Wilhelm Backhaus – Decca Beethoven Sonatas (8 CD box set, FLAC)

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 8 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Decca
Size: 2.06 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

Disc: 1
01. 1. Allegro
02. 2. Adagio
03. 3. Menuetto (Allegretto)
04. 4. Prestissimo
05. 1. Allegro vivace
06. 2. Largo appassionato
07. 3. Scherzo (Allegretto)
08. 4. Rondo (Grazioso)
09. 1. Allegro con brio
10. 2. Adagio
11. 3. Scherzo (Allegro)
12. 4. Allegro assai
13. 1. Allegro molto e con brio
14. 2. Adagio molto
15. 3. Finale (Prestissimo)

Disc: 2
01. 1. Allegro molto e con brio
02. 2. Largo, con gran espressione
03. 3. Allegro
04. 4. Rondo (Poco allegretto e grazioso)
05. 1. Allegro
06. 2. Allegretto
07. 3. Presto
08. 1. Presto
09. 2. Largo e mesto
10. 3. Menuetto (Allegro)
11. 4. Rondo (Allegro)
12. 1. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio
13. 2. Adagio cantabile
14. 3. Rondo (Allegro)

Disc: 3
01. 1. Allegro
02. 2. Allegretto
03. 3. Rondo (Allegro comodo)
04. 1. Allegro
05. 2. Andante
06. 3. Scherzo (Allegro assai)
07. 1. Allegro con brio
08. 2. Adagio con molto espressione
09. 3. Menuetto
10. 4. Rondo (Allegretto)
11. 1. Andante con variazioni
12. 2. Scherzo (Allegro molto)
13. 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un Eroe
14. 4. Allegro

Disc: 4
01. 1. Andante – Allegro – Tempo I
02. 2. Allegro molto e vivace
03. 3. Adagio con espressione
04. 4. Allegro vivace – Tempo I – Presto
05. 1. Adagio sostenuto
06. 2. Allegretto
07. 3. Presto
08. 1. Allegro
09. 2. Andante
10. 3. Scherzo (Allegro assai)
11. 4. Rondo (Allegro ma non troppo)
12. 1. Allegro vivace
13. 2. Adagio grazioso
14. 3. Rondo (Allegretto)

Disc: 5
01. 1. Largo – Allegro
02. 2. Adagio
03. 3. Allegretto
04. 1. Allegro
05. 2. Scherzo (Allegretto vivace)
06. 3. Menuetto (Moderato e grazioso)
07. 4. Presto con fuoco
08. 1. Andante
09. 2. Rondo (Allegro)
10. 1. Allegro ma non troppo
11. 2. Tempo di Menuetto
12. 1. Allegro con brio
13. 2. Introduzione (Adagio molto)
14. 3. Rondo (Allegretto moderato – Prestissimo)

Disc: 6
01. 1. In Tempo d’un Menuetto
02. 2. Allegretto
03. 1. Allegro assai
04. 2. Andante con moto
05. 3. Allegro ma non troppo
06. 1. Adagio cantabile – Allegro ma non troppo
07. 2. Allegro vivace
08. 1. Presto alla tedesca
09. 2. Andante
10. 3. Vivace
11. 1. Das Lebewohl (Adagio – Allegro)
12. 2. Die Abwesenheit (Andante espressivo)
13. 3. Das Wiedersehen (Vivacissimamente)

Disc: 7
01. 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
02. 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen
03. 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Allegretto ma non troppo)
04. 2. Lebhaft, marschmäßig (Vivace alla marcia)
05. 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll 4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit (Allegro)
06. 1. Allegro
07. 2. Scherzo (Assai vivace – Presto – Prestissimo – Tempo I)
08. 3. Adagio sostenuto
09. 4. Largo – Allegro risoluto

Disc: 8
01. 1. Vivace, ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo – Tempo I
02. 2. Prestissimo
03. 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo)
04. 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
05. 2. Allegro molto
06. 3a. Adagio ma non troppo
07. 3b. Fuga (Allegro ma non troppo)
08. 1. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
09. 2. Arietta (Adagio molto semplice e cantabile)

Backhaus Still Delivers

Backhaus has a very straightforward approach that sometimes sounds indifferent and matter-of-fact compared to other great interpreters of these works. However, there are qualities to his approach that I find hard to live without and even harder to describe in a simple statements, but I’ll try. Backhaus extracts the simplicity in Beethoven and lays it down with a firmness and masculinity that somehow reflects the composer’s personality that I read about in his biographies. If there are mannerisms here, I think they’re Beethoven’s. Even his idiosyncrasies, such as his extra bass notes and arpeggiated chords are things that I can some how imagine the composer slipping in. I also love the way the music sounds like parlor playing, not 20th century concert hall playing. The intimacy and closed-in fullness of the recording, along with Backhaus’s strong left hand certainly contribute to this sound. It’s chunky, blocky, rhythmic, gruff – but it still manages to reveal everything that I’ve learned about these works in the past 30 years. He somehow really understood Beethoven. Again, I couldn’t be without this set.