# Overall Favorite Set of Piano Sonatas



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I love Mozart's, unlike his Symphonies (other than the later ones), I feel a strong individuality from each one, for the most part.

Gould is a fun one to listen to for something different.
Uchida is great for something more authentic to the score.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Maria Joao Pires first recording, bargain price and you be surprised.


----------



## ojoncas (Jan 3, 2019)

I’ve been enjoying Richard Goode’s complete beethoven piano sonatas recently. He has what it takes.


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

This is one set I've been really enjoying over the past few weeks


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Beethoven and Schubert for me.


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Mozart's sonatas are great and there are quite a few good sets - (Fazil) Say, Gulda, Brautigam are all good in different ways. I also enjoy most of the Schuberts but don't know many complete sets - Kempff is good, though. The ones I has of Richter are excellent. Lupu is good. 

But, of course, it is the Beethoven sonatas that tower above almost everything! Kempff and Annie Fischer are among my absolute favourites - both are sets that are providing me with a lifetime's inspiration and joy - and there are many others that are also well worth hearing and having.


----------



## Mifek (Jul 28, 2018)

1. Beethoven
-------------
2. Scarlatti
3. Mozart
4. Schubert
5. Prokofiev


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Beethoven. Schnabel has opened my eyes to their greatness. I've liked them for some time now, but now I really like them. Every last one of em is unique and extremely rich. 

Outside of the obvious, I like Mozart's sonatas quite a bit (I've listened to a lot of Mitsuko Uchida's set and it can't be beat in my eyes). Beethoven clearly took a lot of influence from them. I'm sure I don't need to point out the obvious similarities between Mozart's C minor sonata and Beethoven's Pathétique, but it kinda blew my mind when I realized how close they are. 

Different kind of sonata, but I love Scarlatti's too. 

Honorable mention, as I haven't heard all of these, but Scriabin's are great too. Aaron Copland in his book criticized the composer for having all these revolutionary ideas and confining it to sonata form, but I think he does a great job expanding the form as did Beethoven.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

The Complete Haydn Sonatas for me, performed by Walter Olbertz.


----------



## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Beethoven. 

And that's it.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Beethoven, Scriabin, Prokofiev and Feinberg as regards larger cycles for me.
Second tier Haydn, Schubert, Medtner.


----------



## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Most likely Scriabin.


----------



## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

Art Rock said:


> Beethoven and Schubert for me.


Beethoven then Haydn maybe for me I don't listen to Schubert as much as I like don't know the reason you inspire me to listen at bed time.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I love Mozart's, unlike his Symphonies (other than the later ones), I feel a strong individuality from each one, for the most part.
> 
> Gould is a fun one to listen to for something different.
> Uchida is great for something more authentic to the score.


As a set, Beethoven's is my absolute favorite. Ashkenazy, Goode, Brendel and lately Lisitsa (mainly for her _Hammerklavier_ and her _Moonlight_) are my current favorite performers for his sonatas. I don't like Gould nor Pollini for Beethoven.

Ludwig apart, I also love the sonatas by Mozart, Schubert and Prokofiev. I don't know any Medtner sonata and have little experience with Scriabin for this genre. I know some sonatas by Clementi, Haydn and Scarlatti, and actually like them, but I miss a sonata by these composers that can really grab my attention and make think "wow!".

The Mozart I listen mainly with Uchida, and have little experience with other performers. Gould said that the composer "died too late rather than too early", and this makes me not want to listen to his take on them. I really enjoy all Mozart sonatas starting with K. 309 (No. 7), and it's the set that I've been listening to most of the time lately, partly because my mother also loves them.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Zofia said:


> Beethoven then Haydn maybe for me *I don't listen to Schubert as much as I like* don't know the reason you inspire me to listen at bed time.


Suggestion: try his last piano sonata, No. 21. Schubert finished it in the year he died. Brendel IMO is a great choice for it. I don't know if I can remember now a piano sonata that has so lyrical, fluent melodies, and yet is so profound. It's one of the favorite piano sonatas *here at TC*.






No. 14 was a favorite of mine some years ago, and I also recommend it.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Rogerx said:


> Maria Joao Pires first recording, bargain price and you be surprised.


He's really good! I like the sound of his recordings, more than Uchida's which feels a bit too polished or something when compared to his.

Lilly Krauss is another one I enjoy!


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Captainnumber36 said:


> *He*'s really good! I like the sound of *his* recordings, more than Uchida's which feels a bit too polished or something when compared to his.
> 
> Lilly Krauss is another one I enjoy!


It's a woman.


----------



## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

My favorites are Beethoven, Scriabin, D. Scarlatti and Prokofiev.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I too like Pires in Mozart and also Brautigam. For Schubert I've mostly listened to Gerhard Oppitz. I don't listen so much to Beethoven's sonatas...wowie! Think they are noisy


----------



## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

joen_cph said:


> Beethoven, Scriabin, Prokofiev and Feinberg as regards larger cycles for me.
> Second tier Haydn, Schubert, Medtner.


I can in some ways mirror that. 
As far as first tier: Bax, Scriabin, Feinberg, Myaskovsky, Roslavets, Mosolov, Alexandrov, but also Rachmaninoff, Glazunov, Shostakovich, even though each of them had only written two. 
Second tier: Medtner, Schubert, Ginastera.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

flamencosketches said:


> Outside of the obvious, I like Mozart's sonatas quite a bit (I've listened to a lot of Mitsuko Uchida's set and it can't be beat in my eyes). Beethoven clearly took a lot of influence from them. I'm sure I don't need to point out the obvious similarities between Mozart's C minor sonata and Beethoven's Pathétique, but it kinda blew my mind when I realized how close they are.


Some people say there are Mozartian influences in Beethoven's Pathétique, yet I don't hear them (*except the slow movement) as much as I do in these.

Op.10 No.1: 



K457: 




Op.111: 



K546: 



Op.111: 



K426: 



K546: 




Op.57: 



K475: 



Op.57: 



K475: 




*Op.13: 



K457:


----------



## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Fascinating detailed comparison by Hammeredklavier and the Mozart and Beethoven piano sonatas. Bravo and well done... I believe Beethoven retained a lifelong level of interest in Mozart and was deeply influenced by him, especially when he might not have been sure himself what to do with certain works on those rare occasions. It happened because those influences can be traced... I also believe that he regretted never meeting Mozart because of his family or domestic obligations. But who better to model from and seek inspiration than Mozart?, though Beethoven had a number of other inspired influences with his well-stocked library of composers’ manuscripts... With some of these examples between these sonatas, it almost sounds like Beethoven wrote some of his after almost immediately playing or studying one of Mozart’s... I rate Mozart’s sonatas as being far more even overall as a set. There’s never one that I’m not interested in; but with Beethoven, other than his more famously named ones (like the “Moonlight”, etc.), there are a number of others that I have an aversion to hearing, that do not seem clear or set in concept, or are melodically memorable (and their numbers escape me at the moment). But his famous ones are of course outstanding and memorable melodically, in their great dynamic power, and sound highly personal... Between the two of them, one could explore these great words for a lifetime without exhausting them and they’re always great to come back to after a break to explore them further. Illuminating comparisons, well done.


----------



## Spirit Ditch (Feb 4, 2019)

Allerius said:


> Suggestion: try his last piano sonata, No. 21. Schubert finished it in the year he died. Brendel IMO is a great choice for it. I don't know if I can remember now a piano sonata that has so lyrical, fluent melodies, and yet is so profound. It's one of the favorite piano sonatas *here at TC*.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi Allerius,

This is really strange as I heard this sonata on the radio the other week and I have been mildly obsessed with it since- it's been haunting me and I couldn't believe I'd never heard it before (although I'm not a classical music expert by any means). I've been listening to Sviatoslav Richter's which I think is incredible.

I actually joined the site to ask for recommendations for similar sonatas and here was the thread, the day I joined...
If anyone could recommend which of the mentioned sonatas are most like Beethoven and Schubert's last sonatas I'd be grateful.

I also like Rachmaninov, Chopin, Satie, Hans Otte, Arvo Part, Elgar's second, that kind of grand epic melancholy vibe. Suggestions are very welcome!

Thank you


----------



## Guest (Feb 6, 2019)

i believe there is a thread running from haydn to mozart and beethoven; the analysis of hammeredklavier speaks for itself; what it also means is that beethoven has incorporated major elements of his two predecessors's music and therefore has IMHO a nearly unbeatable cycle of piano sonatas; i think andras schiff's last version is very exciting, especially because it is live and brautigam's version on period instrument is unmatched; that being said i also immensely enjoy schubert, scriabin, prokofiev and haydn's late sonatas by hamelin


----------



## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I currently listen most to piano sonatas by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Weinberg, and (keyboard sonatas) CPE Bach.


----------



## Torkelburger (Jan 14, 2014)

Vincent Persichetti wrote a very decent set of 12 piano sonatas during his lifetime. Geoffrey Burleson and Naoko Takao have each recorded a cycle, highly recommended. I also like Hindemith’s sonatas. It’s a shame there is only 3.


----------



## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

1-Beethoven
---------------
2-Schubert
---------------
others


----------



## skim1124 (Mar 6, 2019)

There are vast areas of classical music that I can't say much about, but this one's an easy one to answer: Beethoven


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Lately I've been listening to Beethoven's Sonatas and loving them, so there's that. We all can give a different answer at different points in our lives! It comes down to what mood you are in to for the most part, but perhaps you can have a defining set, I thought mine was Mozart, it was at the time but now I'm feeling Beethoven.

Both are spectacular, in the end!


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Mozart, Prokofiev, D. Scarlatti. 

I like the sonatas of Rodrigo and Ives too though they didn't compose very many. The Scriabin sonatas are growing on me, and I remember listening to Schnittke's a while back and enjoying them I should give them another listen.


----------



## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

To me: Scarlatti (the Godfather of keyboard sonatas), Beethoven (including the invention of jazz in the arietta of op 111), Schubert (a recommendation for his last sonatas is the recent Zimerman DG disc, also heard this live, refined reading), Prokofiev (monumental pieces), Scriabin (poetic, highly recommended outsider for the entire recorded Scriabin piano Oeuvre: Maria Lettberg!, to cherish next to your fragmented Richters) and Boulez (heavy stuff).

Sidelines:
I can't nominate Schumann here, as he wrote no piano-sonatas.

Bach and Handel didn't use the sonata form either, they stuck to the most wonderful suites. And Bach rules on the keyboard with his Wohltemperiertes Klavier, Goldberg, KDF. Hors concours:angel:.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

NLAdriaan said:


> To me: Scarlatti (the Godfather of keyboard sonatas), Beethoven (including the invention of jazz in the arietta of op 111), Schubert (a recommendation for his last sonatas is the recent Zimerman DG disc, also heard this live, great reading), Prokofiev (monumental pieces), Scriabin (poetic) and Boulez (heavy).
> 
> Sidelines:
> I can't nominate *Schumann here, as he wrote no piano-sonatas.*
> ...


Hm, there are 3 Schumann piano sonatas, worth exploring. 
Of less interest is a 4th sonata (1839, f-minor), some fragments & reconstructed by the composer Karl Åge Rasmussen, recorded by Amalie Malling.


----------



## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

joen_cph said:


> Hm, there are 3 Schumann piano sonatas, worth exploring.
> Of less interest is a 4th sonata (1839, f-minor), some fragments & reconstructed by the composer Karl Åge Rasmussen, recorded by Amalie Malling.


Thanks!! I didn't know. I must admit I even just traced sonata 1 in a Pollini Schumann Box on the shelf


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Yes, the sonatas often get less attention, if compared with the obviously innovative piano works that consist of cycles.


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

joen_cph said:


> Hm, there are 3 Schumann piano sonatas, worth exploring.
> Of less interest is a 4th sonata (1839, f-minor), some fragments & reconstructed by the composer Karl Åge Rasmussen, recorded by Amalie Malling.


Op 118 is a sequence of three piano sonatas. I bought the Le Sage recording when I was exploring Schumann's music, but I've always found the op 118 sonatas for kids utterly devoid of anything interesting to hear (I used to enjoy parts of Album for the Young, I'm not sure if I still would.) I'm kind of hoping that someone will point out the error of my ways.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

I have that set too, but find them less interesting & simplistic, I agree, & forgot them.


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I posted here already looks like. Most definitely still going to be Beethoven. Though I have gained some respect for Chopin's few sonatas in the interim.


----------



## MrMeatScience (Feb 15, 2015)

Scriabin has to be my answer here (my standard recording here is by Ashkenazy, whom I find very compelling in early 20th century Russian music in general). I like the Mozarts, Beethovens, and Schuberts as well, but they have a few each in their cycles that I don't find particularly interesting -- although if there were only the late Schubert sonatas, they would probably supplant Scriabin as my top pick. I must confess I have not yet heard those by Schumann and Brahms, though they seem to be thought of less highly than their other solo piano works.


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

MrMeatScience said:


> Scriabin has to be my answer here (my standard recording here is by Ashkenazy, whom I find very compelling in early 20th century Russian music in general). I like the Mozarts, Beethovens, and Schuberts as well, but they have a few each in their cycles that I don't find particularly interesting -- although if there were only the late Schubert sonatas, they would probably supplant Scriabin as my top pick. I must confess I have not yet heard those by Schumann and Brahms, though they seem to be thought of less highly than their other solo piano works.


I'm a big fan of Ashkenazy's Scriabin sonatas lately. He plays a killer Sonata-Fantasy and Black Mass. But outside of his complete set, both Richter and especially Sofronitsky have great recordings of individual sonatas.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Allerius said:


> It's a woman.


Hey, I know a lotta guys named Maria.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

starthrower said:


> Hey, I know a lotta guys named Maria.


:lol: The name completely passed me, my mistake.


----------



## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

1. Beethoven - IMO, he dominates the piano sonata the way Bach dominates organ music. His piano sonatas vie for my favorite cycle of works from any composer in any genre. I constantly return to the last 5 with renewed fascination, admiration, bewilderment and awe. 

2. Scriabin - If Beethoven's piano sonatas are a galaxy unto themselves, Scriabin's are like a mystical forest, full of strange wonders. At times dark, dangerous, and frightening, but with a tension and intensity that pulls you in. 

3. Schubert - Earns his place if only for the last several works, which are among the most profoundly moving in all of classical music. Richter's performance of the D.960 remains perhaps my single favorite performance of any classical work ever, one that never fails to give me chills and make me cry. 

4. D. Scarlatti - He wrote 555 of them, and each one is like a miniature character piece. So full of wit and vitality. Much like the music of Haydn it's always refreshing and invigorating to revisit them. 

5. Mozart - Unmatched in their clarity, purity, and beauty. This isn't Mozart at his most profound, but it's definitely Mozart at his most effortlessly ravishing. 

HM: Haydn, because, especially in the last sonatas, he is showing the beginnings of where Beethoven would eventually take the genre. I also feel Liszt deserves a mention. He only wrote one, but it's probably my single favorite piano work ever.


----------



## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

flamencosketches said:


> Outside of the obvious, I like Mozart's sonatas quite a bit (I've listened to a lot of Mitsuko Uchida's set and it can't be beat in my eyes). *Beethoven clearly took a lot of influence from them.* I'm sure I don't need to point out the obvious similarities between Mozart's C minor sonata and Beethoven's Pathétique, but it kinda blew my mind when I realized how close they are.


Schubert too. Though not one of his sonatas, Mozart's K.475 Fantasy is the clear basis for Schubert's own C-Minor Fantasy. Though they end up going in different directions, there's no mistaking the opening similarity:


----------



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

I think Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart wrote the best piano sonatas, Moonlight sonata, for example, is one piece of music that's just doesn't bore me, no matter how many times I listen to it.
I personally recommend Valentina Lisitsa and Daniel Barenboim for pianists, among others.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have only heard Beethoven and Scriabin's piano sonatas and like both. I have a set coming that also has Prokofeiv's and Shostakovich's.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Spirit Ditch said:


> Hi Allerius,
> 
> This is really strange as I heard this sonata on the radio the other week and I have been mildly obsessed with it since- it's been haunting me and I couldn't believe I'd never heard it before (although I'm not a classical music expert by any means). I've been listening to Sviatoslav Richter's which I think is incredible.
> 
> ...


Sorry for my delay to answer, I didn't see your post. 

Trout, one of the members of this forum, has an internal blog for recommendations of performances of many classical works. They're based on the discussions here at TC. It's incredible useful in my opinion, and I suggest you to go there for recommendations.

*Here, take a look.*


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Eva Yojimbo said:


> 1. Beethoven - IMO, he dominates the piano sonata the way Bach dominates organ music. His piano sonatas vie for my favorite cycle of works from any composer in any genre. I constantly return to the last 5 with renewed fascination, admiration, bewilderment and awe.
> 
> 5. Mozart - Unmatched in their clarity, purity, and beauty. This isn't Mozart at his most profound, but it's definitely Mozart at his most effortlessly ravishing.
> 
> HM: Haydn, because, especially in the last sonatas, he is showing the beginnings of where Beethoven would eventually take the genre. I also feel Liszt deserves a mention. He only wrote one, but it's probably my single favorite piano work ever.


In a different way from Haydn, - Mozart ( with his sonatas + fantasy-like pieces K394, K396, K397, K475, K511, K540, K594, K608, K616, K624 ) acted like a bridge between Bach (keyboard fantasies) and Beethoven (sonatas), in such a way that as time went, Bach -> Mozart (+CPE Bach) -> Beethoven, the genre 'piano sonata' became more important as a improvisatory genre on its own. You can see how Mozart preferred to write stuff like Fantasia & Sonata (K475 & K457), while Beethoven would write Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia (Op.27 No.2)


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Eva Yojimbo said:


> Schubert too. Though not one of his sonatas, Mozart's K.475 Fantasy is the clear basis for Schubert's own C-Minor Fantasy. Though they end up going in different directions, there's no mistaking the opening similarity:


----------



## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Came accross this performance of Scriabin's third, which I thought is worth sharing.
Andante @ 9:36. One of the most beautiful moments in piano music.


----------



## Littlephrase (Nov 28, 2018)

Some of Schubert’s earlier sonatas outside the last four are still worthwhile: 13-17 along with the unfinished 6 and 8 are especially excellent.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Fritz Kobus said:


> I have only heard Beethoven and Scriabin's piano sonatas and like both. I have a set coming that also has Prokofeiv's and Shostakovich's.


I am halfway through Prokofeiv's piano sonatas in the new set that arrived today. Really like the Prokofeiv sontatas. Very different.


----------



## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

It's a shame composers who only cost the need to compose one piano sonata don't get a look in. I'd really not want to be without the gems by Bartok, Janáček and of course Alban Berg.

Beyond that, of course Beethoven. Best set? For me, John Lill. Incredibly sad that Solomon didn't get through the whole lot. Ditto Gilels.

I have to be choosy with other great sonatists (?), as there are some dull moments in the complete Haydn, or Mozart, and the earlier Schubert's don't do much for me. Brahms and Schumann deserve a mention, as does Prokofiev, but I don't enjoy all of his.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Andras Schiff's Mozart cycle has been occupying my ears lately. Great set!


----------



## 59540 (May 16, 2021)

Beethoven and Beethoven and Beethoven. The artistic progression is amazing.


----------

