The Complete Polydor Recordings (1927-1936) / Kempff

$14.99
Label
APR
Release Date
March 4, 2022
Format
Added to Cart! View cart or continue shopping.


    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann
    • PERFORMER
      Wilhelm Kempff
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      March 04, 2022
    • UPC
      5024709156382
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      APR5638
    • LABEL
      APR
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Allemande

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    2. II. Courante

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    3. III. Sarabande

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    4. IV. Gavotte

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    5. V. Bourrée

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    6. VI. Loure

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    7. VII. Gigue

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    8. Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    9. Fugue No. 3 in C-Sharp Major, BWV 848

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    10. Prelude No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    11. Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    12. Prelude No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    13. Fugue No. 5 in D Major, BWV 850

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    14. Concerto in the Italian Style in F Major, BWV 971, "Italian Concerto": I. [Allegro]

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    15. Keyboard Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056: II. Largo (arr. W. Kempff for piano)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    16. 6 Schübler Chorales, BWV 645-650: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 (arr. W. Kempff for piano)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    17. Flute Sonata in E-Flat Major, BWV 1031: II. Siciliano (arr. W. Kempff for piano)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    18. Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29: Sinfonia (arr. W. Kempff for piano)

      Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    19. I. Theme and Variations: Andante grazioso

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    20. II. Menuetto

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    21. III. Alla turca: Allegretto

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    22. Ständchen, D. 889, "Hark, hark, the lark" (Horch, horch! die Lerch) (arr. F. Liszt)

      Composer: Franz Schubert

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    23. No. 3 in F Minor: Allegro moderato

      Composer: Franz Schubert

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    24. No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor: Moderato

      Composer: Franz Schubert

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    25. 4 Impromptus, Op. 142, D. 935: No. 3 in B-Flat Major

      Composer: Franz Schubert

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    26. Fantasiestücke, Op. 12: No. 2. Aufschwung

      Composer: Robert Schumann

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff

    27. Kinderszenen (Scenes of Childhood), Op. 15: No. 7. Träumerei (Dreaming)

      Composer: Robert Schumann

      Performer: Wilhelm Kempff


Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, recording the complete sonatas of both composers. Wilhelm Kempff’s 78-rpm recordings were very much focused on Beethoven, as can be heard on seven previously issued APR discs, but this release presents everything by other composers he set down from the start of electrical recording until the war. Notable among the titles are four of his own Bach transcriptions and, revealing the pianist in an unexpected light, his own virtuosic elaboration of the Schubert/Liszt ‘Hark, Hark! The Lark’ transcription.

REVIEW:

There's something special about these recordings, something quite miraculous. In spite of the relatively primitive technology involved in these early electrical recordings, I had no trouble at all forgetting sonic imperfections, and zeroing in on a great master channeling great composers. The French Suite no. 5 of Bach, recorded in 1935, is the highlight of the disc; it's a masterful interpretation. I was in awe of this from the first time I heard it, since I had the strong feeling that Kempff was communicating his own awe.

-- Music for Several Instruments