# Beethoven's sonatas, Fazil Say cycle



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I like Say's Mozart sonata cycle a lot and wonder of his Beethoven cycle will be as rewarding. Any opinions?


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## Ned Low (Jul 29, 2020)

I think i got Say's Mozart and Beethoven two weeks ago. But i haven't listened to them yet.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

I've only heard the last three sonatas. Light, fun, mature, some new ideas.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

On the other hand I owned an earlier recording of some Beethoven sonatas from Say - op.57 among them I think - which I found intolerably self-indulgent and contrieved, and I have culled it since long. Say no more! So strong and well argumented recommendations are necessary before I acquire his new set.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

premont said:


> So strong and well argumented recommendations are necessary before I acquire his new set.


Well don't look in my direction.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Mandryka said:


> I've only heard the last three sonatas. Light, fun, mature, some new ideas.





Mandryka said:


> Well don't look in my direction.


I use to look in your direction, but maybe you are right this time. Because Light and fun isn't what I usually associate the three last sonatas with.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Lovely album of French songs by him and Marianne Crebassa a couple of years back. Tangentially.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I went ahead and bought the Beethoven sonata cycle played by Fazil Say. At this point, after listening to about half the sonatas, my impressions are mostly favorable. Say’s style leans to what I’d call “classical” in that he avoids overt shows of emotion and comes across as rather restrained. But he is quite aggressive in another sense – he emphasizes musical details of touch, rhythm, and phrasing in a way that makes some of the sonatas sound quite new. That makes listening a real pleasure, though there’s a danger that some of these original ideas may not wear well. Only time will tell, of course.

On the down side, Say is almost a Gould-class vocalist, and his grunts and hums are too often audible. But he definitely has the chops to play this music well, even given the quick tempi he often chooses. And the recording of his piano is exemplary.

This is not a superbuy on Amazon, which is asking just over $40 for the nine-disc set. Still, cheap enough compared with the $15 a disc I usually paid in the early days of the CD (and back then, by gum, a dollar was a dollar!) The cardboard disc covers are packed in a sturdy cardboard box along with a booklet of program notes that I found of little value. Shipping is free to Prime customers but shipping times are given as eight days currently. Mine happily arrived in half that courtesy of the US postal service.

Summary: Different (in a good way), fresh ideas, unusually interesting interpretations, and excellent recording. Probably not a reference set, but one well worth having for fans of the sonatas.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Will give the set a listen when time permits - I sampled the Waldstein yesterday evening.


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