Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux" I. Das Lebewohl: Adagio - Allegro II. Abwesenheit: Andante espressivo III. Das Wiedersehn: Vivacissimamente Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Claudio Arrau (1903-1991)
Anyone who plays this work will tell you that it is one of the hardest of all Beethoven Sonatas to play . It is over in less than 20 minutes, but it carries an emotional punch.It takes many years to bring it to an optimal level and there is real physical effort required to produce that glorious finale.
No words to express! Just remembering that he was one of the last pupils of Martin Krause, himself a former pupil of Franz Liszt: Arrau was a heir of the BEST tradition!
Not true! Arrau one of the greatest! Wilhelm Kempff and Emil Gilels more colorful beautiful piano sound for Beethoven than Arrau! Radu Lupu his Brahms piano concerto no 1 with the Finnish Radio Symphony video youtube from 1996! Radu Lupu had the most colorful piano sound for Brahms concerto no 1! Radu Lupu had warmer better piano sound than Arrau's Brahms concerto no 1! Radu Lupu more relax than Arrau playing Brahms concerto no 1! The best Brahms piano concerto no 2 players are Really=Sviatislav Richter! Richter more monumental and more genius than Arrau! Grigory Sokolov his Brahms concerto no 2 with the best piano sound better than Arrau's Brahms concerto no 2! Sokolov his rhythmic vitalness is unbeatable! Sokolov more Titanic than Arrau!!
The almost boneless flexibility and naturalness of Arrau's use of his hands, his catlike grace of technique, is gloriously on view here. I loved the performance. He was 1000% emotionally committed in every bar.
As well as being a supreme virtuoso, Arrau has a fantastic intellect. In his interpretations of the great composers like Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Schubert and Schumann he achieves a depth that few other pianists can approach. His recordings of the Beethoven Sonatas are sacred monuments that demonstrate the art, the history and the grandeur of the piano. His service to the composer and music in general is undeniable.
Arrau's tempos here are right down the middle. Part of his greatness was that he never was afraid to let the music breathe at a critical point. He was able to do this without calling attention to the breath, which made the "surprise" which usually followed all the more powerful.
Toute sonate de Beethoven que j'ai entendue jouée par Arrau a été la meilleure interprétation de cet oeuvre que j'ai jamais écouté. Pourquoi Arrau a réussi à rendre Beethoven plus beau de toutes les manières que personne d'autre, je ne peux pas commencer à comprendre. Je ne le sais que pour moi, et il a dû avoir un génie instinctif pour cette musique que peut-être avait seul le compositeur lui-même. Certes, Arrau n'était pas seulement le plus grand pianiste du 20ème siècle mais probablement aussi le plus grand musicien.
I had the main ("A") theme of the last movement in my head for several days, wondering where it came from. It drove me nuts, but I soon realized that it had to be someone who was capable of writing amazing, lyrical melodies. After several days of painful thinking (and trust me, this process was more painful and long than I can ever describe...), I knew that it had to be one of Beethoven's sonatas, so I checked through a lot of them but couldn't find it. This searching in all of his sonatas lasted for long, and drove me literally insane. When I FINALLY found it, sitting in the car listening to it on my computer with headphones, shivers went down my spine. It wasn't as beautiful as I had remembered it. It was even better. Now I've spent the last day listening to it over and over again.
I think the reason is probably because of it's determined nature. It's so uplifting, and Beethoven always as far as I can tell displays the nature of being human and going through the struggles, but always overcoming them
Ogni sonata di Beethoven che ho sentito interpretato da Arrau è stata la migliore interpretazione di quel lavoro che abbia mai ascoltato. Perché Arrau era in grado di rendere Beethoven più bello in ogni modo di chiunque altro non riesco a capire. So solo che per me ha fatto e deve aver avuto un genio istintivo per questa musica che forse anche solo il compositore stesso aveva. Certamente Arrau non era solo il più grande pianista del ventesimo secolo, ma probabilmente anche il più grande musicista.
Claudio Arrau performs Beethoven the way a bird navigates a stormy day-deftly handling the buffeting winds as only one who is naturally-skilled, well-practiced can, creating a ballet in the air, his notes soaring to the heavens.
Truly, I had never heard anyone play the piano like Arrau does. He's like the very voice of Beethoven. Even better, he's more like the outcome of his soul.
I don't think may exist possible words to say how much was and it is every day Claudio Arrau. Thank you very much for this sweet effort to every note and silence
I saw him play quite often Arrau liked coming to New Zealand, as they appreciated him there. I heard him playing the Emperor, Appassionata and the Waldstein (Woodstone).
To call Beethoven’s sonata dedicated to Count Waldstein the “Woodstone” is rather like calling Elizabeth Schwarzkopf “Lizzie Blackhead”, as some do. Were you pulling our leg? Readers who are familiar with the works of Enid Blyton will also appreciate Steven Isserlis’s translation of Schumann’s “Fünf Stücke im Volkston” as “Five get Stuck in Folkestone”.
Great performance. Maybe the first mvmt tempo is a little faster than I'm used to hearing it, but nobody captures the spirit of Beethoven better than Arrau. He is the master of this music (and just about everything else he plays).
No entiendo, porque "orgullosa"? No es Ud. que toca el piano, no? Por ser chileno... y si fuese japonés o otra nacionalidad, la interpretacion no le gustaria? Vivió mucho tiempo fuera de Chile y es alemán de formación musical y universal como músico. No la hace esto "orgullosa"? Eso puedo entenderlo, ya que estar "orgullosa" del trabajo de otros, me parece fuera de lugar, sobretodo si no se ha participado en nada. Nacer en un lugar del planeta es una pura casualidad, no?
It matters not whether this is the greatest interpretation of this sonata. it is enough to say that it is a very beautiful one and expressive of deep emotion.
Muchas gracias por subirlo. Dedicada al archiduque Rodolfo, la sonata fue publicada por primera vez en Londres por Muzio Clementi, quien tradujo los subtítulos originales de Beethoven al francés, por razones de mercado. La dedicatoria reza: "En la partida de su Alteza Imperial, el Archiduque Rodolfo, con admiración". 00 Les Adieux: Adagio - Allegro (1:54) 07:14 L'Absence: Andante espressivo 10:50 Le retour: Vivacissimamente La versión de Arrau corresponde a su presentación en el recital monográfico de Beethoven, realizado en Berlín, el 10 de abril de 1970. Este es un aporte de la página "La Belleza de Escuchar".
La traducción es incorrecta, el primer movimiento se llama Das Lebewohl, lo que significaría l'Adieu antes que les Adieux. Lebe wohl significa algo como "suerte en la vida"
Yeah, Czerny was Beethoven's disciple, who taught Liszt who taught Krause who taught Arrau. That's why the disciple plays the ultimate boss' pieces so we'll.
@@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji Wilhelm Kempff cited a similar pedagogical ancestry. I count myself very lucky to have heard both these great pianists live.
Every Beethoven sonata I have heard played by Arrau has been the best interpretation of that work I have ever listened to. Why Arrau was able to actually make Beethoven more beautiful in every way than anybody else I cannot begin to understand. I only know that for me he did, and must have had an instinctive genius for this music which perhaps only the composer himself also had. Certainly Arrau was not just the greatest pianist of the 20th century but probably also the greatest musician.
I guess also growing up as a child prodigy and having a teacher who was a student of Liszt would contribute significantly. His teacher was more than a task master and would set him almost superhuman feats for his lessons. Don't quote me but it could be something such as learning the complete Liszt Transcendental Etudes within a week or something like that. You can find an interview on you tube of Arrau discussing this. It's mind boggling what was expected of him
Joe Lim Maestro Arrau uses the natural weight of the entire body to the tip of the fingers with absolute relaxation. This gives a sound so rich and beautiful that not anyone can perceive. Usually people like beaten sound result of tension in arms and hands. Maestro Arrau is the only one who is completely relaxed (among the famous pianists). Regards.
Preste cuidadosa atention a la nariz del maestro Arrou y el manejo magistral de su respiracion. Trate de imitartlo por un dia entero en su vida y vera como alcanzara un nivel de espiritualidad y ATENCION en toda actividad que emprenda en su vida
+Raúl de la Mora Arthur Rubinstein is also using full weight of hands and body while being relaxed,thus his sound is phenomenal as well as Arrau's
You mention the most important aspect of good tone control - relaxation. Arrau and Rubinstein possessed this, consequently the piano became a natural physical extension of themselves, they could produce a large fulsome sonority without harshness. This account of Les Adieux is absolutely superb.
I can almost distinguish Arrau's musical heart from that of other interpreters, when he plays and delivers Beethoven's piano sonatas, perhaps in the manner that only he was able to deliver through recordings and recitals in the span of so many years. It is not just the special sonority, for which he was famous and well admired, but perhaps also the strong and determined physical musicality of his hands, as they masterfully strike the keyboard, and where the camera visually delivers for us, not only his technique but also his heart, and perhaps the heart of Beethoven himself. This sonata is but an example of these observations, I think...
There's no such thing as the "best" pianist or the "best" Beethoven. There are several pianists in each generation who are above and beyond all others. The ones who are ARTISTS and not just interpreters. But at the end, it all comes down to TASTE. Your personal taste. Arrau was wonderful, but you can't disregard other equally gifted artists who came before and after him. The quicker we stop labeling artists and start enjoying their art, the better.
Eso de que Bareboim interpreta a Beethoven mejor que Claudio Arrau sólo lo puede decir un argentino con la camiseta puesta... es totalmente absurdo dar argumentos al respecto; desde todo punto de vista Arrau tiene en Beethoven un nivel tremendamente superior no sólo a Barenboim, sino a todos los otros pianistas que he oído. En técnica, forma y contenido no hay comparación alguna. Desde la formación musical de Arrau, en la escuela romántica alemana, en adelante no hay comparación viable.
oh please,your criticism is nonsense,your words are empty, arrau is along with barenboim,richter,gould and moravec best players of beethoven, each of them is playing the unique and different beethoven;in this recording i may think that youre blind and deaf sir,because arrau plays especially this sonata magnificent,full of emotions,he is the master,its about TASTE,and arrau's taste due to tempo is simply perfect he is master,and he HAS the right to change a bit tempo!leave the gods their wills!
Thanks for pointing that out. The music is incredible, and the camera work and video editing of maybe 4 camera recordings are also really good. I imagine the videographers studied the piece of music a lot before recording and editing the performance.
I have just today discovered this sonata on vinyl, played by Arrau. Unfortunately, the vinyl dates back to 1959 and it is terribly worn. The sound quality is pretty appalling. It's great to be able to hear this on RU-vid with proper sound!
