Search - Beethoven, Taub :: Piano Sonatas 4

Great CD

10/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow! This guy Taub really communicates. This CD is extraordinary. The playing is great! Taub makes you really feel the music. ALso the piano sound is terrific. VOX put out Brendel's first set, but this is better. And it seems fresher than many other out there. Thank you, VOX, for offering us this great deal on Taub playing Beethoven."

Finally -- A "Hammerklavier" Played at Beethoven's Tempos

05/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, this is a beautiful digital recording. The piano sound is close, but still with plenty of room ambience (and there's no annoying Arrau/Kovacevich-like breathing). Taub's playing throughout is marvelous both in his aesthetic judgement and the alacrity of his fingers (and his program notes are erudite) but it is his Hammerklavier, played with Beethoven's too often ignored metronome markings, which is the highlight of this set. Beethoven's metronome makes for an unusually swift first movement that, at 9:12, is the fastest I've ever heard -- but the wild ride works magnificently in depicting the harmonic tumult of all those chains of thirds The Adagio is also faster than normal at 15:06 and is still contemplative, but the movement now has the forward motion necessary to unify the musical statement. The final Allegro is 8:38 with Taub's exquisite artistry ably making thrilling sense of Beethoven's Bachian fugue.If you are a Beethoven sonata fan who, like me, is interested in the art of the interpreter and has the Arrau, Kovecvich, Barenboim, Schnabel, Gilels, Kempff, Ashkenazy etc., Taub's Beethoven makes for a refreshing addition. At this price, it is also a fine bargain."