Ludwig van Beethoven
Artur Schnabel's recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas
Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel was the first pianist to record all of Ludwig van Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas. The recordings were made in Abbey Road Studios in London on a C. Bechstein grand piano
Background#
Austrian pianist and composer Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) is considered one of the 20th century’s most important musicians, and continues to be celebrated particularly for his performances of Beethoven and Schubert. Proclaimed by American music critic, journalist, and music writer Harold C. Schonberg as “the man who invented Beethoven”, Schnabel’s pedagogical lineage included Beethoven himself. When he was around ten years old, he began studying with Theodor Leschetizky, who was a student of Carl Czerny, who was in turn Beethoven’s student, close friend and assistant. In 1927, on the centenary of Beethoven’s death, Schnabel performed all 32 Beethoven sonatas for the first time in a series of seven recitals at the theatre of the Volksbühne in Berlin. and at the Berliner Philharmonie from 1932 to 1933. During his life, Schnabel witnessed the development of sound-reproduction technology, with the inventions of the player piano, radio, and phonograph record. They were his first known recordings. A few weeks later, he wrote in the Welte Autograph Book: “With the artistic excellence of the Welte-Mignon, the extreme limits of possibility in the mechanical reproduction of music appear to have been reached. … Instead of all traces of his art disappearing with the last note played, the Pianist has now the consoling certainty that his performances will survive him.” In 1922, as part of a contractual obligation, he made rolls for the American Piano Company’s Ampico reproducing piano during his first American tour. In addition to works of Bach, Brahms, Schubert, and Weber, he recorded two pieces of Beethoven’s. who proposed Schnabel record Beethoven’s complete piano works. Before the proposal, Schnabel had refused to make recordings for years, claiming they went “against the very nature of performance, for the nature of performance is to happen but once, to be absolutely ephemeral and unrepeatable.” Schnabel tested the gramophone for the first time. He reported that the tests produced records that were “ugly in sound” but “musically satisfactory”, which Cesar Saerchinger noted was “a seemingly curious distinction for a man who was praised throughout his career for his beautiful tone.” In early February, Schnabel signed his contract.
Recording and production#
Principal recording of the complete sonatas for His Master’s Voice took place from January 1932 to November 1935, with touch-up recordings made to several sonatas in 1937. They were all recorded at Abbey Road Studios’s Studio No. 3 with Schnabel playing a C. Bechstein grand piano. when Piano Sonata No. 31 in A major (Op. 110) was completed. they were finished later. Concurrently with the sonatas, Schnabel recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos, under the baton of Sir Malcolm Sargent. <!–
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven