Wilhelm Backhaus Edition

$44.99
Label
Profil
Release Date
April 30, 2021
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      VARIOUS
    • PERFORMER
      Wilhelm Backhaus
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      April 30, 2021
    • UPC
      881488210033
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      PH21003
    • LABEL
      Profil
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      10
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Allegro

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    2. II. Larghetto

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    3. III. Allegretto

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    4. Don Giovanni, K. 527: Serenade (arr. W. Backhaus for piano)

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    5. 6 Lieder, Op. 17, TrV 149: No. 2. Standchen (arr. W. Bachhaus for piano)

      Composer: Richard Strauss

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    6. 2 Lunaires, Op. 33: No. 2. La danza di Olaf

      Composer: Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    7. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11: II. Romance (arr. W. Backhaus for piano)

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    8. Liebesleid (arr. S. Rachmaninov for piano)

      Composer: Fritz Kreisler

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    9. Delibes - Naila: Waltz

      Composer: Ernő Dohnányi

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    10. 3 Études de concert, S144/R5: No. 2 in F Minor, "La Leggierezza"

      Composer: Franz Liszt

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    11. Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream: Wedding March and Dance of the Fairies, S410/R219

      Composer: Franz Liszt

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    12. 28 Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35: Book 1: Variations 1, 3, 7, 12-13 - Book 2: Variations 3-8, 10-11, 14

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    13. Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: No. 1. Elégie in E-Flat Minor

      Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    14. Liebesträume, S541/R211: No. 3. Nocturne in A-Flat Major

      Composer: Franz Liszt

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    15. Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 24, J. 138: IV. Rondo: Presto

      Composer: Carl Maria von Weber

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    16. Fantasy-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    17. 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, S244/R106: No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor

      Composer: Franz Liszt

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    18. Delibes - Naila: Waltz

      Composer: Ernő Dohnányi

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    19. 3 Marches militaires, Op. 51, D. 733: No. 1 in D Major (arr. W. Backhaus for piano)

      Composer: Franz Schubert

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    20. Berceuse in D-Flat Major, Op. 57

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    21. Caprice espagnol, Op. 37

      Composer: Moritz Moszkowski

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    22. Symphony No. 5 in D Major, Op. 107, MWV N15, "Reformation": II. Scherzo (arr. E. Hutcheson for piano)

      Composer: Felix Mendelssohn

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    23. Iberia, Book 2: III. Triana

      Composer: Isaac Albéniz

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    24. 2 Concert Etudes, S145/R6: No. 1. Waldesrauschen (Forest Murmurs)

      Composer: Franz Liszt

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    25. Waltz No. 6 in D-Flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1, "Minute"

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    26. Variations on an Original Theme in D Major, Op. 21, No. 1

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    27. 28 Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    28. No. 1 in C Major, Op. 10, No. 1

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    29. No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 10, No. 2

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    30. No. 3 in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    31. No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor Op. 10, No. 4

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    32. No. 5 in G-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 5, "Black Keys"

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    33. No. 6 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 10, No. 6

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    34. No. 7 in C Major, Op. 10, No. 7

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    35. No. 8 in F Major, Op. 10, No. 8

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    36. No. 9 in F Minor, Op. 10, No. 9

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    37. No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 10

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    38. No. 11 in E-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 11

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    39. No. 12 in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12, "Revolutionary"

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    40. No. 13 in A-Flat Major, Op. 25, No. 1, "Harp Study"

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    41. No. 14 in F Minor, Op. 25, No. 2

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    42. No. 15 in F Major, Op. 25, No. 3

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    43. No. 16 in A Minor, Op. 25, No. 4

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    44. No. 17 in E Minor, Op. 25, No. 5

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    45. No. 18 in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 6

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    46. No. 19 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 7

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    47. No. 20 in D-Flat Major, Op. 25, No. 8

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    48. No. 21 in G-Flat Major, Op. 25, No. 9, "Butterfly's Wings"

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    49. No. 22 in B Minor, Op. 25, No. 10

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    50. No. 23 in A Minor, Op. 25, No. 11, "Winter Wind"

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    51. No. 24 in C Minor, Op. 25, No. 12

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    52. I. Maestoso

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Karl Böhm

    53. II. Adagio

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Karl Böhm

    54. III. Rondo: Allegro non troppo

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Karl Böhm

    55. Keyboard Sonata in F Minor, Hob.XVII:6, "Un piccolo divertimento: Variations": Theme: Andante

      Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    56. Fantasia (Capriccio) in C Major, Hob.XVII:4

      Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    57. I. Allegro non troppo

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Carl Schuricht

    58. II. Allegro appassionato

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Carl Schuricht

    59. III. Andante

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Carl Schuricht

    60. IV. Allegretto grazioso

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Carl Schuricht

    61. I. Allegro

      Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    62. II. Adagio

      Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    63. III. Finale: Presto

      Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    64. I. Allegro moderato

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: New York Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Guido Cantelli

    65. II. Andante con moto

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: New York Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    66. III. Rondo: Vivace

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: New York Philharmonic

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Guido Cantelli

    67. I. Allegro molto e con brio

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    68. II. Adagio molto

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    69. III. Finale: Prestissimo

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    70. I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    71. II. Adagio cantabile

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    72. III. Rondo: Allegro

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    73. I. Presto alla tedesca

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    74. II. Andante

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    75. III. Vivace

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    76. I. Largo - Allegro

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    77. II. Adagio

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    78. III. Allegretto

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    79. I. Das Lebewohl: Adagio - Allegro

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    80. II. Abwesenheit: Andante espressivo

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    81. III. Das Wiedersehen: Vivacissimamente

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    82. I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    83. II. Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    84. 4 Impromptus, Op. 142, D. 935: No. 2 in A-Flat Major

      Composer: Franz Schubert

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    85. Fantasiestücke, Op. 12: No. 3. Warum?

      Composer: Robert Schumann

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    86. Schubert - Soirées de Vienne, S427/R252: No. 6. Allegro con strepito

      Composer: Franz Liszt

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    87. 4 Piano Pieces, Op. 119: No. 3. Intermezzo in C Major

      Composer: Johannes Brahms

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    88. I. Adagio sostenuto

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    89. II. Allegretto

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    90. III. Presto agitato

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    91. I. Allegro

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    92. II. Scherzo: Assai vivace - Presto - Tempo I

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    93. III. Adagio sostenuto, appassionato e con molto sentimento

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    94. IV. Largo - Allegro risoluto

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    95. 4 Impromptus, Op. 142, D. 935: No. 2 in A-Flat Major: No. 3 in B-Flat Major

      Composer: Franz Schubert

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    96. Etude No. 14 in F Minor, Op. 25, No. 2

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    97. Waldscenen, Op. 82: No. 7. Vogel als Prophet (Bird as Prophet)

      Composer: Robert Schumann

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    98. Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331: III. Alla Turca: Allegretto

      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

    99. I. Allegro moderato

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Ferenc Fricsay

    100. II. Andante con moto

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Ferenc Fricsay

    101. III. Rondo: Vivace

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Ferenc Fricsay

    102. I. Allegro

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Masashi Ueda

    103. II. Adagio un poco moto -

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Masashi Ueda

    104. III. Rondo: Allegro

      Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

      Ensemble: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus

      Conductor: Masashi Ueda

    105. Etude No. 13 in A-Flat Major, Op. 25, No. 1, "Harp Study"

      Composer: Frédéric Chopin

      Performer: Wilhelm Backhaus


"Essentially, in the incredible ease and naturalness of his pianism, in the unassuming simplicity and absorption of the man, Backhaus was much the same artist and personality then. And he was far from unknown. Even before he won the Rubinstein Prize in 1905, Backhaus was internationally celebrated as a prodigious virtuoso. [...] Backhaus never failed to win a succès d'estime among professional musicians. They always knew his qualities, always marveled at his instrumental perfection, his titanic mastery that scorned every complexity, his unsurpassed freedom and endurance. There was never a time when Backhaus could not toss off any or all of the Chopin études or the Brahms-Paganini variations with an imperturbable calm, an implacable security that left one open-mouthed. Not everyone, for only the pianists really knew what was happening before their eyes and ears, knew how to measure such achievement. There they all sat, in breathless astonishment and envy and despair. [...] Backhaus was a shy, unaffected, recessive personality whose sensational capacities were so unsensationally projected that lay audiences remained totally unconscious of his fabulous accomplishments." (Gerhard Melchert)

REVIEW:

This 10-CD box brings us not only concert recordings of works closely associated with him but also early piano roll and studio recordings, including the first complete recording of the Chopin Etudes and a variety of other short pieces.

Backhaus's technique has been praised by many critics, but his scintillating virtuosity in the shorter pieces on CDs 1 and 2 nevertheless came as a revelation to someone who mainly knows him from his later years. These are technical display pieces, and Backhaus plays them to the hilt.

The most impressive piano rolls are of two Liszt pieces (La Leggierezza and a Mendelssohn paraphrase) and of a very difficult arrangement of a Delibes waltz by Dohnanyi. The sparkling virtuosity here is breathtaking.

CD 3 has the 24 Chopin Etudes. They have been reissued repeatedly, but this was a nice opportunity to hear them again. They remain one of the best recordings of these challenging pieces, and the sound is quite good. Backhaus's seemingly effortless technical mastery without musical superficiality is spellbinding. He was the rare German pianist who excelled in Chopin.

The Beethoven sonatas on discs 6-8 come from two recitals: Carnegie Hall, 1954 (8, 25, 17, 26, 32), with four encores, and Carnegie Hall, 1956 (5, 14, 29), with four different encores.  The performances have all the hallmark qualities of Backhaus: They are unfussy, straightforward, and totally convincing.

Turning now to the major concertos, there are two recordings here of Beethoven's Fourth, one with the New York Philharmonic under Guido Cantelli (Carnegie Hall, 1956) and the other with the Suisse Romande under Ferenc Fricsay (Montreux, 1961). They are almost identical in their timing. The sound of the Cantelli recording is boxy, and piano and orchestra are tightly integrated. With Fricsay the sound is better, but the piano is more prominent, drawing attention to the soloist. Backhaus's well-nigh definitive interpretation exhibits superb phrasing, articulation, and dynamics, rhythmic precision, virtuosity without showiness, little rubato, and close coordination with the orchestra.

Not only has this collection been largely cobbled together from previous releases, but CDs 9 and 10 each have less than 40 minutes of music, so there could have been additional recordings of this splendid artist. I already mentioned one omission of information. Some Beethoven sonatas have numbers in the booklet, but others don't. Here a date is duplicated; there a track number is wrong. I wonder how reliable the dates are (see Mozart concerto above). But the booklet essay by Gerhard Melchert is good and includes photographs of the artist at different stages in his career as well as reproductions of newspaper articles and of personal notes or dedications from Brahms (when Backhaus was 10), Arthur Nikisch, Moriz Rosenthal, and Rachmaninoff.

. It struck me that Rachmaninoff and Backhaus have a lot in common. They had a superlative technique; they played serious major works as well as small showpieces (not Backhaus in his later years); their playing was unmannered and unsentimental, brilliant but never superficial; they played hardly any chamber music; they did not teach; and they were very private individuals (especially Backhaus, about whose private life little is known). There is a famous anecdote about Rachmaninoff who, when asked who he thought were the great living pianists, replied, "Well, there is Josef Hofmann and there is myself" and then fell silent. He should have added Backhaus.

-- American Record Guide (Bruno Repp)