39
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 III. Gesangvoll mit innigster Empfindung 12:59
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. Gesangvoll mit innigster Empfindung
- Duration
- 12:59
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 10
-
1 I. Andante con variazioni 07:32
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Andante con variazioni
- Duration
- 07:32
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Scherzo: Allegro molto 02:45
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Scherzo: Allegro molto
- Duration
- 02:45
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe 06:24
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe
- Duration
- 06:24
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 IV. Allegro 03:20
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Allegro
- Duration
- 03:20
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 I. Adagio sostenuto 06:50
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. Adagio sostenuto
- Duration
- 06:50
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 II. Allegretto 02:22
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Allegretto
- Duration
- 02:22
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 III. Presto agitato agitato 07:33
- Track
- 7
- Title
- III. Presto agitato agitato
- Duration
- 07:33
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
8 I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo 06:21
- Track
- 8
- Title
- I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
- Duration
- 06:21
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
9 II. Allegro molto 02:03
- Track
- 9
- Title
- II. Allegro molto
- Duration
- 02:03
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
10 III. Adagio, ma non troppo 04:13
- Track
- 10
- Title
- III. Adagio, ma non troppo
- Duration
- 04:13
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
11 III. Fuga: Allegro, ma non troppo 07:11
- Track
- 11
- Title
- III. Fuga: Allegro, ma non troppo
- Duration
- 07:11
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
- Disc 11
-
1 I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio 08:45
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio
- Duration
- 08:45
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
2 II. Adagio cantabile 05:07
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Adagio cantabile
- Duration
- 05:07
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
3 III. Rondo: Allegro 04:44
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Rondo: Allegro
- Duration
- 04:44
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
4 I. Mit lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck 05:36
- Track
- 4
- Title
- I. Mit lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
- Duration
- 05:36
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
5 II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen 07:11
- Track
- 5
- Title
- II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
- Duration
- 07:11
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
6 I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato 09:43
- Track
- 6
- Title
- I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
- Duration
- 09:43
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts
-
7 II. Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile 16:55
- Track
- 7
- Title
- II. Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile
- Duration
- 16:55
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Performer
- Bernard Roberts