Out of Print 7-CD box set from 1988...first edition, made in Germany.
Wilhelm Kempff's Schubert Sonatas are an interesting contrast with his Beethoven Sonatas. Both sets are stellar, but Schubert is more oblique than Beethoven. As Kempff indicates in the liner notes, Schubert makes most of his points in the pianissimo segments of his works. Schubert meanders to his endpoint, but what a beautiful journey he takes! The discs grow more enjoyable with each pass through the set; there is something new to discover every time.
The pieces are arranged in reverse chronologic order. It is instructive to listen to the evolution of his music as he attained his mature voice. Of note is the fact that Schubert only lived to be 31, and that much of his music moldered in cabinets and drawers throughout Europe, unpublished for decades following his death. This collection of Kempff's 1960s performances feature splendid DG sound; these interpretations of Schubert will afford permanent listening enjoyment.
Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertory included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, both of whose complete sonatas he also recorded.
One of the twentieth century's most important pianists, Wilhelm Kempff found warmth in Beethoven where many others discovered only stress and passion. Concentrating on the composers of the late Classical and early-to-middle Romantic periods, Kempff achieved graceful, amiable results while not neglecting the sterner core of this music. His nobility of purpose was everywhere evident, made manifest through lucid textures, an adherence to a flowing legato, and tonal shading. In addition, he was a composer whose oeuvre included two symphonies, four operas, songs, and solo piano works.
Trained first by his Lutheran church musician father, Kempff studied privately before entering Berlin's Hochschule für Musik at age 9. In 1914, he traveled to Potsdam for further studies at the Viktoriagymnasium before returning to Berlin to finish his work at the Hochschule and enroll at the university. At age 20, Kempff served as organist and pianist on a tour of Germany and Scandinavia by the Berlin Cathedral Choir. A successful 1917 piano recital at the Berlin Singakademie led to an engagement the following year with the Berlin Philharmonic, the first of innumerable collaborations with that august ensemble. During the 1920s and 1930s, he toured South America and Japan, as well as many parts of Europe, adding to his reputation for uncompromising musicianship and personable interpretation. At the same time, he taught, serving first as director at the Stuttgart Musikhochschule from 1924 to 1929 and, later, as piano instructor at Potsdam's Mamorpalais for the decade before WWII. The war kept his activities confined to Germany, but with its end, Kempff once more resumed a busy performance schedule.
England and America heard Kempff only later. In London, the public, including a large number of German émigrés, applauded him upon his first appearance there in 1951. Not until 1964 did New York hear the pianist in person, although by then his many Deutsche Grammophon recordings had already established his stature for Americans. Indeed, Kempff's long and fruitful relationship with that label had brought to the market a long list of desirable recordings, among them the complete Beethoven piano concerti; the sonatas; a relaxed, but rewarding survey with Wolfgang Schneiderhan of the Beethoven violin sonatas; and various collections of Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, and Brahms. - Erik Eriksson
This listing is for a rare, out of print Boxed Set of 7-CDs - a USED / OPENED set, in EXCELLENT plus overall condition, PRESSED and ISSUED by DGG - Deutsche Grammophon Records of a highly collectible title from their catalog featuring -
Wilhelm Kempff
7-CD Box Set Title -
Schubert Piano Sonatas - Wilhelm Kempff
Track Listing -
1. Sonata In B Flat Major, D 960
2. Five Piano Pieces, D 459 & D 459A ("Sonata In E Major")
3. Sonata In C Minor, D 958
4. Sonata In A Major, D 959
5. Sonata In G Major, D 894 (Op. 78)
6. Sonata In D Major, D 850 (Op. 53)
7. Sonata In A Minor, D 845 (Op. 42)
8. Sonata In C Major, D 840 ("Reliquie" - Fragment)
9. Sonata In A Minor, D 784 (Op. 143)
10. Sonata In A Major, D 664 (Op. 120)
11. Sonata In F Minor, D 625
12. Sonata In B Major, D 575 (Op. 147)
13. Sonata In E Flat Major, D 568 (Op. 122)
14. Sonata In A Flat Major, D 557
15. Sonata In E Minor, D 566
16. Sonata In A Minor, D 537 (Op. 164)
17. Sonata In C Major, D 279 (Fragment)
18. Sonata In E Major, D 157 (Fragment)Other Information:
• Barcode: 028942349629
• Co-producer – Dr. Manfred Richter, Wolfgang Lohse
• Composed By – Franz Schubert
• Piano – Wilhelm Kempff
• Production Manager – Dr. Wilfried Daenicke, Hans Hirsch
• Recording Supervisor – Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Klaus Scheibe
• Recorded At – Beethovensaal, Hannover
• Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Polydor International GmbH
• Pressed By – Universal M & L, Germany
• Printed By – RFA par H. O. Persiehl
• Liner Notes – Piero Rattalino, Volker Scherliess, Wilhelm Kempff
Recordings: Hannover, Beethovensaal, 2/1965 (D845, 894); 1-1967 (D 664, 840, 960); 1/1968 (D 784, 959); 8/1968 (D 157, 537, 568, 850); 11/1968 (D 279, 557, 566, 575, 958); 1/1969 (D 459 & 459A, 625).
℗ 1965 (D845,894); 1967 (D664, 840, 960); 1968 (D784, 959); 1970 (D157, 279, 459&459A, 537, 557, 566, 575, 625, 850, 958) Polydor International GmbH, Hamburg.
© 1970 Prof. Wilhelm Kempff, 1988 Prof. Dr. Volker Scherliess, John Reed, Prof. Piero Rattalino.
66-page booklet in German, English and French.
Printed in Germany.
Made in Germany.
• SPARS CODE: ADD
• Label Code: LC0173
• Other (Public Domain Declaration): D.P.The Boxed Set is from the DGG Records catalogue.
Condition -
The 7-CDs, outer cardboard sleeve/box, and extensive booklet are in excellent plus overall condition. The CDs may have some very light marks on the reflective sides, on the odd CD, nothing serious. We spot play tested the CDs on our audio system and everything performed perfectly. There may be some light finger prints on the discs.
The outer cardboard box has two stickers on the back (see pictures), and shows a bit of shelf wear (primarily along the seams and at the corners). Overall, this is a great set with important interpretations by Kempff of Schubert's piano works. See the pictures associated with this listing for more detail regarding condition as they are of the actual item.
Comes complete with a booklet / insert - a superb collectible!
This CD is an
audiophile quality pressing (any collector of fine MFSL, half speeds,
direct to discs, Japanese/UK pressings etc., can attest to the
difference a quality pressing can make to an audio system).
Do not let this rarity slip by!