Friedrich Gulda plays Beethoven (1953-7)

Release Date: 24th May 2010
Catalogue No: C808109
Label: Orfeo
Series: Orfeo d'Or
Length: 10 hours 45 minutes

Gramophone Awards

2010

Winner - Historic Archive

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Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1

Work length15:34

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro

Track length3:30

II. Adagio

Track length4:49

III. Menuetto. Allegretto

Track length2:37

IV. Prestissimo

Track length4:38

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2 No. 2

Work length20:58

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro vivace

Track length6:18

II. Largo appassionato

Track length6:19

III. Scherzo. Allegretto - Trio

Track length2:40

IV. Rondo. Grazioso

Track length5:41

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2 No. 3

Work length23:10

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro con brio

Track length9:29

II. Adagio

Track length5:38

III. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio

Track length2:59

IV. Allegro assai

Track length5:04

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 'Pathetique'

Work length17:39

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio

Track length8:18

II. Adagio cantabile

Track length5:17

III. Rondo. Allegro

Track length4:04

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major, Op. 7

Work length26:07

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Molto allegro

Track length7:37

II. Largo con gran espressione

Track length8:01

III. Allegro

Track length4:41

IV. Rondo. Poco allegretto

Track length5:48

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10 No. 1

Work length16:15

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Molto allegro e con brio

Track length5:21

II. Adagio molto

Track length6:52

III. Finale. Prestissimo

Track length4:02

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10 No. 2

Work length10:30

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro

Track length4:58

II. Allegretto

Track length3:05

III. Finale. Presto

Track length2:27

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10 No. 3

Work length22:51

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Presto

Track length8:03

II. Largo e mesto

Track length8:03

III. Menuetto - Trio - Menuetto. Allegro

Track length2:56

IV. Rondo. Allegro

Track length3:49

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14 No. 1

Work length11:50

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro

Track length5:58

II. Allegretto

Track length2:57

III. Rondo. Allegro comodo

Track length2:55

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14 No. 2

Work length14:02

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro

Track length6:38

II. Andante

Track length4:26

III. Scherzo. Allegro assai

Track length2:58

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat major, Op. 22

Work length22:10

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro con brio

Track length6:58

II. Adagio con molto espressione

Track length7:11

III. Minuetto

Track length2:57

IV. Rondo. Allegretto

Track length5:04

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, Op. 26 'March Funebre'

Work length18:13

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Andante con variazioni

Track length6:42

II. Scherzo. Molto allegro

Track length2:43

III. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe

Track length6:11

IV. Allegro

Track length2:37

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major, Op. 27 No. 1 'Quasi una fantasia'

Work length14:47

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Andante

Track length4:58

II. Allegro molto e vivace

Track length1:59

III. Adagio con espressione

Track length2:37

IV. Allegro vivace

Track length5:13

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight'

Work length16:46

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Adagio sostenuto

Track length7:09

II. Allegretto

Track length2:23

III. Presto agitato

Track length7:14

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale'

Work length21:39

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro

Track length8:56

II. Andante

Track length5:47

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace

Track length2:10

IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo

Track length4:46

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31 No. 1

Work length19:49

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro vivace

Track length5:40

II. Adagio grazioso

Track length8:24

III. Rondo. Allegretto

Track length5:45

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'Tempest'

Work length20:56

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Largo - Allegro

Track length6:59

II. Adagio

Track length8:05

III. Allegretto

Track length5:52

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 18 in E flat major, Op. 31 No. 3 'The Hunt'

Work length20:28

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro

Track length7:29

II. Scherzo. Allegretto vivace

Track length4:41

III. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso - Trio

Track length3:54

IV. Presto con fuoco

Track length4:24

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49 No. 1

Work length7:57

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Andante

Track length4:48

II. Rondo. Allegro

Track length3:09

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, Op. 49 No. 2

Work length7:46

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro ma non troppo

Track length4:26

II. Tempo di menuetto

Track length3:20

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 'Waldstein'

Work length21:26

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro con brio

Track length10:04

II. Introduzione. Adagio molto

Track length3:06

III. Rondo. Allegretto moderato - Prestissimo

Track length8:16

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major, Op. 54

Work length10:02

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. In tempo d'un minuetto

Track length4:40

II. Allegretto

Track length5:22

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 'Appassionata'

Work length18:54

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro assai

Track length8:22

II. Andante con moto

Track length5:51

III. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto

Track length4:41

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 24 in F sharp major, Op. 78

Work length8:59

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Adagio cantabile - Allegro ma non troppo

Track length6:05

II. Allegro vivace

Track length2:54

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major, Op. 79

Work length7:40

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Presto alla tedesca

Track length3:07

II. Andante

Track length2:40

III. Vivace

Track length1:53

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major, Op. 81a 'Les Adieux'

Work length14:34

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Das Lebewohl. Adagio - Allegro

Track length5:54

II. Abwesenheit. Andante espressivo

Track length3:21

III. Das Wiedersehn. Vivacissimamente

Track length5:19

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90

Work length10:46

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Mit lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck

Track length4:37

II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen

Track length6:09

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101

Work length20:11

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung

Track length3:49

II. Lebhaft. Marschmassig

Track length6:14

III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll

Track length2:56

IV. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit

Track length7:12

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 'Hammerklavier'

Work length37:10

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Allegro

Track length9:28

II. Scherzo. Assai vivace - Presto - Tempo I

Track length2:25

III. Adagio sostenuto, appassionato e con molto sentimento

Track length14:44

IV. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Track length10:33

Beethoven: Bagatelles (6), Op. 126

Work length18:42

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

No. 1 in G Major

Track length2:53

No. 2 in G Minor

Track length2:48

No. 3 in E-Flat Major

Track length2:20

No. 4 in B Minor

Track length4:17

No. 5 in G Major

Track length2:35

No. 6 in E-Flat Major

Track length3:49

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109

Work length17:36

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Vivace ma non troppo

Track length3:25

II. Prestissimo

Track length2:32

III. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo

Track length11:39

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110

Work length18:47

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo

Track length6:29

II. Allegro molto

Track length2:08

III. Adagio ma non troppo - Fuga. Allegro ma non troppo

Track length10:10

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111

Work length24:08

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato

Track length8:31

II. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Track length15:37

Beethoven: Eroica Variations, Op. 35

Work length21:40

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

Introduzione col Basso del Tema

Track length3:15

Var. 1

Track length0:32

Var. 2

Track length0:48

Var. 3

Track length0:37

Var. 4

Track length0:36

Var. 5

Track length0:37

Var. 6

Track length0:34

Var. 7

Track length0:37

Var. 8

Track length0:44

Var. 9

Track length0:35

Var. 10

Track length0:33

Var. 11

Track length0:36

Var. 12

Track length0:36

Var. 13

Track length0:36

Var. 14

Track length1:22

Var. 15

Track length4:19

Finale. Allegro con brio

Track length2:03

Finale. Andante con moto

Track length2:40

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, Op. 120

Work length46:41

Friedrich Gulda (piano)
Recorded: 1953 / 1954 / 1957

Theme. Vivace

Track length0:43

Var. 1, Alla marcia. Maestoso

Track length1:33

Var. 2, Poco allegro

Track length1:22

Var. 3, L'istesso tempo

Track length1:25

Var. 4, Un poco più vivace

Track length1:01

Var. 5, Allegro vivace

Track length0:45

Var. 6, Allegro ma non troppo e serioso

Track length1:27

Var. 7, Un poco più allegro

Track length0:51

Var. 8, Poco vivace

Track length1:30

Var. 9, Allegro pesante e risoluto

Track length1:50

Var. 10, Presto

Track length0:32

Var. 11, Allegretto

Track length1:00

Var. 12, Un poco più mosso

Track length0:53

Var. 13, Vivace

Track length0:43

Var. 14, Grave e maestoso

Track length3:25

Var. 15, Presto scherzando

Track length0:35

Var. 16, Allegro

Track length0:50

Var. 17, Allegro

Track length0:54

Var. 18, Poco moderato

Track length1:21

Var. 19, Presto

Track length0:56

Var. 20, Andante

Track length1:48

Var. 21, Allegro con brio

Track length1:09

Var. 22, Allegro molto

Track length0:37

Var. 23, Allegro assai

Track length0:49

Var. 24, Fughetta - Andante

Track length1:59

Var. 25, Allegro

Track length0:41

Var. 26, Piacevole

Track length1:12

Var. 27, Vivace

Track length1:02

Var. 28, Allegro

Track length0:58

Var. 29, Adagio ma non troppo

Track length1:02

Var. 30, Andante, sempre cantabile

Track length2:03

Var. 31, Largo, molto espressivo

Track length3:59

Var. 32, Fuga - Allegro

Track length2:41

Var. 33, Tempo di Menuetto. Moderato

Track length3:05

About
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About

The appearance of a new, complete recording by Friedrich Gulda of the Beethoven sonatas, made before his two previously known cycles, can be regarded as a sensation. If a pianist makes three recordings within 20 years of the most important cycle for his instrument then it would be regarded, even by today’s standards, as extraordinary. But to have done it in the 1950s and ’60s was a unique achievement - the business of capturing it as a sound recording in the early 1950s was still something brave and new in every way. Schnabel’s recording from the 1930s had the ill luck of being made at the ‘wrong’ time, when the world was busy with greater problems; the same was more or less true of the first recording that Wilhelm Kempff began, but did not complete, during the War. To be sure, the history of sound recording has meant that constant technical advancements (LP, stereo and digital techniques) have been the prime reason for artists to make lavish, new complete recordings of the same works. All the same, Gulda’s second complete recording, for Decca in London, hitherto believed to be his first, still counts among the most audacious early recording projects of the sonatas in the post-war years. The recording that preceded it, which Orfeo have been authorised to publish here, was made for Austrian Radio. Gulda went to the Viennese studios to make it at the turn of 1953/4, at a time when the city was still under the control of the Russian occupying power. This young pianist, born in Vienna on 16 May 1930, had begun his international career in spectacular fashion by winning the Geneva Competition in 1946. He performed Beethoven’s sonatas in the autumn of 1953 in several Austrian cities. He was so ‘played in’ that it seems to have been a mere matter of routine for him to record up to six big sonatas in the space of just two days in the studio. This was an incredible achievement that is in no way diminished by the minimal glitches to be found here. If anything, these inaccuracies enhance the spontaneity and vibrancy of Gulda’s performance, which even at this early stage of his career was distinguished by a headstrong personality and exceptional abilities. His choice of tempi is fearless and stringent, while his high degree of precision is fostered by an economical use of the pedal and a rejection of any arbitrary accelerandi or ritardandi (as for example in the Hammerklavier Sonata). It is such aspects of his playing in particular that reveal a de-Romanticisation of Beethoven. This was a process to which Gulda’s interpretations contributed, yet which detracted not a whit from the master’s greatness. On the contrary: it is precisely the simplicity and the clarity of Gulda’s Beethoven interpretations – despite their occasional stylised moments – that make evident the humility and modesty of the pianist in the face of the supreme genius of the composer. The Sonatas are here complemented by the Six Bagatelles Op. 126, the Diabelli Variations Op. 120 and the Eroica Variations Op. 35.

Friedrich Gulda plays Beethoven (1953-7)

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