Beethoven: 32 Piano Sonatas by 13 Russian Pianists - Melodiya 5289-56 (14LP box)
$
365
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Description
ITEM DESCRIPTION:
This fascinating and extremely rare 14 LP Box Set from Melodiya (ROCT 5289-56, Soviet pressing, pre-Melodiya “blue torch” GOST label, mono) draws upon the rich stores of Melodiya’s archives in presenting complete the 32 Piano Sonatas of Beethoven as played by 13 different pianists, selecting in many instances rare recordings by such legendary artists as Samuel Feinberg, Maria Yudina, Victor Merzhanov, Lev Oborin, and Vladimir Sofronitzky.
This set, quite elusive in any pressing, is more commonly found in the Akkord imprint – to have it on the “blue torch” GOST label is even more difficult to acquire.
Listed in order by Sonata, this set encompasses the following performances:
No. 1 in F minor Op. 2 No. 1 (Maria Grinberg)
No. 2 in A Major Op. 2 No. 2 (Lev Oborin)
No. 3 in C Major Op. 2 No. 3 (Emil Gilels)
No. 4 in E-flat Major Op. 7 (Samuel Feinberg)
No. 5 in C minor Op. 10 No. 1 (Tatiana Nikolayeva)
No. 6 in F Major Op. 10 No. 2 (Sergei Dorenski)
Nos. 7 in D Major Op. 10 No. 3 and 8 in C minor Op. 13 'Pathetique' (Sviatoslav Richter)
No. 9 in E Major Op. 14 No. 1 (Tatiana Nikolayeva)
No. 10 in G Major Op. 14 No. 2 (Victor Merzhanov)
No. 11 in B-flat Major Op. 22 (Samuel Feinberg)
No. 12 in A-flat Major Op. 26 (Sviatoslav Richter)
No. 13 in E-flat Major Op. 27 No. 1 (Tatiana Nikolayeva)
No. 14 in C-sharp minior Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight’ (Victor Merzhanov)
No. 15 in D Major 'Pastorale' (Vladimir Sofronitsky)
No. 16 in G Major Op. 31 No. 1 (Dmitri Bashkirov)
No. 17 in D minor Op. 31 No. 2 ‘Tempest’ (Lev Vlassenko)
No. 18 in E-flat Major Op. 31 No. 3 (Maria Grinberg)
No. 19 in G minor Op. 49 No. 1 (Samuel Feinberg)
No. 20 in G Major Op. 49 No. 2 (Sergei Dorenski)
No. 21 in C Major Op. 53 'Waldstein' (Evgeny Malinin)
No. 22 in F Major Op. 54 (Maria Yudina)
No. 23 in F minor Op. 57 'Appassionata' (Sviatoslav Richter)
No. 24 in F-sharp Major Op. 78 'A Therese' (Tatiana Nikolayeva)
No. 25 in G Major Op. 79 (Maria Grinberg)
No. 26 in E-flat Major Op. 81a 'Les Adieux' (Lev Oborin)
No. 27 in E minor Op. 90 (Maria Yudina)
No. 28 in A Major Op. 10 (Maria Yudina)
No. 29 in B-flat Major Op. 106 'Hammerklavier' (Maria Yudina)
No. 30 in E Major Op. 109 (Samuel Feinberg)
No. 31 in A-flat Major Op. 110 (Lev Oborin)
No. 32 in C minor Op. 111 (Maria Grinberg)
An embarrassment of riches, pride of place perhaps belonging to Yudina in late Beethoven and the rarefied conceptions of Samuel Feinberg. However, this set also offers a number of other fine Soviet-era artists, whose names are familiar to most collectors, but who more often than not have had but one calling card in the West – Merzhanov’s ubiquitous, albeit stunning, Brahms Paganini Variations – here, he plays Beethoven’s 'Moonlight' Sonata.
Or Sofronitsky – so more readily associated with Chopin, Schumann, and above all, Scriabin, is heard here in a captivating account of Beethoven’s 'Pasorale Sonata'.
The Nikolayeva performances hail from earlier in her discography, and are not the early 1980s accounts issued on CD by Olympia. Bashkirov, still very much with us, can be heard in a marvelously characterized and witty account of Beethoven's Sonata No. 16.
Vlassenko, Malinin, Dorenski, and, of course, Gilels, only add to the intrigue of this remarkable set. The Richter recordings remain classic accounts in the annals of recorded music. Many of these recordings, particularly those by Yudina and Feinberg, are quite elusive even in their original single LP issues. And several still await transfer to CD.
Unlike many Melodiya / Akkord titles, this set was never distributed in the West and even in Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern European remains highly elusive, and highly desirable.
CONDITION – PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY:
The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.
The condition of the box is VERY GOOD. The box consists of top and bottom (like a box for a puzzle, and the two are not hinged or attached at the spine – but this is by design). It is a heavy cloth box and is very solid. There is some scuffing to the front panel, particularly along the top edge, and there is a minor tear to the fabric on the lower box. However, there are no corner breaks, seamsplits, bends, or owners’ markings, and the box remains extremely solid and quite striking in apperance – overall, this rates as a very good collector’s copy.
The condition of the 14 LPs is VERY GOOD to EXCELLENT throughout*. Visually, some of the LPs have spindle trails (there is one label – out of the 28 – that has a bit of scuffing to it). However – again visually – all 14 LPs retain a high gloss and seem to be free of sratches. In terms of sound, although I have not listened to them all, playback is quite fine. Surfaces are not CD silent, and there is occasional light surface noise, but nothing overly obtrusive that might diminish true listening pleasure. On balance, I would rate most, if not all, as excellent collector's copies.
*PLEASE NOTE:
All 14 LPs have been carefully cleaned with a Keith Monks-like machine. The original inner sleeves were of simple paper with a separate polysleeve lining inside. None of these carried any sort of Melodiya logo and all were quite tatty. Thus, I have replaced them all with new modern polylined paper sleeves purchased from the German supplier Protected.de.
The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!
PAYMENT:
Payment by PayPal is greatly preferred. Payment should be made within 5 days.
SHIPPING:
Shipping is free to anywhere in the world; this is true regardless of the number of LPs you buy, be it 1 or a 100. All LPs will be sent via standard airmail (7-10 days delivery). Note: There is no tracking number provided with standard airmail. Should you wish to have your item(s) sent via certified airmail (i.e., with a tracking number), please contact me. The fee for this $5.00 USD.
PLEASE NOTE:
This set of 14 LPs, a mid-1950s Soviet pressing, is very heavy and when boxed for shipping this set will weigh in at close to 6 kg. Outside of Europe, it will cost approximately $100.00 to send by airmail. Please keep this mind when making a “best offer”. Thank you.
FEEDBACK:
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REFUNDS:
Returns are honored, and any buyer you makes a return will be refunded in full. Please contact me before making a return.
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