Elly Ney plays Beethoven Sonata no. 4 opus 7 in E flat major (1936 rec.)
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):
Piano Sonata no. 4 opus 7 in E flat major
1. Allegro molto e con brio
2. Largo, con gran espressione at 8:52
3. Allegro at 17:07
4. Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso at 21:38
Elly Ney, piano
Recorded in 1936 (to my knowledge the first complete recording of this sonata).
Technical note: unfortunately, the last seconds of the last movement have serious distortions, sorry about that.
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Of all the musicians tainted by their actions during and before the Second World War few could have seen their reputations sink lower than Elly Ney. A fanatical Hitler worshipper and staunch Nazi-supporter, her appearances after the War were mainly peripheral and the reputation she had earlier built as a concerto soloist, Beethovenian of the first rank and powerful chamber player pretty much evaporated. However, that she indeed was one of the greatest German pianists of the first half of the 20th Century can be heard in her recorded legacy.
Elly Ney (1882-1968) had an outstanding tutorship culminating in studies with Theodor Leschetizky and Emil von Sauer. She taught briefly but her drive as a concert soloist saw her lauded as early as 1909. Her marriage to Dutch born violinist and conductor Willem van Hoogstraten saw her embark on a duo career as well. Internationally she visited America regularly and was a visitor to the London Proms -- though in London she tended to get asked for the Tchaikovsky B-flat minor in preference to her Beethoven. From 1939-1945 she taught at Salzburg Mozarteum.
(Jonathan Woolf/Erwin Poelstra)
Finely done - the music comes across very directly and the musical points tell without being over-stated (note the contained drama of the last movement's central episode). And whilst the tempo of the first movement might be thought of as cautious, the playing has musical integrity and balance.
Her early recording of opus 111 is certainly one of the very best...
Thanks for posting. The Largo (second movt) is one of my favorites.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Simply wonderful!
Thanks for uploading this. Excellent.
Totally amazing!
We hear nothing of the “high priestess” here, rather a directness reminiscent of Backhaus and the fabled Eduard Erdmann (whose recordings reportedly don’t do him justice). Light not heat. Feeling not emotion. A minority view but I find Ney’s post-war recordings on Colosseum even more exalted. The political question is agonizing but consider what we today in America are allowing to happen; I won’t say more because this is not a political forum. Thanks for sharing.
Hmm....very nice, nothing is unnatural in her interpretation, she is just breathing Beethoven naturally.
A couple of slips in the first and last movement; certainly not as perfect as Michelangeli... but the second and third movement are sublime... her playing is expressive, very well balanced and above all *spacious* -- a good example are the rests after the fortissimo chords at 10:37, where so many pianists rush... she is really breathing.
Ella es perfecta en toda la sonata, mejor que cualquier intérprete.
No one should ever be punished for his or her political beliefs no matter how odious -- especially true artists of this superb a quality. It's wonderful to see these recordings become available, but please don't harp on her political convictions.
Those were not "political convictions" but purely anti-semitic, racist sentiments. I agree though that her recordings deserve to be heard.
+Hyramess Hiramess Race hatred is not political belief. It is depravity. And great skill at the keyboard excuses none this woman's wickedness as a willing, committed Nazi and Hitler lover.
You all, miserables, can speak like this about this goddess of piano and true German patriot only because the Second World War, unfortunately for the mankind, ended as it ended. Long, eternal live in the Walhalla to Elly Ney!
Joe Fallisi
Sorry but I must disagree. Ask the victims of the Nazi regime not to "harp on her political convictions". She has no business playing Beethoven.
May I ask what anyone here knows of her convictions. She lived freely within Germany during WWII, therefore any horrible thing can be attributed to her? Do we have access to her diaries or are people just trying to read the mind of someone long deceased.
It is so sad that she was a Nazi. Yet art doesn't offer salvation - Heydrich the very competent violinist for example.
I don't think this is her at her best in this performance. By the way, she only ever had two lessons with Leschetizky.
That's interesting...what is your source of information?
I have had access to his diaries in which he annotates the lessons he gave.
I wish these diaries could be published online!