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I usually illegally download music off the internet. Shhhhhhhh. I have one recording of the pathetique sonata by Arthur Rubenstein (who is not one of my favorite pianists). And Im looking to buy a Cd of the complete beethoven sonatas. Or at least a Cd with a good Pathetique.

Your looking to BUY a cd? why don't you go to the record store and steal one. It's the same thing your doing with the internet. It always amazes me that people think it's o.k. to steal from artists, just because it's off the internet.
They think it falls out of the sky and
it's their right to get it free or close to it.
It's not. people work to make things that you buy.
just like you work. if you steal it, your cheating them (the pianists you love). not to mention the fact that it gets more expensive for everyone else who buys the things that you steal in order to compensate.

gilels is almost complete, and would be my #1 pick. only a couple of important ones are left off, i think due to his death, like #32.

I agree with bach enthusiast : It's bad enough that many people will "steal" copyrighted performances from websites, still worse that they publicly brag about it and think that they are smart doing so!

You won't get the complete Beethoven sonatas on "a CD." Goode's performance of the Beethoven 32, which is highly commended by many, is on 9 CDs.

Yeah, Goode's set of the 32 is very good.

If your just looking for one of the best pathetiques for a cheap price, the seraphim label(I believe it's called) has a cd of Walter Gieseking playing it,all of opus 14, and all of op.27. opus 27 includes the "moonlight" that you also want to play. these seraphim cd's are sold everywhere in the city. (I see u live in L.I.) less than $10 usually too. This is ideal for your purposes cause it has the two sonatas that you're looking to hear, it's cheap, and the pianist(Gieseking)was a Beethoven master(no seriously, he's the best IMO). While your at it, pick up a copy(on the same label) of Beethoven's 3rd and 5th piano concertos with Rudolph Firkusny(piano)
and Walter Susskind (conducting the Pittsbg. S.O.)
The piano concertos are some of the best I've heard, no joke. You'll probably spend less than $15 for the two discs. top notch performances too.

Oh, just the Pathetique?

Richter.

He recorded it on Melodiya: Pathetique and Appassionata Sonatas, 6 Bagatellen, and the Choral Fantasy.

One of the greatest solo piano CDs I've ever heard.


Oh, it's out-of-print.

I have the Richard Goode set. It's a very well-played set of Beethoven sonatas. Technically, I see no problem with it, but some parts of the sonatas sound a little "dry", but maybe that's just me. Brendel has great insight into the Beethoven sonatas as well. I think he recorded them three times. You should look into all three of them.

I own Goode's complete Beethoven sonatas, and they are wonderful, but I must say that the set of Gieseking's I have on vinyl is timeless, also totally unavailable. If your're going for a complete, Goode is the ticket. If u just want Op.27 and Op.13, the Gieseking seraphim is a great catch. I mean $6 bucks... c'mon. For Gieseking Beethoven.

i vote for the arrau-recording. he has a warm, mature sound and i love him playing beethoven.

It's on CD, I own it.

It's on the Tahra label and I imagine it would be quite hard to find outside of Europe.

That's not even his best Pathetique recording. His other one is WAY better, especially the 2nd movement.

Link

One of my favourite Richter CDs.

You can purchase the Walter Gieseking set at www.cdmail.fr

I recollect Gieseking's performances as having a slightly "forced" character, as if he were pushing the music along, rather than allowing it to flow of its own course. YMMV.

There was a comedic commercial written about this. I believe it was the Osbourne family who was afflicted the most by this problem? I think they couldn't afford an eigth house....

Arrau.

The set by Claude Frank from the late 60s is my favorite, one of the best performed sets ever IMO. Better yet, its very budget priced. Is it just me, or does this set not get the attention it deserves, while we always hear about the Goode, Barenboim, Kempff, and Brendel sets (as good as they are, Frank's belongs higher than some of them)?

By most standards the best recording of the sonatas is Artur Schnabel. However, the problem with this recording is that it was made in 1917 and the sound quality isn't the greatest. I bought this set as a second set after I had listened to all the sonatas.

I also like the Barenboim edition. Although some of his tempi are a bit questionable.

Secodn C. Frank. Other excellent ones are Backhaus and A Fisher.

My favourites: Kempff (1950s), Arrau (1960s, warm sound mentioned above but an acquired taste), Kovacevich from the 1990s/2000s.

A few of the cycles beginning now look promising: Paul Lewis is starting a series on Harmnia Mundi (though I shall wait with this), and Schiff and Uchida are both set to launch cycles.