Customer Reviews

Schumann: Piano Works

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wilhelm Kempff's Schumann is distinctive and a pleasure to hear. He takes a decidedly non-feminine stance with this music: he paints with bold strokes. Nonetheless, he seems to understand the music he is playing, which is made entirely plain in the individual pieces of the Kinderszenen, the Kreisleriana, or the Waldszenen. In larger pieces, including the Carnaval, the Davidsbündlertänze, and Papillons, a straightforward but lyrical approach is confidently maintained. Kempff is occasionally indulgent when it comes to the dynamics, but one wonders if the composer himself would object to these interpretive touches. His tempos are decidedly catholic relative to many other great performers. His Schumann manages to sound heartfelt without being distressingly stop-and-go. For its price, I believe the Kempff set represents an excellent overview of some of Schumann's greatest music. This set is HIGHLY recommended.

this compilation has the benefit of including most of schumann's important keyboard works (among excluded works are the toccata, first sonata, bunte blatter and fantasiestucke), under the hands of an extraordinary schumann interpreter.

recorded in the 1970's, when kempff was nearing 80, this is genuinely classic schumann. the virtuosic extremes of the symphonische etuden and kriesleriana are not quite fully exploited, but there is no flubbing, stumbling or cutting corners: kempff has things always under control. look to argerich, pollini or pogorelich for white hot schumann, kempff delivers him as a human being.

for the sheer poetry of schumann, kempff has never been bettered. his davidsbundlertanze, especially the last 5 movements, is without peer. the kinderszenen is delightful. the poetry of the fantasie in C is magnificent. there is a lifetime of musical experience and temperament in this playing.

kempff's approach stands apart for his remarkable ability to turn the mood and momentum of the music from one measure to the next, never in a random or willful manner, but with an alert insight and organic flow. other players tend to caricature schumann by emphasizing the contrasts, swinging from bombast to bathos: kempff emphasizes the transitions and continuities. if his fortissimo chords clang a little, the pianissimos are breathtakingly transparent. and no one, simply no one, captures schumann's nobility of heart and aching yearning for the beyond -- in the fantasie, in "zart und singend" -- better than kempff. a benchmark for any schumann collection.

Kempff's interpretation of Schumann's famous piano music is extremely insightful and brings the listener to understand Schumann the composer in lieu of Schumann the pianist. The readings of "Carnaval" and "Davidsbundlertanze" are the highlights of this four disc set; furthermore, the quality of the recording is favorable.

this compilation has the benefit of including most of schumann's important keyboard works (among excluded works are the toccata, first sonata, bunte blatter and fantasiestucke), under the hands of an extraordinary schumann interpreter.

recorded in the 1970's, when kempff was nearing 80, this is genuinely classic schumann. the virtuosic extremes of the symphonische etuden and kriesleriana are not quite fully exploited, but there is no flubbing, stumbling or cutting corners: kempff has things always under control. look to argerich, pollini or pogorelich for white hot schumann, kempff delivers him as a human being.

for the sheer poetry of schumann, kempff has never been bettered. his davidsbundlertanze, especially the last 5 movements, is without peer. the kinderszenen is delightful. the poetry of the fantasie in C is magnificent. there is a lifetime of musical experience and temperament in this playing.

kempff's approach stands apart for his remarkable ability to turn the mood and momentum of the music from one measure to the next, never in a random or willful manner, but with an alert insight and organic flow. other players tend to caricature schumann by emphasizing the contrasts, swinging from bombast to bathos: kempff emphasizes the transitions and continuities. if his fortissimo chords clang a little, the pianissimos are breathtakingly transparent. and no one, simply no one, captures schumann's nobility of heart and aching yearning for the beyond -- in the fantasie, in "zart und singend" -- better than kempff. a benchmark for any schumann collection.

I almost passed on this set due to the 2 reviewers that trashed it. I am so glad that I trusted the majority and purchased this set! I have enjoyed every minute of it. It has to be the best sampler of Schumann's solo piano music on the market today. You will not regret this purchase.

Wilhelm Kempff made sing the piano as any other pianist ever born. But besides, his profound domain of the thematic material as well as his tune produced a Schumann so original, expressive and eloquent with sentiment but no sentimentality.

This album is a formidable and fundamental set of the most remarkable Schumann piano works. To create such atmosphere and interpretative freshness in this composer is not easy, but in Kempff hands we are talking about another dimension of pianism.

In this age, pitifully, you cannot count with many thinkers pianists; ones due the very adjusted schedule and the rest by unknown reasons seem to consider a matter of second priority to play with a determined conception. The technique seems to prevail under any other aspect. And that's not a good symptom.

That is why among other arguments you should acquire as soon as possible this extraordinary set.

Absorbing and rewarding in summon grade.

This is the CD box I usually offer to the people I like. Four CD's that may arouse in them the envy to discover the whole discography of Robert Schumann. I'm not a musician and I'm not specialized in musical criticism so don't expect to find here comparisons with other Schumann records but I can assure you that William Kempff's choice is a pure marvel if you don't look for the complete piano works of the composer.

I also believe that the best way to enjoy these recordings is to read, while listening the music, a Robert Schumann biography. So you will intimately feel the hopes of the young composer in THE SYMPHONISCHE ETUDEN or in KREISLERIANA and suffer with him the painful separation with Clara in the FANTASIE op.17.

Less pathetic and evident than Chopin, Schumann deserves to be listened to numerous times if you want to enter his romantic world. The path can be dangerous and obscure but when you finally reach the secret heart of the forest, your life will be changed for ever.

A CD for your library.

When I first read the reviews here on Amazon, I was a bit concerned about buying this set. I truely love Kempff and elegant performing style, but after having almost around 150 of his collections and cd's, I know that he can be dreadful when he is not on form. So I was worried about this set, but it was useless.

This 4-cd set contains some of the best performances that Kempff could offer considering his age. There are numerous highlights here: Papillons, Davidsbündlertänze, fantasy,..... All of them find him on top form. Although one might argue that there are studio recordings and who knows how many takes one recording must have to become perfect, but let me tell you, even in his live and extremely nerve breaking situations and venues such as the Salzburg festival, he was always on top form.

So Kempff's fan, buy this. It's worth it. In here you won't quite find the excitement that Richter put into his Schumann, but you will find the poetry, emotions and sensitivity that many others lack in their recordings.

I have been very disappointed by this set, which contains many of Schumann's best-known and most attractive piano works. The problem is Kempff who does not deserve his reputation from the evidence here. The worst part is his tendency to bang whenever the music gets into the forte range (not just fortissimo), something which spoils the recordings of Papillons. Even when he manages to avoid this, the interpretations are dull and uninteresting. A 4-CD set represents a substantial investment. Go elsewhere.

Despite his reputation as one of the towering exponents of the 19th Germanic repetoire, Kempff acquits himself poorly in these recordings, made at the end of his life. Whether these weak performances are due to his advanced age or to more basic flaws in his training and capabilities is purely academic. They are among the poorest choices in the catalogue, perhaps the very worst. But please - don't take my word for it. Listen to the Et'de IX in the op. 13, on disc 2. Kempff's attempt to pull this off is embarrassingly amateurish; he cannot even cover all the notes at "presto possibile", much less raise his playing to something approaching an interpretation. Elsewhere, you can expect the same. The op. 17 is played with little poetry, no finesse and palpable frustration in following Schumann's basic roadmap. You cannot run away from this mess fast enough.