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What am I missing?

Tuesday, 12th February 2008

I think I might have made a mistake. The reviews of Daniel Barenboim's Beethoven cycle have been uniformly ecstatic. And the buzz has been clear that the series has been something very special. (Have a look at Intermezzo, one of my favourite sites, for some excellent and really informative reviews.)

I have long since dismissed Barenboim as a pianist. I have simply been to too many recitals of his and gone away having felt as if he'd been slapdash and arrogant - too many wrong notes, too little care and too much of a 'one for the bank' air about the event. (Much like too many of the Vienna Philharmonic's concerts here or, worst of all, the St Petersburg PO's shocking touring concerts.) I kept going back for one more try and finally came to the conclusion that, fine conductor as he now is, his piano recitals were a waste of everyone's time - and money.

Jessica Duchen raves today about his 1960s set of Beethoven Sonatas:

I learned all the Beethoven sonatas - by ear - as an insomniac teenage piano-nut with a turntable, headphones and the LPs of Barenboim's Complete Beethoven Sonatas on EMI, recorded back in the late 1960s. Our Danny was in his twenties. They are stupendous. When I wasn't listening to him, I was listening to Schnabel, who was also revelatory - but it was Barenboim who grabbed the imagination's heart-strings from note no.1; somehow one sensed his identification with every aspect of Beethoven, from the profound mysticism to the humour, from the personal tragedy to the great humanitarian idealism. And now, if Beethoven is the most idealistic composer who ever lived, he could have no better match than Barenboim.

Yes, yes. Barenboim was indeed a stupendous pianist. But in my - extensive - experience of his playing now, was is the operative word.

A part of me thinks this cycle's acclaim might be a case of the Emperor's new clothes; that the commentariat are raving about it because they predetermined that it would be the big event of the year. But to be fair, I speak in total ignorance, since I haven't been to any of the recitals. So I have to think that they are right, and he is once again the pianist of old. Maybe he has actually practised properly for this cycle, or treated it with the proper respect.

Having turned down any number of chances to book, and invitations from friends to go with them, I think I made a mistake. At least I'd have found out whether it's hype or reality.

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szeni

February 12th, 2008 11:28am

"...he could have no better match than Barenboim". This is a naff thing to write; at least half a dozen pianists quilify for the 'no better' status (my personal 'match' is Richter's mid-1970s recordings) Incidently, a few months ago BBC-4 broadcast a documentary about Barenboim's Beethoven master class with Jonathan Bliss. It showed how much thinking went into every bar. Hard to imagine 'one for the bank' from Barenboim

Howard Johnson

February 12th, 2008 9:00pm

One hearing of Barenboim's venture into the Diabelli Variations convinced me that he is not in the top tier of pianists.

Malcolm Miller

February 14th, 2008 10:33am

I am not sure how 'uniformly ecstatic' the reviews have been: some of the nationals have pointed out memory lapses and wrong notes, and see for instance my review on www.mvdaily.com . Nevertheless I do think that one should not judge unless one goes to the event, and that most great artists also have their 'off' moments.