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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Mozart: Concertos pour piano Nos. 23 & 24 (Mono Version)
Wilhelm Kempff, Bamberger Symphoniker, Ferdinand Leitner
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Années de pèlerinage; Légendes (Wilhelm Kempff: Complete Decca Recordings, Vol. 8)
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 13 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos.14 "Moonlight", 17 "Tempest" + 23 "Appasionata"
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos.8 "Pathétique", 14 "Moonlight", 15 "Pastorale" & 24
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonatas Nos. 13 - 19
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 13 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The 10 Violin Sonatas
Wilhelm Kempff, Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 18 Dec 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Rhapsodies, Op. 79; Intermezzi, Op. 117; Six Piano Pieces, Op. 118 (Wilhelm Kempff: Complete Decca Recordings, Vol. 10)
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 13 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, Mozart, Schubert & Schumann: Works for Piano
Classical - Released by APR on 14 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonatas Nos. 27 - 32
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 13 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonatas Nos. 20 - 26
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 13 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonatas Nos. 1 - 6
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 13 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2; Impromptus; Berceuse; Barcarolle (Wilhelm Kempff: Complete Decca Recordings, Vol. 6)
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto; Kinderszenen
Wilhelm Kempff, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 15 (Mono Version)
Wilhelm Kempff, Karl Münchinger
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Sonates pour piano & Fantaisies (Stereo Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73, ‚Emperor' (Recordings of 1936 (In Memoriam Wihelm Kempff - 30th date of death))
Wilhelm Kempff, Berliner Philharmoniker, Peter Raabe
Classical - Released by GazzaLadra on 31 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 14 & 23 (Mono Version)
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates pour piano Nos. 15 "Pastorale" & 21 "Waldstein" (Mono Version)
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wilhelm Kempff - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 27 Jun 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates pour piano "Pathétique" & "Clair de lune" (Stereo Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann / Brahms: Complete 1950s Solo Recordings
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo