Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Russell Sherman :: Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 5

Absolutely impossible, most of the time

hjonkers | The Netherlands | 10/16/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Some recordings are unconventional. Others may even be called strange, and a few are just downright bizarre. These recordings by Russell Sherman undoubtedly fit in that final category. What is he doing? I've no idea, really. You get the idea that he is seeing all these sonatas for the first time ever and tries to sight-read his way through the scores. Such an odd thing like a measure beats does not exist for him, and he apparently didn't have any time left to take notice of the dynamic marks while playing. I guess that if Sherman sat behind a piano at this very moment, he'd do something completely different with the music again, and tomorrow everything would be changed once more. There's nothing such as a real 'interpretation' in Sherman's recordings: these are completely randomised, improvisatory recordings that do not make any particular overall impressions, other than that they left me totally confused. (And it surely does seem a bit odd to me to call him a master of timing and integration).



It is that he has an absolutely lovely tone, and that some of his odd improvisations are even interesting to hear once, so that at least part of the recordings are bearable. There certainly is a certain smoothness to his sound, that can make part of his playing exquisite, especially in the slow movements. And sometimes he does ingenuous things - in the second opening chord of the Hammerklavier, he adds (deliberately?) an extra note that sounds wonderful, incorrect as it may be. And sure, it is all *very* refreshing...



But to what cost would you want music to be refreshed? There is absolutely no sense of structure or character in Sherman's playing - he randomizes everything, as said, without regard for what is coming next. After the opening chords of the Hammerklavier, to give just one example, you'd expect the pianist to `build' into something, from a simple melody to those massive chord jumps. Sherman though, does absolutely nothing with this. In fact, his playing almost becomes SOFTER the closer he gets to the climax. As the chords arrive, he just thumps them out indifferently and clumsily and hardly with power (you'd suspect his technique isn't that accurate), and the following descending octaves are bizarrely articulated. I need not go one about the rest of the movement - it's similarly weird and without any momentum. So what, uh, 'effect' does this way of playing actually have? It doesn't follow logic laws anywhere nor can it make particular 'coherent' sense.



And if anyone thinks that this extreme liberty-taking adds anything in interesting 'expressiveness': no way. If Sherman says that he merely wants to 'address' Beethoven's music, I wonder what he means with that word - he does not quite address nor express a lot. Take the op.106 Fugue. Sherman tries to play very exquisitely and softly most of the time (at least he is coherent in that sense!) but at the same time wants to portray the uneasiness of the movement - i.e. he tries to express something different than he is playing. It makes a rather, excuse the word, constipated impression. Needless to say that there is little contrapuntal structure to be found, too.



It is safe to say that Sherman makes a better impression in the slow movements. There are fewer notes to toy with here, less dynamics too, so the music flows more naturally anyway. It is ironic, as some critics have remarked too, that he is at his best when he does *not* mess around with the music, but that is simply the case. The pianist's tone is really beautiful and rhapsodic at times, and he definitely sounds more at ease. I have to say that I'm still not too enthusiastic - Sherman's tempo mannerisms are still everywhere. You'd wish he would just keep it straight for a *few* seconds at least; things might become so much more impressive then.



I've talked mostly about the Hammerklavier so far, but it is largely representative for the rest of these extraordinarily pricey cd's. The op.2/3 is quite impossible, especially in the two outer movements. In the final, things seem to be alright for a few measures, until Sherman starts articulating the left hand in a bizarre way - what else is new. The Pathetique is better, although still random and lacking momentum - the other reviewer is right here. The two small sonatas are alright but not very special either. The best of the set may be the G major sonata, which gets a rather straight, clear and charming performance - again, why doesn't he just do this all the time? As for the op.78, it's pretty much a mess again - for a really interesting wayward performance of this piece I'd rather hear Gould.



There are many 'alternative' performance of Beethoven available, and I certainly wouldn't say I want everything straight and authentic (Glenn Gould's way with Beethoven, to name something, is really hilarious and very enjoyable). The question with Sherman is, does his out-of-mainstream approach pay very much dividend? I'd say not. There is an occasional moment he is refreshing - but there are all too many more moments he leaves one in total confusion. Giving a score is difficult - I've opted for two stars because of an occasional moment of pleasure, but most of this is really worth 1 star or less. At any rate, if I want to hear delightful Beethoven in a way that indeed, 'addresses' the music primarily I'd much rather listen to Kempff who has twice as much improvisatory talent as Sherman and unendingly more understanding of musical structure. And otherwise there's always Arrau for a straight dose of pure greatness."

A master of timing and integration

Bradley P. Lehman | Dayton, VA USA | 10/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This completes Sherman's cycle of all the sonatas. I have this Volume 5 and Volume 4 so far, and have ordered the others; there is also a 10-CD boxed set. After reading his thoughtful and playful program notes here, I've also ordered his book, "Piano Pieces". There's an interview with him in the May/June 2002 issue of _Fanfare_ magazine that also repays multiple visits. Sherman is clearly a brilliant generalist, able to collect ideas from wherever they may be found, and use them in humble service of the music.So, what does this set sound like? His performances are closely analytical, which is not surprising given that he studied with Eduard Steuermann (Schoenberg's advocate). He keeps the texture of the music lively and riveting: with careful control of voicing and timing he brings out all sorts of compositional details. That is, he's not content merely to breeze through the notes, but would rather show us Beethoven's creative genius at work. This approach shows up especially in his rhythmic flexibility: the hands don't always have to be exactly together, and the tempo is a liquid...basically flowing forward but also taking little twists and turns around obstacles. And it's done deliberately, to bring out musical points, not just to get through passages that are difficult to play. That treatment of tempo is nothing new; it's a basic part of 18th and early 19th century keyboard technique, but too often forgotten today by players who focus on metric regularity (or the easy splice-ability in a recording, having all the takes firmly in tempo). "Dynamics" are not merely a good control of loud and quiet, but of all the components of flow, and engagement of the listener's attention. It takes more skill to control a field of dozens of variables (including tempo) than it does to control merely three or four variables (the focus of some other players). And Sherman's technique is up to that challenge, that willingness to let things be irregular but still under enough control. Sherman also realizes that the music is play, and he brings out a whimsical delight in it, no matter how much it has also been "intellectualized." His playing sounds spontaneous and fresh, not cautious.A terrific result is: Sherman makes the listener think about the music as if it were new and unfamiliar, even if the listener already "knows" these pieces from listening and playing. Sherman himself puts it well in the booklet notes: "The inherent tension between order and disorder, anomaly and stasis, event and field, is at its most refined and researched in Beethoven, whether the consequences are bloody or evanescent. Such music cannot be mastered, only addressed--which conviction allows me to take leave of my senses, to try vainly, to give some inadequate testimony of my teacher's legacy, to wrestle in the great sandbox of child and heaven with the ultimate Sumo soldier-of-humanity, however many times I get flattened."There is no shortage of other recordings of these pieces; plenty of other pianists can play the notes. Listeners who expect a slickly machined precision and regularity, or the thrill of a super-energetic drive with turbo thrusters, should look elsewhere. Listeners who want to "address" the music at the side of an enthusiastic guide should press the "Add to Shopping Cart" button now.Bravo. Speaking of Steuermann: when is his own marvelous recording of the Schoenberg piano pieces going to make it to CD?"