Description:
Wilhelm Kempff believed Schumann's composition suffered as his madness encroached, and he did not therefore play all his works, but this four-CD set, Piano Works, feels admirably comprehensive. Dating from this German master's later period--he went on playing until he was 85--it is as majestic a testament to his genius as the Beethoven sonatas which he recorded three times during his life. Kempff, born in 1895, had a direct link with the Romantic era: he studied with Busoni, and his principal teacher, Barth, had studied with Bulow--who was married to the daughter of Liszt. For Kempff, a recording was "a little piece of eter
Wilhelm Kempff believed Schumann's composition suffered as his madness encroached, and he did not therefore play all his works, but this four-CD set, Piano Works, feels admirably comprehensive. Dating from this German master's later period--he went on playing until he was 85--it is as majestic a testament to his genius as the Beethoven sonatas which he recorded three times during his life. Kempff, born in 1895, had a direct link with the Romantic era: he studied with Busoni, and his principal teacher, Barth, had studied with Bulow--who was married to the daughter of Liszt. For Kempff, a recording was "a little piece of eternal life" and the record-player "a mirror for the ear": no pianist ever took the process more seriously. Which is one reason why this box is so treasurable. His hallmark is a glowing cantabile--no doubt attributable to the fact that he began his career as a cathedral organist--and he seems blissfully unbothered about virtuoso point-scoring. The Études symphoniques open with passionate languor; Kreisleriana are full of charm; and the Humoreske--which he waited decades to be ready to play--are intensely vivid . --Michael Church
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Manufacturer: Universal Classics
Release date: 25 June 2001
EAN: 0028947131229 UPC: 028947131229
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