Sofronitsky plays Beethoven Sonata No. 32 , Op. 111

[dermusikverfallen]

@paganviodio Do you really think that SOFRONITZKI could not have thrillered that brilliant as Richter if he had wanted to do so? You write about the fourth and fifht finger- but it is indeed very possible to use 2-3 there, because there ist just one tone to hold, "as" in bare 2 and "d" in bare 8! Sofronitzki very carefully had readed the text, which is demanding a "decrescendo" there and creates a very adequate solution, introverted and with a little vision of Chopin.

[paganviodio]

@dermusikverfallen well if you think that it was HIS Interpretation of the Sonata, then, one has to say, Beethoven is the one who wants a "thrill" there. this is written in the Music. against your argue i would just want to emphasize that. this is also known by sofronitzky. if he plays like that, and on purpose, then exactly such things as thrills, are not instantly a subject to interpretation, if you play a virtuosic arpeggio bad, and say, this is your interp. nobody believes you...

[paganviodio]

the thrill at the begining is just not so good. it doesnt really "thrill" ...the fourth and fifth fingers are simply stiffed, is the meaning of that. this recording is a studio recording as it sounds.

just listen to richter playing that even in concert, and wonder how clear this thrill, which here doesnt really sound in a studio recording, can wonderfully sound, even in a concert.

[dermusikverfallen]

@paganviodio Do you really think that SOFRONITZKI could not have thrillered that brilliant as Richter if he had wanted to do so? You write about the fourth and fifht finger- but it is indeed very possible to use 2-3 there, because there ist just one tone to hold, "as" in bare 2 and "d" in bare 8! Sofronitzki very carefully had readed the text, which is demanding a "decrescendo" there and creates a very adequate solution, introverted and with a little vision of Chopin.

[themindandmusic]

About last photo - perhaps he was playing a two-piano piece, and he happened to be second piano? Anyway, this is such a great pianist and such a great performance that I wouldn't care if he was upside-down......Thanks for the upload. Also there's a very interesting interview with Sofronitsky and his wife with Alexander Vitsinsky, Sofronitsky's comments show just how great of an artist he was in my opinion.....

[grizzdabeast]

why does he look like tim geithner

[Gargantupimp]

I listen to Glenn Goulds recording of this what does that make me? Anyways this is fantastic, I like it more than anyone else I've heard so far.

[ProkofievRules]

What a delightful, and original presentation of this sonata. I quite enjoyed it. Although, if I had to bring one recording of this with me to a desert island, it would be Ashkenazy's.

[vova47]

Thanks again,truecrypt for this great gift!

Is there 2nd movement somewhere in your treasury? Don´t let us wait in anticipation

for too long...

[Ellinidara]

I don't like so much his sound,but generally the execution is great,I think, Thank for posting.

[ASAngelo]

very raw

[gerryrains]

SS,

If you really think that I am misquoting Rubinstein, read the Wikipedia article on . Just because you are intellectually dishonest doesn't mean that everybody else is. I await perusal of the Richter article and your subsequent apology.

Now, without Marcel on YT to reinforce your views, they may just have to lock you somewhere away from computers.

[john9487]

Excellent interpretation,very balanced!

[4realrussiansonly]

The healthy dynamics, virile tempo & attack are reminiscent of

S. Richter to the point of clone- ization; the latter obviously deeply influenced by Sofronitsky in this performance of the most profound of Beethoven's sonatas.

[weikko79]

That is possible, though I wouldn't speak of "clone-ization" (whatever that means, anyway). Have you heard Sofronitsky's performance of Appassionata? It is remarkably similar to that of Richter's, too.

[pianopera]

Yes, everybody, including you...

[pianopera]

Isn't that the characteristic of Great Art and Great Performers: they seem to hold, amalgamate and loosen many opposite views and visions...

[lourak]

Careful smithsherman - your inner inconsistencies are showing - and in full measure! "a subjective interpretive understanding of what works"???(your words). This is exactly what you have been championing all over youtube - all of a sudden you are enamored of adherence to the score??? Ironically, you are dead wrong, in any event. This performance is meticulously respectful of "the score". Be well! Nothing personal, of course...or is it?

[gerryrains]

lourak,

Great and accurate comment, however you have entered it twice. :-) Still a five star reply to a somewhat pompous and bizarre compulsive commenter. :-< for him :-) for you.

After all, anyone who constantly criticizes Sviatoslav Richter in the face of opinions by, among others Gilels, Rubinstein, Horowitz, and Van Cliburn, which proclaim him to be the greatest pianist of the latter half of the twentieth century must be taking recreational drugs.

[lourak]

Thanks, gerryrains, for the vote of support on my comments. Stand by for my full retaliation on smithsherman - I might need you as a backup. I am going to deliver the final hammer-blow to him soon.

[lourak]

Part 2

And more, he has a kind of "dynamic memory" which enables him to target specific notes, motives and phrases with an uncannily precise decible level. Of course, you would need to study the score in detail, to understand how his control of this parameter helps to reveal deep underlying structure, both in the foreground and background.

[lourak]

Part 1

You missed again smithsherman, and honestly, I find your comments and critiques here to be quite incoherent...I'm afraid that only a pianist can fully appreciate the dynamic control that is on display here. Within the narrowest range, Sofronitsky manages to achieve gradations of volume unlike any pianist I have heard.

[lourak]

I am most struck by the appropriately restrained and subtle dynamics of this performance, which so wonderfully facilitates the flow of musical ideas and helps give them coherence and structure. The pianissimos are simply breath-taking and well targeted. A totally unaffected performance - pure music - pure Beethoven (a few technical glitches notwithstanding)!