Thanks, Dave. You can hardly find a better gateway pianist than Wilhelm Kempff. But once i discovered Richter, Arrau and Horowitz, a.o., i hardly ever return to any of his recordings, except for an old Liszt recording on the Music & Arts label, his 1st mono LvB concerto cycle and his Mozart PC no. 23.
When I listened to Kempff perform these, i love the rhythmic pulse and groove that he employs in these sonatas. For a long time I was a huge fan of the Andreas Schiff box recordings… But now i see why Kempff is a reference recording for sure… Thanks as always for these videos !
Between Kempff and Badura-Skoda's 1970s RCA set, I'm in heaven. Those are two box sets I never lend out. I tell my friends that you've got a choice: Hear them at my home or buy them yourself. :)
There really WAS no other choice for the Schubert sonatas, way back then - except, possibly, Ingrid Haebler for Philips-and a really lovely set from Walter Klein on Turnabout/Vox that I only came across recently.
And some of us record geeks remember the first complete cycle, which was also on Vox, by Friedrich Wührer, which has been completely ignored by the custodians of their catalog. It’s a very “serious” approach, a bit tough-hided, but is lovely on its own terms. Klien, in many respects, is similar in style, perhaps a bit more Serkin-esque. But I’m not going to argue against Kempff…..it’s from heaven.
All reference recordings, as Dave pointed out many times, are very much linked to their availability on the market, not only to their intrinsic artistic value. Different countries have different markets and marketing, so for me, for long time, there was no reference recording for Schubert’s complete sonatas. Probably I grew up in the wrong place, at the wrong time, but in the 90’s I was looking for just any of the complete sets of the sonatas, Wuhrer, Badura Skoda, Kempff, but none were available where I was living, in Naples, Italy. On one side, as a student, I didn’t have the kind of money and resources necessary to get my hands on one of those sets, which probably were available as imports. On the other side, Schubert’s piano sonatas were still considered a niche repertoire, something for which there was no request in town. I had to wait for the release on CD in 2000 to finally get the complete Kempff set. For Wuhrer the wait was longer, 2014…and for Badura Skoda (the early RCA) recordings even longer, 2017.
I have Kempff--a good buy too--and about two-thirds of Andras Schiff's cycle. Not to be forgotten (and thanks to ClassicsToday) I found Michael Endres' complete set. But I get the idea of Kempff as reference.
Of course it would be Kempff. Another "fly-under-the-radar" interpreter that is excellent is Walter Klien. Unfortunately, the 3 Vox Box sets presently need to be tracked down as used items. I hope that these disks get reissued soon.
And speaking of Schubertian clumps please weigh in as to whether you think his complete string quartets are worth getting to know (I have the Diogenes set) or whether in this case it is better to stick to the late ones.
Have to agree with this, particularly the point about Kempff allowing the music to speak for itself, and I think his judgment as to how soft a p should be, and how loud an f, though I don't know enough about the score to know which pianist gets the rests right. I have his box set, and the set by Uchida, and love them both, and suggest a contrast at its most extreme is with the sonata D784- possibly Schubert's most experimental sonata? Kempff takes 08.40 minutes to play the first movement, Uchida 14.12 and sometimes it sounds closer to Messiaen's Vingt Regards - is it thus deep or distant compared to Kempff?
Kempff is fine and reliable but he's very middle of the road and can sometimes bore me. I actually prefer Brendel on Philips but better still, Paul Badura-Skoda who brings the music to life on a fortepiano of the period. Quite a different sound world.
Thanks, Dave. You can hardly find a better gateway pianist than Wilhelm Kempff. But once i discovered Richter, Arrau and Horowitz, a.o., i hardly ever return to any of his recordings, except for an old Liszt recording on the Music & Arts label, his 1st mono LvB concerto cycle and his Mozart PC no. 23.
When I listened to Kempff perform these, i love the rhythmic pulse and groove that he employs in these sonatas. For a long time I was a huge fan of the Andreas Schiff box recordings… But now i see why Kempff is a reference recording for sure… Thanks as always for these videos !
Between Kempff and Badura-Skoda's 1970s RCA set, I'm in heaven. Those are two box sets I never lend out. I tell my friends that you've got a choice: Hear them at my home or buy them yourself. :)
Oh yes - lending usually means giving to!
There really WAS no other choice for the Schubert sonatas, way back then - except, possibly, Ingrid Haebler for Philips-and a really lovely set from Walter Klein on Turnabout/Vox that I only came across recently.
And some of us record geeks remember the first complete cycle, which was also on Vox, by Friedrich Wührer, which has been completely ignored by the custodians of their catalog. It’s a very “serious” approach, a bit tough-hided, but is lovely on its own terms. Klien, in many respects, is similar in style, perhaps a bit more Serkin-esque. But I’m not going to argue against Kempff…..it’s from heaven.
All reference recordings, as Dave pointed out many times, are very much linked to their availability on the market, not only to their intrinsic artistic value. Different countries have different markets and marketing, so for me, for long time, there was no reference recording for Schubert’s complete sonatas. Probably I grew up in the wrong place, at the wrong time, but in the 90’s I was looking for just any of the complete sets of the sonatas, Wuhrer, Badura Skoda, Kempff, but none were available where I was living, in Naples, Italy. On one side, as a student, I didn’t have the kind of money and resources necessary to get my hands on one of those sets, which probably were available as imports. On the other side, Schubert’s piano sonatas were still considered a niche repertoire, something for which there was no request in town. I had to wait for the release on CD in 2000 to finally get the complete Kempff set. For Wuhrer the wait was longer, 2014…and for Badura Skoda (the early RCA) recordings even longer, 2017.
I have Kempff--a good buy too--and about two-thirds of Andras Schiff's cycle. Not to be forgotten (and thanks to ClassicsToday) I found Michael Endres' complete set. But I get the idea of Kempff as reference.
Of course it would be Kempff. Another "fly-under-the-radar" interpreter that is excellent is Walter Klien. Unfortunately, the 3 Vox Box sets presently need to be tracked down as used items. I hope that these disks get reissued soon.
I know Kempff isn't associated with Chopin but he made stunning recordings of the 2 sonatas and the barcarolle (they're all on TH-cam)
Good review Dave, thank you!
And speaking of Schubertian clumps please weigh in as to whether you think his complete string quartets are worth getting to know (I have the Diogenes set) or whether in this case it is better to stick to the late ones.
I enjoy them and the complete set isn't so many CDs.
Have to agree with this, particularly the point about Kempff allowing the music to speak for itself, and I think his judgment as to how soft a p should be, and how loud an f, though I don't know enough about the score to know which pianist gets the rests right. I have his box set, and the set by Uchida, and love them both, and suggest a contrast at its most extreme is with the sonata D784- possibly Schubert's most experimental sonata? Kempff takes 08.40 minutes to play the first movement, Uchida 14.12 and sometimes it sounds closer to Messiaen's Vingt Regards - is it thus deep or distant compared to Kempff?
After Beethoven & Schubert, waiting for the next Kempff Reference: the last 4 piano collections Opus-116-119 by Brahms
Sorry, no.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Tant pis!
Kempff is fine and reliable but he's very middle of the road and can sometimes bore me. I actually prefer Brendel on Philips but better still, Paul Badura-Skoda who brings the music to life on a fortepiano of the period. Quite a different sound world.
is he the reference for the Schumann solo piano works as well?
No.
@@DavesClassicalGuideis there a reference for a clump Schumann piano works?