Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was born in Jüterbog, Germany, on November 25, 1895. His father, also named Wilhelm Kempff, fame from a line of respected church organists, and first taught his son music and keyboard playing. Young Wilhelm had lessons with Ida Schmidt-Schlesike, then entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik at the age of nine, to study composition with Robert Kahn and piano with Heinrich Barth. In 1914 he went to study at the Viktoriagymnasium in Potsdam, then returned to Berlin to continue his training at the Hochschule. He also entered the university, studying philosophy and music history. In 1916 he toured with the Berlin Cathedral Choir through Germany and Scandinavia, as pianist and organist. In 1917 he appeared at the Berlin Singakademie in a piano recital made of primarily of big works: Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata and Brahms' "Variations on a theme of Paganini." In 1918 he made his first concerto appearance with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a venue where he would frequently appear over the years. With the end of World War I he was able to expand his career to an international stage. He maintained an impressive concert life over the next several decades, drawing acclaim from his appearances in Europe. South America, and Japan while becoming particularly treasured for his commanding performances of the central German Romantic piano classics from Beethoven to Brahms, plus Chopin. His career continued without interruption except for the years of World War II.
For some reason he put off performing in England and North America until late. His first London recital was not until 1951, and his American debut, in New York, was as late as 1964. Therefore it took the English-speaking world to catch up to what most of the rest of the world already recognized, which is that he was one of the most important and impressive performers in the Austro-German classic piano tradition. He also built an important presence as a teacher, particularly of accomplished students. He became director of the Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik from 1924 to 1929, and conducted master classes there. In 1931 he founded a summer course held at the Marmorpalais, Potsdam, also for master students, along with Edwin Fischer and Walter Gieseking. These lasted until 1941. Beginning in 1957 he directed Beethoven studies at Positano, Italy. As a performer he stressed lyricism, charm, and spontaneity in music, particularly effective in intimate pieces or passages. He always strove for a singing, lyrical quality, occasionally slipping into a slight degree of affectation in his phrasing. He avoided extreme tempos and display for its own sake. He left recordings of most of his repertory, including the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert. He performed to an advanced age, often concertizing past his eightieth birthday. He appeared as a soloist in 1979 with the Berlin Philharmonic, marking an association with them that spanned over sixty years. He died in Positano on May 23, 1991, at the age of 95.
© Joseph Stevenson /TiVo
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Wilhelm Kempff: Beethoven
Classical - Released by Classic Themes on 2 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilhelm Kempff: Beethoven II
Classical - Released by Classic Themes on 2 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grosse Pianisten - Wilhelm Kempff
Classical - Released by Dokuments on 15 Feb 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 13, 15, 17 & 18
Classical - Released by Beeping Classics on 9 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 in E-flat major
Wilhelm Kempff, Anatole Fistoulari, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Classically on 29 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto
Wilhelm Kempff, London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1953
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates pour piano Nos. 5 & 6 (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto
Wilhelm Kempff, London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 15
Wilhelm Kempff, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Swiss Romande Orchestra, wind section, Karl Münchinger
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on 1 Nov 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pianistas Famosos, Wilhelm Kempff - Piano Sonata No. 9
Classical - Released by Hhpvrdigital on 19 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra Nos. 23 & 24
Ferdinand Leitner, Bamberger Symphoniker, Wilhelm Kempff
Concertos - Released by Sunday Club Records on 12 Dec 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Absolutely Classical, Volume 176
Wilhelm Kempff, Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Classical - Released by Wamsenzo on 14 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Absolutely Classical Vol. 146
Classical - Released by Wamsenzo on 14 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More Piano Giants: Wilhelm Kempff, Vol. 9
Wilhelm Kempff, Staatskapelle Dresden, Franz Konwitschny
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 15 Mar 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Karl Münchinger & The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Vol. 9
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Pierre Fournier, Wilhelm Kempff, Karl Münchinger
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 5 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romances
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Kempff
Classical - Released by Sinetone PCA on 8 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The Piano Concertos
Wilhelm Kempff, Berliner Philharmoniker, Paul van Kempen
Classical - Released by Soul Light Records on 13 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Violin Legend: Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Vol. 3
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Wilhelm Kempff, Geza Anda, Pierre Fournier, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 3 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Absolutely Classical Vol. 147
Classical - Released by Wamsenzo on 14 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo