We all know about the most famous German pianists who made recordings ... Kempff, Backhaus, and Gieseking. But one that may have eluded you is Carl Seemann [1910-1983] who recorded prolifically for the Yellow Label (DGG). You may more remember him as the collaborative pianist with violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan with whom he made a number recordings, including all the Mozart violin sonatas, all of Beethoven's, Debussy's, Schubert's Duo Sonata and three Sonatinas, Brahms' three violin sonatas, the Franck, the Schumann first violin sonata, and sonatas by Hindemith and Bartok.
A few of these collaborative recordings were issued independently on CD including Seemann's traversal of the complete Mozart solo piano sonatas, a few concertos by Mozart in Germany and Japan. Now, DGG has issued a boxed set of Seemann's complete recordings [486 1896], mostly mono and a few in stereo. Comprised of 25 individual CDs and one DVD, we have ALL of Carl Seemann's recordings in one box with an excellent booklet. The latter you might have to read with a magnifying glass, but the texts are most interesting.
The one thing you will observe about Seemann's art is clarity in every detail with even and precise touch, truly impeccable playing. There is nothing "showy" or overdone in his playing. When you walk away from hearing these recordings, you will be satisfied that you have heard some outstanding pianism. Even the mono recordings are superbly well balanced and his pianos are evenly voiced with nary a strident quality. These are, indeed, "no-nonsense" performances!
In other collaborations, such as the concertos we have masters such as conductors Fritz Lehmann, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, and Thomas Scherman, and pianist Andor Foldes among others.
Here you will find all ten of Beethoven's and Mozart's violin sonatas, the complete Mozart solo piano sonatas, augmented with many other Mozart solo pieces.
This was a near miss for me ... sometimes it pays to just browse! For around $63/USD, you will be able to get this set, which will be most musically rewarding to you. In the Beethoven/Mozart violin sonatas, you may be reminded yet of another duo in Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil. [It should be noted that for these/my ears, Grumiaux offers a lovelier violin tone with less vibrato.] For me, these two duos (Grumiaux/Haskil and Schneiderhan/Seemann) are among the greatest of chamber music performers of a time gone by. ♫
I almost missed this!
-
Lance
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I almost missed this!
Lance G. Hill
Editor-in-Chief
______________________________________________________
When she started to play, Mr. Steinway came down and personally
rubbed his name off the piano. [Speaking about pianist &*$#@+#]
Editor-in-Chief
______________________________________________________
When she started to play, Mr. Steinway came down and personally
rubbed his name off the piano. [Speaking about pianist &*$#@+#]
Re: I almost missed this!
Thanks for the alert, Lance! This sure looks like a winner.
O my bulging shelves.
O my bulging shelves.
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Lance
- Site Administrator
- Posts: 20812
- Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:27 am
- Location: Binghamton, New York
- Contact:
Re: I almost missed this!
Yes, bulging shelves ... join the club! But some things we just HAVE to have for the love of music. And sets, like the one above, seem to disappear rather fast.
Lance G. Hill
Editor-in-Chief
______________________________________________________
When she started to play, Mr. Steinway came down and personally
rubbed his name off the piano. [Speaking about pianist &*$#@+#]
Editor-in-Chief
______________________________________________________
When she started to play, Mr. Steinway came down and personally
rubbed his name off the piano. [Speaking about pianist &*$#@+#]
Re: I almost missed this!
My brief review in the Sydney Morning Herald on 19 March 2006.
More marvellous historical performances for Mozart's 250th, illustrating afresh changing tastes in musical interpretation. The generation before Seeman _ Cortot, Paderewsky, Hoffman _ were phenomenal technicians who made their own virtuosity the focus. His generation made fidelity to the notes and the composer's intention the priority, sometimes scaling back too far (after all, Mozart was a fabulous and magnetic performer). Seeman was particularly admired in the 1950s, when he made these recordings of Mozart's solo piano music (sonatas, variations etc, now on six budget CDs). He emphasises shape and clarity, and sometimes sounds a bit four-square or mechanical, but just as you think that you will be overwhelmed by particularly felicitous phrasing of restrained beauty. Buy Mitsuko Uchida's set first, but this is well worth having.
More marvellous historical performances for Mozart's 250th, illustrating afresh changing tastes in musical interpretation. The generation before Seeman _ Cortot, Paderewsky, Hoffman _ were phenomenal technicians who made their own virtuosity the focus. His generation made fidelity to the notes and the composer's intention the priority, sometimes scaling back too far (after all, Mozart was a fabulous and magnetic performer). Seeman was particularly admired in the 1950s, when he made these recordings of Mozart's solo piano music (sonatas, variations etc, now on six budget CDs). He emphasises shape and clarity, and sometimes sounds a bit four-square or mechanical, but just as you think that you will be overwhelmed by particularly felicitous phrasing of restrained beauty. Buy Mitsuko Uchida's set first, but this is well worth having.
Re: I almost missed this!
Lovely review, Barney. I am encouraged and have ordered this box to be delivered tomorrow. Music-making right up my alley.
Look forward to your views.-
Lance
- Site Administrator
- Posts: 20812
- Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:27 am
- Location: Binghamton, New York
- Contact:
Re: I almost missed this!
Hi Barney ... enjoyed your post here. I have the Uchida and enjoyed them very much. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with her at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. She is a lovely person - and truly grand pianist. I guess a lot of my views come from the early days. While I was not a saunch Claudio Arrau fan in years gone by, I find myself fascinated with his playing. I was traveling one time listening to NPR and heard a Mozart sonata performed by him. I was hooked on it because I didn't know who the pianist was until it concluded. I am a great fan of Walter Gieseking as well but was disappointed in his Mozart sonatas. They really didn't seem to have much to offer interpretively. Frankly, I got much more out of Glenn Gould's recordings, which are controversial. Still, the musicianship of Carl Seemann was immediately apparent to me. Have you heard those by Elisabeth Leonskaja yet? Ah ... the beauty of having SO MANY complete Mozart sonata sets. Walter Klien was no slouch either!
Lance wrote: ↑Sun Sep 04, 2022 7:52 pmWe all know about the most famous German pianists who made recordings ... Kempff, Backhaus, and Gieseking. But one that may have eluded you is Carl Seemann [1910-1983] who recorded prolifically for the Yellow Label (DGG). You may more remember him as the collaborative pianist with violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan with whom he made a number recordings, including all the Mozart violin sonatas, all of Beethoven's, Debussy's, Schubert's Duo Sonata and three Sonatinas, Brahms' three violin sonatas, the Franck, the Schumann first violin sonata, and sonatas by Hindemith and Bartok.
A few of these collaborative recordings were issued independently on CD including Seemann's traversal of the complete Mozart solo piano sonatas, a few concertos by Mozart in Germany and Japan. Now, DGG has issued a boxed set of Seemann's complete recordings [486 1896], mostly mono and a few in stereo. Comprised of 25 individual CDs and one DVD, we have ALL of Carl Seemann's recordings in one box with an excellent booklet. The latter you might have to read with a magnifying glass, but the texts are most interesting.
The one thing you will observe about Seemann's art is clarity in every detail with even and precise touch, truly impeccable playing. There is nothing "showy" or overdone in his playing. When you walk away from hearing these recordings, you will be satisfied that you have heard some outstanding pianism. Even the mono recordings are superbly well balanced and his pianos are evenly voiced with nary a strident quality. These are, indeed, "no-nonsense" performances!
In other collaborations, such as the concertos we have masters such as conductors Fritz Lehmann, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, and Thomas Scherman, and pianist Andor Foldes among others.
Here you will find all ten of Beethoven's and Mozart's violin sonatas, the complete Mozart solo piano sonatas, augmented with many other Mozart solo pieces.
This was a near miss for me ... sometimes it pays to just browse! For around $63/USD, you will be able to get this set, which will be most musically rewarding to you. In the Beethoven/Mozart violin sonatas, you may be reminded yet of another duo in Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil. [It should be noted that for these/my ears, Grumiaux offers a lovelier violin tone with less vibrato.] For me, these two duos (Grumiaux/Haskil and Schneiderhan/Seemann) are among the greatest of chamber music performers of a time gone by. ♫
Lance G. Hill
Editor-in-Chief
______________________________________________________
When she started to play, Mr. Steinway came down and personally
rubbed his name off the piano. [Speaking about pianist &*$#@+#]
Editor-in-Chief
______________________________________________________
When she started to play, Mr. Steinway came down and personally
rubbed his name off the piano. [Speaking about pianist &*$#@+#]
Re: I almost missed this!
To those English speakers who are curious Seemann is pronounced 'Zay - mahn', literally sea,or ocean man - Sailor.
That said - will I be getting this box for my collection ?.. No. ..Hell no - with that name ?
That said - will I be getting this box for my collection ?.. No. ..Hell no - with that name ?
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