Judging from these 1950 recordings (originally issued by Decca), the late Friedrich Gulda was as vital, stylish, and straightforward a Beethoven interpreter at the ripe old age of 20 as he was in his later years. In fact, I prefer these versions of the Moonlight and Op. 110 to his early stereo Decca remakes. The latter are sonically dry and constricted, while the piano tone boasts more bloom and focus in the earlier versions (just get past the heavy, early-LP surface noise). The Moonlight is cast in more objective light from what the pianist conveyed more subjectively for the Amadeo label in 1968 (notably in the Presto), and there’s a more organic, less militant progression to the carefully observed tempo relationships in Op. 110’s last movement. Les Adieux resembles Schnabel’s joyful, flowing reading in the outer movements (with cleaner, more even scales and runs!) although it lacks some of that performance’s giddy abandon.
By contrast, the young pianist’s rhythmic verve and tensile clarity impart enormous energy and fierce continuity to the Eroica Variations, and the fugue’s almost X-ray clarity reminds me of what Glenn Gould later achieved in this music. The Sonatas appeared in a Japanese Decca boxed set devoted to Gulda’s Beethoven cycle. While Decca utilizes quieter source material for its transfers of the Moonlight and Op. 110, Roger Beardsley’s restorations for Pearl have more presence and impact. Beardsley also eliminates the background hum that persists thoroughout the Japanese Decca Op. 110 transfer. A most worthwhile reissue and a must for fans of Gulda’s Beethoven.
