Andor Földes - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (2017)

A couple of years after making these Beethoven recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Andor Foldes remarked that ‘I am not a prodigy and I am not an octogenarian. I just have to be good’. Such plain-spoken reserve might be considered characteristically Hungarian. Eloquence has already released Foldes’s long-esteemed albums of his fellow countrymen Bartók (ELQ4807100) and Kodály (ELQ4807099).

However, he was best-known in English-speaking countries for his performances, and latterly his no-nonsense teaching, of Beethoven. This 2CD release of sonatas is one of three issues of his recordings of the composer’s music for Deutsche Grammophon, made in the late 1950s and early 1960s. (Two available this month, one in May.)

The special grasp Foldes had of Beethoven’s idiom was recognised early in life. At sixteen, he played the ‘Pathétique’ Sonata to Emil von Sauer, whose own virtuoso days were long behind him. At length, von Sauer rose from his seat, went over to the boy and kissed him on the forehead. ‘My son,’ said von Sauer to Foldes, ‘when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, “Take good care of this kiss – it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.” I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, and now I feel you deserve it.’ The ‘Pathétique’ is here, of course, enriched by a further three decades’ insight and experience; so too are several of the best-known named sonatas as well as two ‘late’ ones, Op. 101 and Op. 109.

TRACKLIST
01. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 -"Pathétique"-1. Grave-Allegro di molto e con brio
02. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 -"Pathétique"-2. Adagio cantabile
03. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 -"Pathétique"-3. Rondo (Allegro)
04. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -"Pastorale"-1. Allegro
05. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -"Pastorale"-2. Andante
06. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -"Pastorale"-3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
07. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.15 In D, Op.28 -"Pastorale"-4. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo
08. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 -"Tempest"-1. Largo-Allegro
09. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 -"Tempest"-2. Adagio
10. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31 No.2 -"Tempest"-3. Allegretto
11. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53 -"Waldstein"-1. Allegro con brio
12. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53 -"Waldstein"-2. Introduzione (Adagio molto)
13. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53 -"Waldstein"-3. Rondo (Allegretto moderato-Prestissimo)
14. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 -"Appassionata"-1. Allegro assai
15. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 -"Appassionata"-2. Andante con moto
16. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 -"Appassionata"-3. Allegro ma non troppo
17. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a -"Les adieux"-1. Das Lebewohl (Adagio-Allegro)
18. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a -"Les adieux"-2. Abwesenheit (Andante espressivo)
19. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat, Op.81a -"Les adieux"-3. Das Wiedersehen (Vivacissimamente)
20. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 in A, Op.101-1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Allegretto ma non troppo)
21. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 in A, Op.101-2. Lebhaft, marschmäßig (Vivace alla marcia)
22. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 in A, Op.101-3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto)
23. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.28 in A, Op.101-4. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossen- heit (Allegro)
24. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.30 in E, Op.109-1. Vivace, ma non troppo-Adagio espressivo-Tempo I
25. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.30 in E, Op.109-2. Prestissimo
26. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.30 in E, Op.109-3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo)