Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 / Kempff, Leitner

Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Ferdinand Leitner (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Wilhelm Kempff (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Wilhelm Kempff
• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Ferdinand Leitner
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (February 13, 1996)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GPZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,832 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Performance of the Concertos Ever !, December 3, 2000

By 

Walter O. Koenig "Amoxtli" (San Diego, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 / Kempff, Leitner (Audio CD)

This incredible recording of Piano Concertos No.4 and No.5 was recorded in 1961 and released as two LP's in 1962. The performances show both Kempff, and the Berliner Philharmoniker under the direction of Ferdinand Leitner, at their best. Fluid, graceful, yet forceful. Absolutely no hesitation. You can feel the confidence of the musicians. Kempff's cadenzas were never equalled. The sound of the LP's was, as I remember, not too good. The remastering of the CD on the other hand is nothing short of a miracle. I do not know how they did it. You would swear that this was recorded in the last few years.

Beethoven's Piano Concertos are amazing to hear, especially when you listen to all five in a row. No.1 is already excellent. One hears the infulence of Mozart in the first movement, but by the third movement, Beethoven has entered territory previously unentered, and arguably never entered again. Amazingly, each successive Concerto builds on the previous. I only wish that there were more !

This CD, was originally part of a Series that also included Concertos No.1-3 which are excellent as well. Why DG only has made No's 4 and 5 available in the U.S. is a complete mystery to me. No's 1-4 are available in Germany on two CD Set as "The Complete Pano Concertso Vol.1", DG # 459-400-2, and I can really recommend seeking them out, because they are the best recordings ever made of the Piano Beethoven's Concertos. After you buy these Beethoven Concertos, you will not find better. If you do, I'd like to know. Email me.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent performances from Kempff, March 21, 2002

By 

[e-mail] (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 / Kempff, Leitner (Audio CD)

Wilhelm Kempff, a pianist who could at times be very eccentric, is at his most satisfyingly straightforward in these 1962 recordings. He is particularly well-suited to the Fourth Concerto, because it is the most introverted concerto Beethoven ever wrote and thus is well-suited to Kempff's introverted, introspective style of playing. The famous solo opening is wonderfully expressive, and the entire performance is just as satisfying. It is only in the finale that I feel Kempff's playing lacks anything: Kempff's fine performance doesn't have the festive character and rhythmic drive of Pollini, Böhm and the Vienna Philharmonic, also on DG. Overall, though, it is a very fine performance.

The E-flat Concerto, the "Emperor," is more problematic. As I mentioned, Kempff has a very introverted style which is not so well suited to the brilliant, heroic works of Beethoven's middle period, such as the "Waldstein" and "Appassionata" Sonatas and this concerto. These works call for a fiery temperament and brilliant sound Kempff doesn't or can't produce. My benchmark in these works, and especially in the "Emperor" Concerto, is Pollini, whose astonishing technique and brilliant playing are ideal for middle-period Beethoven. A simple comparison of the opening cadenza in Kempff's and Pollini's versions will prove my point: Kempff's beautiful tone and clean articulation are topped by Pollini's brilliance and strength. That shouldn't imply that Pollini's performances aren't beautiful or clean, because they are, in the extreme. A comparison of the slow movements of each version will prove this point. Kempff's performance is very flowing and very beautiful, but it misses the stillness and profundity of Pollini's more spacious, spiritual reading. Pollini is undoubtedly helped here by the glorious accompaniment of Karl Böhm, one of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century. Ferdinand Leitner is an excellent accompanist but he's obviously not in Böhm's class. The fabulous finale, with its excruciatingly difficult left-hand part, is given an entirely competent performance by Kempff, but Pollini's astonishing technique, and again, his rhythmic drive and brilliant, festive character completely overshadow Kempff.

The snag is that at the moment Pollini's performances are only available in Volume II of the Complete Beethoven Edition, a five-CD set. So if you want excellent versions of the last two Beethoven piano concertos without having to spend sixty dollars, I recommend you invest in these excellent performances from Kempff.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kempff's Beethoven 4th and 5th Piano Concertos, April 17, 2001

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 / Kempff, Leitner (Audio CD)

These are magnificient recordings of Beethoven's great piano concertos that sound as though they were recorded yesterday thanks to Deutsche Grammophon's state of the art digital remastering. Kempff's splendid playing borders on the miraculous; his warm, compassionate performances are livelier than any I've heard, with the notable exceptions of Arrau and Kovacevich. Although his performance of the 4th Piano Concerto seems a trifle fast, it still resonates with much warmth and understanding for the score. Kempff's performance of the 5th Piano Concerto is also a commanding one; a compelling mix of lyricism and technique at their peak. Yet it is less exuberant than either Kovacevich's or Arrau's.

Leitner and the Berlin Philharmonic are enthusiastic accompanists to Kempff's playing. It's a pity that Deutsche Grammophon hasn't reissued the other recordings in this great Beethoven piano concerto cycle, perhaps the first ever to be recorded in stereo. I can only hope that they will be forthcoming sometime soon.