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Published on 7/4/08
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It sits on the shelf in its golden box, the six DVDs taking up almost as much space as the sheet music of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas or the scores of his symphonies. Packed into those DVDs, priced at a hefty $190, are live concert performances of Daniel Barenboim playing each Beethoven piano sonata and six hours of master classes in which Barenboim coaches young pianists, including Lang Lang and Jonathan Biss, in a single movement from various sonatas. The set belongs in every pianist’s library, and if average music fans won’t get as much out of the classes as musicians will, they’ll still get a good introduction to Barenboim’s musical philosophy. They’ll also have the first complete set of Beethoven’s piano sonatas on DVD, which comes with its own value.
The recitals were taped over the course of a month in 2005 in the grand recital hall of Berlin’s Deutsche Staatsoper unter den Linden, where Barenboim is general music director. He opted not to present the sonatas chronologically, but mixes early, middle and late works to create cohesive recitals that last roughly an hour. Some highlights along the seven-hour way include a hair-raising finale to the “Appassionata” sonata and a glorious slow movement in the “Hammerklavier” in which time seems to stand still. The finale of the “Hammerklavier” and elsewhere would’ve been an ideal spot to film Barenboim’s feet stomping down on the pedals with such force that the percussive booms create an accompaniment Beethoven
didn’t intend.
The presentation of the recitals, directed by Andy Sommers and filmed in widescreen, is superb, with a multiplicity of camera angles keeping the visual interest high. (Seven cameramen are credited.) Barenboim is filmed from above, from the front, from below his hands, above his hands, as well as extreme close-ups of his face and his hands, occasionally getting so tight that two fingers occupy the entire screen. So many classical DVDs suffer from the dullness afforded from only two or three viewpoints that the abundant quick edits are much appreciated.
The master classes were directed by Allan Miller and filmed in Symphony Center’s Buntrock Hall, a drab room with all the charm of a rural Midwestern high-school gym. The spartan setting is appropriate for the rigorous work Barenboim has in mind for his pupils. Each musician plays through the movement in its entirety, and then they go to work.
Alessio Bax gets help in untangling the difficult introduction to the final movement of the “Hammerklavier,” and Saleem Abboud Ashkar, a Palestinian pianist who met Barenboim in the West-Eastern Divan project, learns how to use the bass to increase the haunting quotient in the opening of the “Waldstein” sonata. Shai Wosner, another pianist from the West-Eastern Divan project, gets a few pointers on the intricacies of the “Tempest” sonata. These discussions quickly turn esoteric, with Barenboim quizzing the pianist on whether a passage is marked loud or soft and other details as the duo works through the piece measure by measure.
That level of nuance shows Barenboim’s depth of knowledge and gives justification for his philosophical conclusions. The floor is opened to questions after each class, and Barenboim holds forth on a number of topics, many only vaguely related to the question that was asked. Still, his digressions are interesting, as when he ends up discussing the workings of the piano when asked a question about vocal music.
There really isn’t anything like these DVDs that makes so much information so readily available from such an accomplished artist, and without any pandering attempts to talk down to an audience and make the music “relevant.” Barenboim knows that it’s relevant, and knows that it’s up to listeners to figure that out for themselves.—Marc Geelhoed
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