Schubert: The Piano Sonatas [Box Set] [Box set]

Franz [Vienna] Schubert (Composer), Wilhelm Kempff (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Wilhelm Kempff
• Composer: Franz [Vienna] Schubert
• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 7
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B00004SA8A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,940 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Wilhelm Kempff was a master of poetic lyricism, with a wondrous keyboard touch and a breathtaking command of subtle dynamics and tonal colorations--all invaluable attributes of any Schubert interpreter. He also had the knack of holding together large structures that can often seem aimless, thus avoiding another trap many pianists fall into, that of lavishing so much attention on passing detail that Schubert's "heavenly lengths" can seem wayward wanderings. The one criticism often heard is that Kempff emphasizes poetry at the expense of drama. This magnificent set leaves that claim unsubstantiated.

Few pianists have been so successful, for example, in what may be Schubert's wildest single movement, the nightmarish Andantino of the A major Sonata, D. 959. Here, Kempff captures the tortured mood of the piece to perfection without breaking its Classical frame. Tempos are generally expansive, but Kempff's tonal luster and unerring sense of natural phrasing never make you want him to step on the accelerator. A special treat is the inclusion of rarely heard early works. Some of these were left unfinished; others reflect a composer still mastering his craft. But most are of more than passing interest, and some have an enchanting, aching beauty. Kempff's Schubert set has been a recording classic since its release on LP; its availability in a space-saving CD box at a budget price is cause for celebration. --Dan Davis

Product Description

Wilhelm Kempff plays the complete Schubert piano sonatas in these recordings long admired by collectors and enthusiasts. Recorded between 1955 and 1969. "Those wanting a comprehensive survey of this repertoire need look no further"- Penguin Guide .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kempff and the virtues of balance, May 11, 2001

By 

Alex Serrano (Perrysburg, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schubert: The Piano Sonatas [Box Set] (Audio CD)

As much as one would prefer complete cycle recordings, very few pianists find so much afinity with a single composer as to offer a compelling account of a complete cycle. Gilels or Richter never played Beethoven complete sonata cycles, Ashkenazy's Chopin cycle is full of great performances as the ballades and others were he seems to fall out of the love with the music as in the polonaises. So the point being that rarely can a pianist do justice to complete sets, why is it that i am giving a 5 star rating to this set? Well, to me it seems that Kempff had all the ideal atributes for Schubert playing as are solid technique and expansive rhythms, concentration in touch and a singing line, but most important is that you feel all throughout these recordings that he loves every detail of the music. Simply put, it seems that he was enjoying himself here and all details considered, his Schubert playing is perfectly balanced. Get it - soundwise Uchida's and Schiff's cycles have now the advantages of modern recordings, but both of them lack the heart Kempff has bestowed here.

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes the old ways are the best, April 26, 2007

By 

Elliot Richman "Muss es sein? Es muss sein!" (New Jersey, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schubert: The Piano Sonatas [Box Set] (Audio CD)

Kempff himself wrote the liner notes to this highly satisfying set and states the following: "The deeper we penetrate into the world of Schubert, however, the greater is our surprise at discovering that the 'heavenly length' for which he is reproached is to be regarded relatively. If the length becomes evident as longueurs, the fault lies with the interpreter (I speak from my own experience...)." Indeed, in listening to Kempff play the Schubert sonata canon the thoughts of "overly long" or "needlessly repetitive" never entered my head. Barring some extraordinary performances of individual sonatas over the years, such as Richter's old Russian recording of the c minor (D 958) on Melodiya or Serkin's equally old recording of the B-flat (D 960), this is the best playing of the Schubert sonatas I know.

I used to think of some of the earlier sonatas as practice or training pieces for the later masterworks (which of course by definition they are, but they need not be viewed retrospectively from the vantage point of the late works). Unfortunately, they often sound boring and immature. This is due to defects in players and the playing, not a problem with Schubert. Kempff makes all the sonatas here, including the early ones, glow with the utmost musicality so they stand on their own as beautiful works. Just one example: In the earlier of the a minor sonatas he handles little secondary figures that are intercalated within major theme phrases in an amazingly musical and beautiful way. As a pianist myself, I could never figure out how to make them unobtrusive, let alone desirable. Under Kempff's fingers they fit sublimely into the fabric of the work. The playing is clearly layered, every note and phrase has its place and purpose, his internal logic is such that nothing Schubert wrote sounds less than as it should. One more example: The first movement of the G major sonata ("Fantasy" sonata, D 894) floats in its ethereal haze but goes fast, not slow. Kempff can produce the effect of suspended animation without suspending the actual motion. This is no doubt what Schubert intended but it is very difficult to pull off as a performer. Kempff's treatment of the last 5 sonatas (D, G, A, c minor, and B flat) is breathtaking.

This set is a revelation. What a magnificent panorama of Schubert's development as a composer! Also, the origins of later composers' styles can be traced to Schubert's writing for piano. The roots of Bruckner's iterated and protracted symphonies can be heard, for example, in the way the finale of the a minor sonata begins. (I don't think this is apparent from other players, who lack Kempff's lyricism and mysticism.) Included beside the actual titled sonatas are various fragments of incomplete sonatas and collections of piano pieces that in effect are untitled sonatas (such as D 459/459A).

The recordings are from around 1965-1970 and the piano sound is singing, glowing, radiant. I recommend this set wholeheartedly to anyone interested in great musicianship, masterly piano playing, Schubert's piano music, and Schubert's evolution as a composer. Kempff makes you realize that the magic didn't all happen in the last year of Schubert's life, and I can't think of another pianist who does that for me. (There are few, if any, major players of Schubert with whom I'm not familiar.) Kempff was the leading German pianist of the immediate post-WW II era, but I think he has largely been forgotten. His Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms are wonderful. Modern players, despite their steel fingers and elephantine endurance and machine-like (sometimes machine-gun-like) techniques, stand to learn a lot from this old master's art.

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable, at a great price, July 24, 2001

By 

Geoffrey P. Smith "opusposthum" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Schubert: The Piano Sonatas [Box Set] (Audio CD)

All of Schubert's piano sonatas, fragments, and the completed masterworks, together in a neat box; 7 discs worth of pure listening pleasure, allowing one to see how the composer grappled with the keyboard sonata form, and along the way created several masterpieces of the genre. Kempff recorded these works over a period of several years, and whilst the recorded sound quality varies from good to excellent, the quality of interpretation is uniformly high to my ear. This is gorgeous playing, evocatively capturing the shifting moods of this often elusive composer. Are these the greatest of interpretations? Perhaps..perhaps not. Either way, in an increasingly crowded market of recordings, this set has to be highly recommended for many reasons, not the least of which is the utter committment of Kempff to this music and the manner in which he convinces us, the listeners, of the 'rightness' of his choices. Oh, and need I mention again that ALL the sonatas are here, in one very beautifully priced box set