Den første som jeg ikke var så begeistret for (i nr.18) er vel ikke noen av disse?
The six new performances -- the five piano sonatas Op. 2/3, Op. 22, Op. 31/3, Op. 78, and Op. 106 and the last set of Bagatelles, Op. 126 -- were recorded in the early and mid-'80s and all are unavailable except as part of this set. But since none of these new performances are equal to Brendel's recordings of the same works in the '90s except for the Bagatelles, Op. 126, it is hard to imagine why anyone would seek out the set for these performances alone. Indeed, it is hard to imagine why anyone would seek out any of these performances at all. Brendel has always been a terrific virtuoso and a tremendous intellectual, but until the '90s, his recordings nearly completely lacked beauty, poetry, imagination, and emotional or spiritual content. His Appassionata is perhaps the coldest performance of the work ever recorded. His Hammerklavier is brilliantly played but spiritually void. His "Diabelli Variations" is intensely concentrated but incredibly dull. And even when Brendel starts to thaw in his Sonata, Op. 78, he is still less compelling than merely convincing. Philips' piano sound is, for the most part, superb: rich, warm, deep, and real. But that is not enough reason to hear these performances. ~ James Leonard, Rovi