Der Unbekannte Beethoven, Vol. 1

AMG Review of Der Unbekannte Beethoven, Vol. 1

Steven McDonald
All Music Guide

A nice three-disc set that takes in a piano concerto, a piano sonata, a string quartet based on a piano sonata, five arias in Italian, four examples of singspiel, contredanses, minuets and an assortment of dance pieces. The compilation is drawn from a varietry of recordings made between 1969 and 1974, featuring the Kammerorchester Berlin under Helmut Koch, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of Kurt Masur, and the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Arthur Apelt. Also featured are the Suske-Quartet, Amadeus Webersinke, Dieter Zechlin, Hanne-Lore Kuhse (who turns in a particularly excellent performance on the arias), Eberhard Büchner, Siegfried Vogel, Karl Suske and others. While little known (rather than unknown, considering their latter-day exposure), these minor works have a charm and grace to them, and once in a while take interesting and curious turns. The dance pieces, in particular, stand up well to focused listening, though Beethoven purists might find themselves irritated that the pieces, mainly written for minor purposes on small commissions, resolutely refuse to yield up anything stereotypical. Attend this one for its charm and scholarship, then, and be cautious in your expectations.