At Amazon several weeks ago I found volume one of HJ Lim's Beethoven sonata traversal dirt cheap, $10 plus a small amount of shipping. Not bad considering volume one contains two disks cramped full of sonatas. I ordered it despite knowing that ms Lim's interpretations seem to be rather controversial, with many naysayers attacking them. Why not? At the asking price they would at worst provide interesting alternative takes on these works. That was my thinking at the time at any rate.
The order arrived in yesterday's mail. I immediately played disk one and part of disk two through the computer. A bit before supper I played the entirety of disk two over the living room audio system. My take? They are indeed interesting, and will get multiple hearings. But . . . there's enough quirkiness that for me doesn't pan out to keep them off the recommendation list. Recorded sound was excellent through both living room and computer audio system. I definitely prefer Bosendorfer and Steinway over ms Lim's Yamaha, but don't see that as a negative. Something I 'do" dislike . . . whoever mastered the disks left next to no pause between sonatas, at least on disk two, a practice I resoundingly condemn. A major plus . . . ms Lim writes her own extensive notes. I wish that was the norm, assuming the artist in question has anything to say, that is.
Following supper I felt to need to clean my ears with several favorite YouTube Beethoven sonata performances. Ms Lim having opened with the Hammerklavier, I returned to Valentina Lisitsa's fine interpretation of its final movement, which I've linked here before. While listening I noticed a link to her Op.10 No.3 and realized I'd not heard it in quite some time. That was my follow up and man-o-man it blew me away, as we said back in the day. In ms Lisitsa's hands the first movement becomes the delightful sometimes madcap romp it was surely intended to be. The final (fourth) movement is very playful. Lovely third movement. (For some reason I forget my reaction to the second movement.) Here's the opening movement.
Other than the above I've not done an awful lot of listening. I did listen to a disk from my recently bought Beethoven violin/piano sonata set, but the more I hear those interpretations the blander they seem.
The order arrived in yesterday's mail. I immediately played disk one and part of disk two through the computer. A bit before supper I played the entirety of disk two over the living room audio system. My take? They are indeed interesting, and will get multiple hearings. But . . . there's enough quirkiness that for me doesn't pan out to keep them off the recommendation list. Recorded sound was excellent through both living room and computer audio system. I definitely prefer Bosendorfer and Steinway over ms Lim's Yamaha, but don't see that as a negative. Something I 'do" dislike . . . whoever mastered the disks left next to no pause between sonatas, at least on disk two, a practice I resoundingly condemn. A major plus . . . ms Lim writes her own extensive notes. I wish that was the norm, assuming the artist in question has anything to say, that is.
Following supper I felt to need to clean my ears with several favorite YouTube Beethoven sonata performances. Ms Lim having opened with the Hammerklavier, I returned to Valentina Lisitsa's fine interpretation of its final movement, which I've linked here before. While listening I noticed a link to her Op.10 No.3 and realized I'd not heard it in quite some time. That was my follow up and man-o-man it blew me away, as we said back in the day. In ms Lisitsa's hands the first movement becomes the delightful sometimes madcap romp it was surely intended to be. The final (fourth) movement is very playful. Lovely third movement. (For some reason I forget my reaction to the second movement.) Here's the opening movement.
Other than the above I've not done an awful lot of listening. I did listen to a disk from my recently bought Beethoven violin/piano sonata set, but the more I hear those interpretations the blander they seem.
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