Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 1. Allegro
2. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 2. Adagio
3. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 3. Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto
4. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2/1: 4. Prestissimo
5. Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 1. Allegro vivace
6. Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 2. Largo appassionato
7. Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 3. Scherzo & Trio: Allegretto
8. Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2/2: 4. Rondo: Grazioso
9. Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3
10. Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3: 2. Adagio
11. Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3: 3. Scherzo & Trio: Allegro
12. Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2/3: 4. Allegro assai

Disc 2:

1. Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
2. Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 2. Largo, con gran espressione
3. Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 3. Allegro
4. Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major ('Grand Sonata'), Op. 7: 4. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso
5. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 1. Molto allegro e con brio
6. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 2. Adagio molto
7. Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10/1: 3. Finale: Prestissimo
8. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 1. Allegro
9. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 2. Allegretto
10. Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10/2: 3. Presto

Disc 3:

1. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 1. Presto
2. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 2. Largo e mesto
3. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 3. Menuetto & Trio: Allegro
4. Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10/3: 4. Rondo: Allegro
5. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 13: 1. Grave
6. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 13: 2. Adagio cantabile
7. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 13: 3. Rondo: Allegro
8. Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: 1. Allegro
9. Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: 2. Allegretto
10. Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14/1: 3. Rondo: Allegro commodo
11. Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: 1. Allegro
12. Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: 2. Andante
13. Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14/2: 3. Scherzo: Allegro assai

Disc 4:

1. Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 1. Allegro con brio
2. Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 2. Adagio con molto espressione
3. Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 3. Menuetto
4. Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22: 4. Rondo: Allegretto
5. Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 1. Andante con variazioni
6. Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 2. Scherzo & Trio: Allegro molto
7. Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe
8. Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major ('Funeral March'), Op. 26: 4. Allegro
9. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: 1. Andante - Allegro
10. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: 2. Allegro molto e vivace
11. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: 3. Adagio con espressione
12. Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major ('Quasi una fantasia'), Op. 27/1: 4. Allegro vivace - Presto

Disc 5:

1. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: 1. Adagio sostenuto
2. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: 2. Allegretto & Trio
3. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: 3. Presto agitato
4. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 1. Allegro
5. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 2. Andante
6. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 3. Scherzo & Trio: Allegro vivace
7. Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major ('Pastoral'), Op. 28: 4. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
8. Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1: 1. Allegro vivace
9. Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1: 2. Adagio grazioso
10. Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1: 3. Rondo: Allegretto

Disc 6:

1. Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ('Tempest'), Op. 31/2: 1. Largo - Allegro
2. Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ('Tempest'), Op. 31/2: 2. Adagio
3. Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ('Tempest'), Op. 31/2: 3. Allegretto
4. Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 1. Allegro
5. Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 2. Scherzo: Allegretto vivace
6. Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 3. Menuetto & Trio: Moderato e grazioso
7. Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major ('Hunt'), Op. 31/3: 4. Presto con fuoco
8. Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49/1: 1. Andante
9. Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49/1: 2. Rondo: Allegro
10. Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49/2: 1. Allegro ma non troppo
11. Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49/2: 2. Tempo di menuetto

Disc 7:

1. Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ('Waldstein'), Op. 53: 1. Allegro con brio
2. Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ('Waldstein'), Op. 53: 2. Introduzione: Molto adagio
3. Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ('Waldstein'), Op. 53: 3. Rondo: Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo
4. Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54: 1. In tempo d'un menuetto
5. Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54: 2. Allegretto
6. Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ('Appassionata'), Op. 57: 1. Allegro assai
7. Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ('Appassionata'), Op. 57: 2. Andante con moto
8. Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ('Appassionata'), Op. 57: 3. Allegro ma non troppo
9. Piano Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major ('A Thérèse'), Op. 78: 1. Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo
10. Piano Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major ('A Thérèse'), Op. 78: 2. Allegro vivace

Disc 8:

1. Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: 1. Presto alla tedesca
2. Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: 2. Andante
3. Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major ('Cuckoo'), Op. 79: 3. Vivace
4. Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 1. Adagio - Allegro
5. Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 2. Andante espressivo
6. Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major ('Les Adieux'), Op. 81a: 3. Vivacissimamente
7. Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90: 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
8. Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90: 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen
9. Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung
10. Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: 2. Lebhaft. Marschmäßig
11. Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101: 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll / 4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit

Disc 9:

1. Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 1. Vivace, ma non troppo - Adagio espressivo
2. Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 2. Prestissimo
3. Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109: 3. Andante, molto cantabile ed espressivo
4. Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 1. Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo
5. Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 2. Allegro molto
6. Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: 3. Adagio, ma non troppo
7. Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110: Fuga: Allegro, ma non troppo
8. Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
9. Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: 2. Arietta: Adagio molto, semplice e cantabile

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71463 in Music
• Released on: 1997-06-24
• Number of discs: 10
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .59 pounds

Customer Reviews

Underrated !
This set has never been a critical favorite. I doubt anyone would claim that Ashkenazy is one of the great Beethoven interpreters. And yet it makes for quite pleasurable listening. For starters, we have Ashkenazy's high technical prowess, his beautiful tone and general finesse. We seem to have accepted as great Beethoven pianism, playing that ranges from the painfully plain (Brendel) to the downright ugly (Kuerti). But Kempff has shown us that a non-aggressive beauty can reveal another side of this great composer. Ashkenazy is not in Kempff's league as a Beethoven interpreter, but nearly every performance is effective here and evinces a real musical fluency. More ambitious Beethoven players (e.g. Kovacevich) have often made recordings that totally miss the mark.

So, this set would be a perfect for listeners coming to this music for the first time. And seasoned Beethoven sonata listeners might enjoy it as well. Just don't expect poetical profundity.

The Best Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle
Somewhat to my surprise, the Ashkenazy cycle is the best recording of the complete Beethoven sonatas. I bought every Beethoven recording by every major Beethoven pianist and spent over 1,000 hours comparing all those recordings to each other. The only cycles close to the Ashkenazy are the little-known Claude Frank, Seymour Lipkin and Paul Badura-Skoda cycles (the Badura-Skoda cycle of 1970 on the grand piano, not the fortepiano version). After those come the better-known cycles by Richard Goode, Barenboim (2nd cycle, for DGG), and Kempff (2nd cycle, in stereo), and the little-known cycle by Annie Fischer. I leave aside the Schnabel set which continues to define the standard for interpretations despite inadequate sound, and many high-quality recordings by Richter who never did a complete cycle.

I say "somewhat to my surprise," because Ashkenazy is not known as a Beethoven pianist. He is regarded as a great interpreter of romantic music, with the big technique and beautiful tone needed for that repertoire. Well, he has the big technique and beautiful tone, which is good. However, what is most noticeable to me is the scrupulous attention paid to Beethoven's text. In that regard, Ashkenazy is the equal of Claude Frank and Rudolf Serkin, which is high praise indeed.

The purpose of buying a complete cycle is usually to form a base for a collection. One can quibble with some of Ashkenazy's interpretative details or with Decca's recording techniques. However, the question then becomes: what is the alternative? The competing cycles are either a little worse or a lot worse. After buying one complete cycle, the lover of Beethoven can then add a number of other sonata recordings -- the Horowitz recordings for RCA Victor, the Rubinstein recordings, the Gieseking disk of the Pathetique and other works, the Pollini late sonatas, many of the Richter recordings. If I am asked to recommend one Beethoven sonata cycle as the basis for a collection, I would unhesitatingly recommend the Ashkenazy Decca cycle.

simply the best
Ashkenazy seems to understand Beethoven to a pristine clarity. I know that people will gravitate toward what they like, and Ashkenazy might not 'light your fire' as he does mine, and that's ok. Ashkenazy is my favorite pianist because of his clarity, technique, feeling (which he does actually have, contrary to some peoples' opinions), and emotion and power. Honestly, I can think of no other set that is better. All the other sets mentioned are good, but this one is excellent. Ashkenazy's talent is what 'makes' this set, and his talent produces true music, in every sense of the word, and that's what it's all about.