Schnabel/Beethoven Bagatelles NOT on CD (yet)

[Lance]

It seems to me there is a set of Beethoven's Bagatelles recorded by Artur Schnabel and once available on an English LP set - that have yet to be transferred to compact disc. I believe the person that brought this to my attention was John (CharmNewton). John, fi you see this, would you please refresh my memory on this set of Bagatelles. Can you identify the LP set and catalogue number. I would love to know if this has come forward yet on CD (Great Pianists Series on Philips, perhaps?) Do you know the opus number on this set of Bagatelles? Many thanks!

[CharmNewton]

It seems to me there is a set of Beethoven's Bagatelles recorded by Artur Schnabel and once available on an English LP set - that have yet to be transferred to compact disc. I believe the person that brought this to my attention was John (CharmNewton). John, fi you see this, would you please refresh my memory on this set of Bagatelles. Can you identify the LP set and catalogue number. I would love to know if this has come forward yet on CD (Great Pianists Series on Philips, perhaps?) Do you know the opus number on this set of Bagatelles? Many thanks!

Schnabel's recording of the Op. 119 Bagatelles was first released around 1979 or 1980 as part of a newly transferred (by Keith Hardwick) edition of Schnabel's Beethoven sonata recordings. As such they remain covered by modern copyright statutes. Unless EMI issues them on CD, one has to hang onto or find those HMV Treasury Series LPs. They were pretty pricey in their day, which is why I shied away from them.

BTW, the current EMI edition of Schnabel's Beethoven Sonatas purports to be these late 1970s transfers. Those familiar with Hardwick's work know that he was an excellent transfer engineer. I heard some of these LPs and they sounded much better than anything I'd heard before, although Gramophone's critics voiced some reservations. They certainly weren't dull or over-filtered, which could be said of some of the earlier GROC transfers from the 1950s. My suspicion is that the early tapes were the ones transferred to CD even though the box says otherwise.

John

[Holden Fourth]

I thought I had them on CD but a quick check showed only Op 33 and Op 126. I would really like to hear these as Schnabel was superb in some of LvBs lesser known works. So it looks like they are still unreleased.

[CharmNewton]

I thought I had them on CD but a quick check showed only Op 33 and Op 126. I would really like to hear these as Schnabel was superb in some of LvBs lesser known works. So it looks like they are still unreleased.

2006 is the 125th anniversary year of Schnabel's birth. Perhaps EMI will remember and release Schnabel rarities such as this one, although as Naxos issues more and more of Schnabel there would seem to be little return in an issue from EMI. I feel the majors do not do enough to exploit the advantage they could have in packaging--documentation, photos and perhaps notes from the sessions themselves.

John

[Donald Isler]

Actually, 2007 will be the 125th anniversary, as Schnabel was born in 1882. So perhaps they will do next year what they haven't yet accomplished!