Keith_W
Major Contributor
The above video is a discussion on Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata. Beethoven indicated crotchet = 138, which nobody plays because it is too fast. The video includes a link to a study of 35 pianists which shows that the fastest version is 131. But new research shows that at the time, they used a "whole beat" metronome, which counts two beats as one - meaning crotchet = 69. Which also means that all recorded versions are not slow enough! Even the slowest version (Gould at crotchet = 80) is too fast, and I find Gould to be ponderously slow.
Having listened to fast versions of the Hammerklavier (Schnabel) and slow versions (Barenboim), I think that the faster versions better capture the rhythm and excitement of the Hammerklavier. What do you think?
Here are two videos illustrating the extremes of tempo. This is the Schnabel, at 131. Schnabel was a rather short man with small, pudgy hands and thick fingers. He is physically incapable of playing massive chords at that speed, and his playing is full of mistakes (wrong notes, simplified chords). Have a listen:
And this is the Gould, at 80:
Which sounds more correct to you?