Pno Sons Comp [Box set, Import]

Wilhelm Kempff is most certainly among the most humane pianists in recorded history. This cannot be denied - even apart from his luminescent interpretations, you will hear him play a Bach chorale on the organ in the Church of Peace at Hiroshima on the bonus disc of this cycle. Sibelius once told him that he did not play "like a pianist, but like a human being". From his personality, one may already see what to expect in his playing...

First I'll get through his late sonatas. I am one of the few people I know of who is neither absolutely enthralled nor put off by his renditions of the final five sonatas. The last five of Beethoven's are works almost infinite in their range of emotion, spirituality, and even technicality, and no pianist I have ever heard plays all five of them equally well. As for Kempff, I notice two big keys in the way he plays them, one positive and one not so much. Bad news first: When it comes to the slow movements, he simply plays them too fast and too lightly. While he lets every note ring out beautifully, he does not allow his listener time to soak in the slower parts, such as the beginnings of the final movements of Op. 109 and Op. 111 as well as (and much more imporantly so) the adagio in Hammerklavier. This Adagio is undeniably a masterpiece - it goes through periods where it floats along pensively and wistfully to points where it bleeds with dark eroticism. Kempff's adagio has credit as a nocturnal whisper, but I do not feel it fully captures these elements of that work, mostly because of the speed at which he plays it (only about 15 minutes long, as opposed to its average length of about 17 - 19 minutes). However, Kempff's luminenscence provides us with an almost unique experience in many other parts of the late Beethovens... he almost seems to capture in his playing of certain parts the hours Ludwig spent at the keyboard improvising until he was content with what he heard. The fugues of Op. 110 and Hammerklavier, as well as the variations in Op. 111 are so magnificently and brightly portrayed, that it is impossible for me not to be taken by them every time I hear them.

As for the middle period sonatas (in my view those are Nos. 12 - 27 with the exception of Nos. 19 & 20 which were written much earlier than they were published, though most academics start the middle period at No. 21), I have not a single complaint with Kempff. These sonatas do not share the same spirituality as the late ones do, instead they are the product of a unity of Beethoven's fertile mind and soul... the middle work portrays Beethoven's dreams and fantasies put to music, for example the Waldstein sonata starts out playful and almost bluesy and ends in a flash of sparkling divinity; Sonata No. 12 begins pensively before sinking into the strange darkness of its funeral march and ending on the waterfalls and moonlit plains of its quick finale. Considering the dreamlike and ever-changing spirituality of these works, it is clear that few are apt to play them better than Kempff does, and I would have paid the price of this cycle for Nos. 12, 15, 21, and 24 alone!

In terms of the early sonatas, they are not as similar to Mozart as many will have you believe, though they do have their share of Mozartine moments. However, one of the reasons that they are seen as in line with the work of the 18th century classical composers is because of the way in which they should be played. These sonatas are like Beethoven's childhood dreams as opposed to his adulthood ones represented by the middle sonatas, and should be played with smooth flow and great intensity, where it is required (for example in the opening movement of Pathetique or Op. 10/1). In this case, Kempff's renditions do not bother me, but do not excite me either, and I must admit I rarely listen to the first two discs of his cycle... look to Emil Gilels, Solomon Cutner, or even Artur Schnabel for better interpretations of these early sonatas.

On the whole, this cycle is one of the best I own and the lovely box is already showing signs of serious wear and tear after only a year of ownership (I carry it around with me quite a lot), and I would even recommend it as a starter cycle for someone not well acquainted with Beethoven's sonatas. For the early sonatas, look for the pianists I listed above (as well as Grigory Sokolov for Sonata No. 4, unfortunately he has only recorded two Beethoven sonatas in his life). For different (and in some cases better) perspectives on the last five, I'd recommend Maurizio Pollini (ESPECIALLY for Hammerklavier), Stefan Kovacevich, Alfred Brendel (mostly for Op. 109), Claudio Arrau, and many others...

All in all, this cycle definitely has my enthusiastic recommendation.

This boxed set was released to celebrate Wilhelm Kempff's 100th birthday, and it is simply gorgeous. It consists of the complete piano sonatas recorded in 1951-56 (in very good quality mono) by one of the supreme interpreters of Beethoven.

Listen to the first movement of the "Pathetique" and you feel transported to the 1950s, with all of the nostalgia that characterizes memories of the post-war Germany. On the third movement of the "Moonlight" sonata, you hear Kempff at his peak. Of all the versions I have heard, including Kempff's stereo recording, this must be the most energetic and exciting one.

The packaging is tasteful and sobre, and contains several pictures of the musician. This set comes with a booklet and bonus CD of Kempff expressing himself on various topics, ranging from Hiroshima to his interpretation of Beethoven's music. I wish all of Deutsche Grammophon's Collector's sets were as well documented and nicely packaged as this Dokumente boxed set.

This is a piece of history and a definite must have for any classical music listener. I recommend you buy this boxed set in conjunction with a more modern interpretation, for example Ashkenazy's cycle on Decca or Brendel's digital set on Philips. However, if you could get only one set, you'd be hard pressed to find a better cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas than this one.

For those who are not too familiar with Kempff, he is generally regarded as one of the most reputed Beethoven interpreter after Schnabel. Gulda was supposed to succeed them and was somehow stopped short. However, in Kempff, just like most pianists of the older generation and unlike Michelangeli who almost always played a piece the sme way even after 30 years, there is a strong element of improvisation, an element in the making of music which make him sound so fresh and spontaneous which left even Brendel way behind. And according to Menuhin, Kempff didn't exactly worship Beethoven, he loved him and took him as bosum friend. So, his playing is so inspired that it never fails to remind us of some transcending church music.

Having said that, Kempff even in the 50s, was never quite as dynamic as Gulda; whereas some may instead find Schnabel's Beethoven even more instructive and not at all less inspired. In his own way, Schunabel loved and worshipped Beethoven. But Schnabel's are all historic recordings and I tend to take it as an exceedingly valuable textbook that one should often go back to and fro from from phrase to phrase. My no.1 choice for these sonatas is always Backhaus, something that you can finish in one go, as though all the sonatas are part and piece of one great work (Decca, in wonderful stereo sound. Some may find Arrau's early Beethoven sonatas boring and Gilel's (which is not exactly a whole cycle in any event) not soulful enough, however much conviction he had for them. And to be honest, I have never finished Brendel's and I have never even tried Ashkenazy's Beethoven except his piano trio with Perlman and Harell and somehow I just stopped there...

Roughly speaking, Kempff's 50s cycle is more energetic, fiery and forceful, wheras his 60s is more colourful, more sublime, and with more subtleties. However, as far as the recorded sound is concerned, there is the difference of more than one whole generation, so that the ordinary music lovers may not find the 50s recording delightful or acceptable at all; whereas few could really complain against the sound of the 60s.

So, if you are a pianist, or if you are a fan of Kempff, you probably will get both his 50s and 60s recordings: for like most great pianists or indeed most great musicians, every time they play, it is going to be different and they are all instructive and inspiring in their own way. I myself grapped both. But if your emphasis is on the early sonatas, it is better to get the 60s.