Michael Houstoun Plays Beethoven

Of all of the complete cycles I’ve not heard yet, Michael Houstoun’s is one of the cycles I’ve been keenest to hear. The only problem is that finding the CDs at a reasonable price has proven impossible. The US distributor only lists two of the four volumes as available. I’ve found a couple New Zealand retailers that still list all the CDs, but it would cost around $250 or so for the set, which is a price I’m not sure I want to pay again. (That’s roughly what the Ikuyo Nakamichi and Akiyoshi Sako cycles cost me, and I don’t really want a third super premium price cycle.) So I figured it was time I downloaded some music. ClassicsOnline has the whole cycle for download for around $80, so the price is right. But they only offer MP3 quality downloads, albeit at the supposedly “high quality” 320 kbps rate. Not wanting to go for the whole cycle, I opted for the last five sonatas for a paltry $10. Worst case, I listen once and only ten bucks is gone.

Well, it’s been years since I last listened to MP3s, and listening to this set reminded me why. I downloaded the files, converted them to WAV files so I could listen through my main system, and sure enough, the sound is inadequate. (Another way to put it is that the sound sucks.) The biggest problem is in the high frequencies. They are indistinct and muddy and they ring. I had to play the music at a volume lower than normal to reduce the negative effects of the sound. The low frequencies are a bit muddy and soft, but that’s not as much an issue. To make sure the Houstoun recording isn’t just a bad sounding recording, I decided to perform a test with the first volume of Ikuyo Nakamichi’s cycle, since it is superbly recorded. I ripped the disc at 320 kbps and then reconverted to WAV files, and did some A/B comparisons. Sure enough, the exact same effects could be heard, as could a reduction in dynamic range. The final movement of Op 2/3 on the Nakamichi disc was just plain unpleasant to listen to. It became clear that I was not hearing what the Houstoun recordings really sound like.

With sound quality out of the way, I decided to focus on the playing. That’s much more compelling. Houstoun’s approach is incisive, generally favoring a clean staccato. He also tends to play fast passages a bit faster than normal and slow ones a bit slower than normal. In the slower movements his playing sometimes sounds too obvious, or to insistent, as though he really wants to draw attention to a specific passage. It can also result in playing that is too slow for its own good at times. The best example of his style comes in Op 111. The opening movement is a blockbuster. Fast, powerful, intense, biting, it is simply wonderful to listen to. The second movement is more mixed. The Arietta is almost static sounding, which drains the music of its otherworldly beauty. Things don’t really pick up until the boogie-woogie variation – which has sufficient boogie and ample woogie – and thereafter. That late LvB goodness is there, that’s for sure. Good as some of it is, the opening of the second movement prevents it from attaining first choice territory.

As to the other four sonatas, well, they are similar. Op 101 probably comes off best, with the second movement march powerfully played and the concluding fugue delivered with nice clarity and drive. The slow movement comes off well, too. Op 106, well, here, the first two movements are delivered with enough drive and scale, and if the opener is not taken especially fast overall at around twelve minutes, the timing hides significant variety in tempi. The moderately slow Adagio is devoid of sentimentality and comes off very well, and the fugue is clean and crisp. The next two works are somewhat mixed. The fast movements are pounded out nicely, but the slow movements are stretched out just a bit too much. Maybe. And what gives with the repeated chords in 110? Yes, Houstoun ratchets up the volume, but not nearly as much as I would have though, and not as much as the crashing coda.

While not always ideal for me, I must say that I rather enjoy Mr Houstoun’s style. It’s incisive, unsentimental, generally sane tempo-wise, and powerful where needed. That basically means I want to hear more. Now I’m right back where I started. Do I spend a lot to get the CDs, or do I go cheap and get crappy sound quality? Why can’t someone offer WAV downloads? I’d pay for that. Anyway, I may have to check postage rates from New Zealand.



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