Ivan Moravec Plays Beethoven
SU 3582-2
© Supraphon 2001
“Put simply, these are among the most arrestingly individual Beethoven interpretations ever recorded. In execution, Moravec is stupendous.”
Tracks
Sonata no. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique”
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1 Grave - allegro molto e con brio
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2 Adagio cantabile
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3 Rondo (allegro)
Sonata no. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 no. 2 “Moonlight”
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4 Adagio sostenuto
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5 Allegretto
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6 Presto agitato
732 Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80
Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
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8 Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
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9 Nich zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutregen
Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a Les Adieux, l'Absence et le Retour
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10 Lebewohl, Adagio-allegro
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11 Abwesenheit, Andante espressivo
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12 Wiedersehen, Vivacissimamente
Production
Format: CD-ADD
Original sessions:
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Tracks 1-6, 8-9: 1964 New York
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Track 7: 1963 Prague
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Tracks 10-12: 1969 New York
Reviews
American Record Guide
30 years have now elapsed since Moravec’s Beethoven 4 appeared as a Connoisseur Society LP. In spite of competition from dozens of later versions it remains one of the great performances of this work, and its entry into the CD lists is cause for celebration. I have heard very few pianists who could probe the spiritual and tonal depths of the concerto as Moravec does here. This is a highly personal conception of the work, but one born of careful thought, firm conviction, and virtually unlimited pianistic resources. Right from the perfectly-judged opening chord, Moravec establishes the atmosphere with laser-like concentration, bringing out both the poetry and. the drama of Beethoven’s writing to an extraordinary degree. Notice, for example, how he plunges headlong into the turbulent sequences of the development section of (8:07), and how he lavishes a remarkable combination of tonal and rhythmic control on the hushed piano statements in II. The cadenza in I is Beethoven’s stormier one (rarely employed except by Gieseking, Gilels, Brendel, and few others). Turnovsky and the rather smallish ensemble lend excellent support, while the recorded sound needs no apologies at all. The two substantial solo fillers are on the same high level, making this release indispensable. Perhaps now VAI will bring back Moravec’s other Beethoven recordings from the same period.
Stereophile Magazine
The performances are sublime, and the recording is killer... One of the most natural sounding recordings of a piano I've ever heard.... But more than the pleasure of good sound, Moravec's insights into ..."Moonlight" and "Pathetique" come through. If I ever respond to Sonata 26 with dry eyes, just plant me. I'm gone. The nobility, resignation, and despair resonate resoundingly in this performance... The sheer power and terrible beauty of Moravec's readings ... make this disc irresistible...
Keyboard Classics
Both the Sonata and C Minor Variations were once available on LP (Connoisseur Society CS 2000).
Put simply, these are among the most arrestingly individual Beethoven interpretations ever recorded. In execution, Moravec is stupendous. His uncommonly finished, super-refined pianism enables him to achieve infinite shadings of nuance and articulation by fingers alone, using the sustain pedal ever so discreetly. Yet his playing is full of surging passion and is unfailingly musical at all times. Moreover the Czech pianist commands a huge dynamic range and masterly legato, essential ingredients in realizing Beethoven's relentlessly contrasting textures.
I'm sorry that [the album does not] include Moravec's equally gripping "Appassionata" sonata, originally coupled with the above solo works on LP. The superlative sonics further make this a release to cherish.
Classical Pulse
Single-disc compilations of favorite Beethoven Sonatas abound, but this is one of the best. The ravishing coloristic nuances and rhythmic acuity that make Moravec’s Chopin and Debussy so special are here allied to a command of large-scale structure and a big, burnished tone. His articulation in the fast movements is awesome: slow movements are spare - just this side of understated - but as deeply moving as more sentimental readings. This is big Beethoven, with sweep and power: no “authentick” mincing here. ... Audiophiles take note: these transfers of 1960s state-of-the-art analogue recordings offer the most realistic piano sound I’ve heard on a CD. Highly recommended.
abeillemusique.com
Ivan Moravec... joue également les 32 variations en ut mineur... parfois d’une durée de quelques secondes seulement, mais d’une puissance extraordinaire. Moravec déploie une force de persuasion extraordinaire pour faire de cette cellule de base de huit mesures et de ses clones sauvages un monument pianistique.
Stereo
Beautifully recorded, these performances continue to dazzle in the digital era.
Audio Video Magazine
One of the three best-sounding CDs of all time.
Chicago Tribune
Moravec brings the dual nature of Beethoven's relentless energy and melancholy lyricism to life in wonderfully poetic, exciting performances.
USC Radio
Moravec, as a Beethoven interpreter, has few rivals...one of the most probing and poetic recordings the "Moonlight" has ever received.
Amazon.com
These memorable performances come from Ivan Moravec's Connoisseur Society recordings of 1962-70. That series, even more than his concerts, helped make the pianist's reputation among (appropriately enough) connoisseurs, as one of our greatest pianists.
The disc is truly a collection of wonders: unaffected yet intense performances of familiar music, with never a cliché of interpretation or an indifferent moment. Moravec isn't known as a player of virtuoso showpieces, but the finales of the Moonlight [and Appassionata] show that he has technique and power in abundance. The recordings, outstanding for their time, still sound realistic and rich-toned.
International Record Review
Marvel at his assault on the 32 Variations in C minor, taking the piece by the throat from the start, grappling with it for 10 tense minutes, then dismissing it almost contemptuously - like Wotan slaying Hunding. Rarely have the last movements of the Moonlight and Pathetique sonatas erupted more volcanically than here.
(Full review at http://www.recordreview.co.uk.)
Gramophone
This issue of ‘named’ Beethoven sonatas provides an eloquent demonstration of Ivan Moravec’s fluent, passionate pianism. As Alena Nemcova points out in her brief Grove article on this sensitive Czech pianist, "his sense of style and of a work’s structure is supported by unusual musicality and power of expression".
... Dramatic impact is likewise increased in the Pathetique. Most impressive here are Moravec’s striking, theatrical characterization of slow and fast music in the first movement, and the exquisite control with which he deftly shades major/minor colours in the second. However, the breadth of Moravec’s interpretative perception is probably most tellingly apparent in the Moonlight Sonata, where his evocative pianissimo in the opening movement is contrasted with startling violence in the finale.
...in Les adieux, Moravec’s extrovert approach creates [a] vivid impression of heartfelt sadness in the first movement, yearning in the slow movement, and infectious exuberance in the finale.
Album notes
Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata (op. 13 in C minor) is rare among musical masterpieces in that its genesis can be traced to a work in the same genre by another composer. It was almost certainly inspired by a sonata composed by the Bohemian composer Dussek, a piece not only written in the same key but also sharing many striking similarities, not the least of which is the slow movement marked “patetico.” Though the sonata’s title was chosen by Beethoven, it was apparently meant to refer to the first movement only, as there is nothing pathetic in the character of the other movements. What is most remarkable about the piece is that, despite Beethoven’s roots in classicism, the Pathetique can be seen as the beginning of the “Romantic” Beethoven, his affinities to the burgeoning Romantic movement clearly in evidence.
The sharply contrasting movements that constitute the Moonlight sonata (Op. 27, No. 2) can be seen as the embodiment of Beethoven’s mercurial temperament. Certainly, the title given to the work by the poet Rellstab in 1838 did not capture the nature of the work in its entirety. Though Rellstab was apparently inspired by the placid stillness of his moonlit Lake Lucerne, it would seem he was only considering the easily perceptible melody of the opening movement and not its almost dirge-like pace, nor the moody, subtle shifts in harmony that lay below the surface. As for the remainder of the work, Beethoven’s varied states of mind are borne out by the idyllic playfulness of the second movement and the stormy outburst of the third, which, with its toccata- like energy, is anything but an evocation of a tranquil, nighttime scene.
Lastly, there are the unique circumstances surrounding the birth of the Les Adieux sonata (Op. 81a). When Beethoven’s patron, Archduke Rudolph, fled Vienna to escape Napoleon’s encroaching army, the composer expressed his feelings in a sonata whose three movements bear the titles “departure,” “absence,” and “return.” The opening movement is an ingenious working- out of his “farewell” leitmotif, the descending G, F, and E-flat assigned by Beethoven to the three syllables of the word Lebewohl (Beethoven’s preferred German title). The short, contemplative second movement functions as an introduction to the last movement, one of the most joyful Beethoven wrote, celebrating his patron’s return to Vienna and bearing the notation “The Arrival of His Imperial Highness the Revered Archduke Rudolph January 30, 1810.”
