Search - Beethoven, Wilhelm Kempff :: Piano Sonatas 1-32 (Box)

KEYSTONE PERFORMANCES - ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, ESPECIALLY AT

G. Engler | The Frigid Northeast | 04/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit that I stayed away from this set for many years. With sets by Goode, Gilels, Fischer, Schnabel's Pearl recordings and one Paul Lewis volume, I didn't need yet another set by a pianist disparaged ever since my long-gone college days. (Rubinstein, when asked about Kempff, dismissively replied "Kempff!", with a look a bemused contempt on his face")



Apologies to Rubinstein - who if we are to be honest was never too successful in his attempts at Beethoven - but Wilhem Kempff's recordings of the sonatas are astounding. Never too fast, never too slow, no eccentricities, and an air of improvisation (which, I imagine to be true of Beethoven himself wen he composed these sonatas). The sonatas sound joyful and profound.



There is a reason why SIbelius, upon hearing Kempff play the Hammerklavier said "You played not like a pianist, but like a human being". In humanizing these works - compositions better than they can ever be played - Kempff allows the listener to probe deeply, and once again discover unknown facets and relationships to emerge. The music flows from him naturally. These are not mannered performances (something that plagues Paul Lewis in his recent - though at times mesmerizing - cycle).



I really cannot add much to the other reviews posted for the earlier versions of this set, lest I become unnecessarily verbose and pedantic. I suggest you read those. Let me just say that at the current pricing of the re-released set you simply cannot afford NOT to own this cycle. It seems to be listed at less than $30, or even $20 from some third party sellers. True, for this price you sacrifice a detailed book of discussion in English/French/German and the discs themselves come in cardboard sleeves rather than multi-disc jewel boxes, but in all honesty, at this point in my life, I don't need all that that. What I need is more shelf space!



The sound of the recordings is first-rate. No compromises there.



If you are sitting on the fence about yet another sonata set, - don't hesitate. This is beautiful piano playing, bar none. If I betray my own naivite by acknowledging my own unfamiliarity with - and aversion to - this set for decades so be it. I was foolish, and wrong.



Listen to Kempff and re-discover the joy within this "new testament" of the piano bible. You will not be disappointed."

Kempff's Beethoven Sonatas at a Budget Price

Robin Friedman | Washington, D.C. United States | 06/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wilhelf Kempff's Beethoven cycle, dating from the 1960s, has recently been reissued at a budget price. There have been many recordings of the 32 Beethoven sonatas, including an ongoing series by Idil Biret, a student of Kempff's. Much as I am enjoying listening to Biret, Kempff's cycle remains a grand achievement. There is no better way to explore the Beethoven sonatas. Listeners coming to the sonatas for the first time or listeners who have heard many readings of the sonatas will have their appreciation of this music enhanced by these performances. The remainder of this review is taken from my review of an earlier, more expensive, issue of Kempff's sonatas.



Beethoven's "Tagebuch" includes the following famous entry: "The starry heavens above, the moral law within -- Kant!" Beethoven was alluding to Kant's statement in the "Critique of Practical Reason" of the two things that filled him with awe. But, in a simple way, Beethoven's statement could be read to show two related ways of understanding his music: the first as heroic, heaven-storming, and outwardly directed, and the second as inward, reflective, and meditative. Some of Beethoven's music can be seen as occupying on or the other end of the polarity. Much of the music somehow occupies both ends.



The same holds true as a rough approach to the performance of Beethoven's music -- including the 32 piano sonatas. Some artists emphasize the dramatic, rugged and virtuosic characteristics of the sonatas while others focus upon the music's inward and introspective qualities. The great German pianist Wilhelm Kempff's classic recording of the complete piano sonatas is clearly within the latter approach. Kempff (1895 -- 1991) recorded the complete Beethoven sonata-cycle twice, the first time in the 1950s and the second time in the 1960s. I had the original version on LP and purchased the CD set when LPs became obsolete. I recently had the opportunity to relisten to Kempff's renditions of the sonatas in their entirety.



Kempff's readings of the sonatas are highly personal and introspective. His tempos tend to be slow and fluid, the pedal is used a great deal, phrasing is highly legato, and volume is, for the most part, subdued and restrained. He offers a metaphysical, thoughtful reading of Beethoven which probes within. It is a moving and convincing way of rendering the sonatas, and I came away from my experience with the set over the past several days with a renewed devotion to this music. I have attempted about half of the sonatas myself over the years on the piano.



Beethoven's sonatas date from his youthful years in Bonn before his 1792 move to Vienna (the two sonatas of opus 49) to about 1822 (opus 111), five years before the composer's death. Thus, they occupied Beethoven for almost the entirety of his creative life. In listening to this complete set, the listener can follow Beethoven's development essentially chronologically and learn more first-hand about the sonatas and about the changes in Beethoven's styles of composition than can be gained from reading many studies.



Listeners interested in a complete set of the Beethoven sonatas will probably have some familiarity with some of the better-known

named sonatas, such as the "Pathetique", opus 13, the "Moonlight" opus 27 no. 2, the "Waldstein", opus 53, or the "Appassionata", opus 57. After falling in love with some of these works, it will be time for the listener to explore the entire series.



Kempff brings his own personal and introspective readings to each of these familar works. I think he does best with the rondo finale of the "Waldstein," with the "Moonlight" sonata, and with the two final movements of the "Tempest", opus 31 no. 2. His readings of these familiar works on the whole will offer fresh insight into these great sonatas.



But the greatest attraction of this set is the opportunity it provides to explore some of Beethoven's less frequently performed works. Again, Kempff is at his best in works of an introspective character. Thus, those coming to the sonata-cycle for the first time will enjoy his performances of the opus 26 sonata, with the opening variations and the celebrated funeral march, of opus 78, 79, and 81a ("Les Adieux"), of opus 90, and of opus 101, 109, 110, and the great end to the series, opus 111. Opus 90, 101, and 109 are particular favorites of mine, and Kempff plays them beautifully.



There is yet another group of sonatas that also receive excellent readings on the set. This group includes two excellent ambitious early works, opus 2 no. 3 and opus 7 (another favorite), the three sonatas of opus 10, the under-appreciated opus 22, the companion to the more famous "Moonlight" sonata, opus 27 no. 1, opus 31 no. 3 and the enigmatic opus 54, sandwiched between the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata". The magisterial and heroic "Hammerklavier" sonata, opus 106, is in a class by itself. Each listeners's choices and fovorites among the 32 will vary and change with time and repeated hearings. This collection is an excellent introduction to all of them.



There are many recordings of the set of 32 sonatas and many approaches to the interpretation of Beethoven. His music is broader and deeper than any single reading. I have lived with my set of Kempff for a long time and am still moved and inspired by his playing of this inexhaustible music. Listeners wanting to get to know this great body of work will find much to cherish in these performances by Wilhelm Kempff.



Robin Friedman"

Outstanding Collection of Piano Sonatas

Dayzee D | 09/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a collection of absolutely outstanding performances of beautiful piano sonatas! The compositions are played with superb skill by pianist Kempff. If you like Beethoven Sonatas you definitely will love listening over and over to these renditions."