The Everest of piano playing

An old musician anecdote goes like this: The violinist Jascha Heifetz plays for the first time in New York. The audience of the pianist and the violinist Fritz Kreisler Godowsky and Mischa Elman, all world-class musicians. Godowsky striking that Kreisler and Elman sweating like crazy and constantly wipe his brow. During the intermission the violinist tug pianists out into the winter night and breathing audibly through. What did you do? asks Godowsky. If yes insanely hot in there, responds Kreisler. The pianist looks at the violinist, then laughs: Yes, but not for pianists. This story illuminates the fact that Jascha Heifetz was so vastly superior to his fiddling colleagues technically, that this was only despair, or handle the handkerchief.

Mutatis mutandis, could be this vignette also be applied to the German pianist Michael Korstick. The many colleagues is so far ahead technically, that one must go back to Josef Hofmann, Moriz Rosenthal, pianist from the early 20th century, or Vladimir Horowitz to still find comparisons. Korsticks Championship is particularly in his now-famous recording of the Hammerklavier Sonata (no. 29 in B flat major op. 106) by Beethoven. This monster plant that lasts three quarters of an hour and contains 1200 cycles, is a kind of Mount Everest of piano literature: four movements, full grip, heavy, crossed by a granite counterpoint. The difficulties begin in the first sentence, the Allegro, which is to play so quickly after Beethoven's own metronome (Half to 138.) that almost all pianists Beethoven's tempo simply ignore, despite good in the Vienna edition from 1819 to today drinsteht visible. Most pianists playing this set moderately well and some not even that; only Emil Gilels, Friedrich Gulda, Rudolf Buchbinder and fully up to date and Valentina Lisitsa come close to the original tempo. However Korstick is the first to hold out Beethoven's tempo the whole sentence long. The result is a revelation is from the solemn below usual a fresh, in sections delicately lyrical first movement with sparkling eighth cascade which loses none of his usual majestic gesture anyway.

Even a taste of Korsticks championship complacent? Here it is: The Moonlight Sonata (No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op 27/2..). Professional pianists like this hit not particularly like. For kitsch are the many adaptations of Mantovani to Clayderman to trite, the first sentence, are plagued with the piano students has always been. Almost hopeless to say here is something new. Nonetheless, it works the pianist. The third set of lesser known (Presto agitato), the most piano students no longer pretend, is a raging Perpetuum Mobile from broken chords, sparking Alberti basses and rapid scale. Difficult and uncomfortable, the double Oktavschläge that follow which are rolling over the entire keyboard arpeggios, because they must be played with power and precision. There is hardly a pianist who the hinkriegt really clean. Some like the Chilean Alfredo Perl play instead of sixteenth-eighth, others, and there are very big names including, are the rise across the keyboard tired and bring just a matte Mezzoforte together. One hears however Korstick as he hunts with powerful concision by this set, then you realize that this Presto is a horrible piece of diametrical contrast to the Adagio sostenuto of the opening movement, an unstoppable drive without resting point, already on the threads loose finale of Chopin Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 points forward.

As quickly as the fast movements Korstick takes, so leisurely and slow he plays the not slow all, but most. And that's the only real gripe with these recordings. The reason is clear: Korstick wants to work brusque contrasts understands many sonatas as an expression of a heroic and tragic will, the one Beethoven Not willing to subordinate. But it is therefore right, from an Andante an adagio, to turn an Adagio a Largo and risking that the music on the spot occurs as the Largo e mesto of the D major Sonata (no. 7, Op. 10 / 3)? The sentence is in 6/8 time, but plays it Korstick than 12/16 clock, so the calmly flowing quaver movement, which should take the set, do not come into its own and decomposes the sentence into its component parts. Comparable he introduces the infinitely slowly played Adagio sostenuto the Hammerklavier Sonata and Beethoven's last sonata the introduction to (no. 32 in C minor op. 111) at. This is followed by the listener must get accustomed.

Back to the positive. Two other points make this complete recording a very special pleasure. Beethoven sonatas and not only the immortal Albumblatt Für Elise, but also many other piano pieces has indeed composes variations, rondo, dances and snacks, which he called trifles. It is surprising and gratifying that pianist and publisher records have significant Eroica Variations, Op. 35, the Rondo a Capriccio, Op. 129 (Rage over a Lost Penny) and much more added.

Finally, there's the recording technique. This is technically a perfect shot and to date may be the best of the Beethoven sonatas, there is. The large Steinway piano always sounds the same flawless voted (by no means a matter of course!), Harmonic and sonorous, the microphones were always properly placed despite different recording places, creating a well-balanced acoustics without false Hall, the sounds never synthetically and by studio.

These recordings are the final word of a man who has thought a lifetime deeply and fervently about Beethoven and is not afraid to go own ways. It has become a colossal recording that leaves a deep and satisfying play!