Kempf toured Poland in 45 right after the war ended to war torn, exhausted Poles. It was an act of extraordinary humanity. He filled the halls standing room only. Tears on the faces of the audiences. This was reported to me by a Pole in his Warsaw audiences. This is what Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Chopin and Bach meant to survivors of the horror of war - Kempf rushed to their aid. ❤️🙏❤️
wilhelm kempff is my favourite for Beethoven from my 15 years on, magnificent he is! Of course some others are magnificent too, but he has a unique special touch, so subtle and with such a tenderness!
I learned of him through his playing of Moonlight Sonata. Also one of the best interpretations! Specifically movement 3 which most people cant seem to do to speed.
W. Kempf and A. Rubinsteil. Two marvels, each in his musical world. I discovered both when in my teens (I am now an old lady of 71), but I never experienced comparable emotions with any other maestro since.
I was a young man of 15 when I heard Kempff play live in London. he was still wonderful in 1980 when he was 85!three Beethoven Sonatas ( ops 7,109 & 111)and a Sonata in C (Kk159) of Scarlatti as an encore., An unforgettable occasion.also Eine menuet von Handel').
Many folks, maybe the older generation of my own era....consider that Kempff is about as close as you get to a Beethoven gold standard. I would say the same holds true for Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau for vocal works (hear his Schubert).
Ho ascoltato questa interpretazione centinaia di volte, è un disco DG che mi ha regalato mio padre molti anni fa. Ed ogni volta si resta senza parole perchè Kempff è totalmente al servizio di Beethoven, con amore ed umiltà. Nessun artificio, nessun orpello, solo musica. Ogni nota è semplice e chiara, ogni nota è vera.
No, it isn’t. With Kempff you never get perfection, there is always something that could be better ... But while not being perfect, it is still one of the most wonderful performances, because the music Kempff plays is alive. It tells a story. And *that* is was makes Kempff great.
depends on a persons likes .. this to me is the best version that I've heard .. I don't like any other .. bearing in mind there's is NO such thing as a perfect rendition .. all depends on the person who's listening .. OR playing … and to me this is it
@@autodidact2499 That depends on what ordering you use. In the sense of a ranking the best is the first, but in the sense of a score the best is the last. In the sense of refinement the first version is the least refined one and the last one is the most refined one. In fact it might be more correct to see "ultimate" as "final", not as "last".
Он разговаривает с Бетховеном на равных, отсюда столько воздуха в его исполнении и непринуждённости, и каждая интонация точна и выразительна. Он очень, исключительно, хорош -- эта пара хорошо запряжена.
His sound is consistently naked. Stark naked. When he strikes the keys, they produce something apparently devoid of any artifice. So simple and evident. So Beethoven!
Claiming that any version is "The Best" is a puerile statement. Music is so much open to interpretation and adaptation that it's really impossible to say one is the best, because you are imposing your opinion on other people. How about we say this is a wonderful version of a masterpiece and leave it at that. That is the beauty of music.
Bravo. My sentiments exactly. What is it about youtube that turns otherwise intelligent commentators into fatuous idiots prattling on about "The Best?" Kempff is superb. But what about Arrau, Serkin, Schnabel, Brendel, Rubinstein, and many others? I may have my preferred pianists. But THE BEST? Please...
You're dead right! Most of people stop being objective as soon as they focus on their own music interpretation tastes. At this point they become 'blind' and "what I like" easily becomes "the best", and "what I don't like" easily becomes "the worst".
@@callasite55 To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Beethoven. The music is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of music theory most of the patterns will go over a typical listener's head. There's also Beethoven's explosive personality, which is deftly woven into his music. The musicians understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these pieces, to realize that they're not just interesting - they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Beethoven truly ARE idiots. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Beethoven's genius unfolds itself in the sonata. What fools... how I pity them. 😂 And yes by the way, I DO have a Beethoven tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- And even they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.
Wilhelm Kempff one of the greatest pianists of all time like Rubinstein Gilels R.Lupu G.Sokolov D.Lipatti M.Perahia M.Pollini S.Richter. Bu the top four has to be R.Lupu Kempff A.Rubinstein E.Gilels These had a golden tone most beautiful piano sound
When we say best of all time that would also include giants like Liszt, Brahms, Mozart, Chopin, and of course the Master himself - Beethoven. And don't forget the one woman all classical pianists love to hate - Clara Schumann.
Интересная была у Бетховена работа: он работал на Вечность... Изумительный музыкант Вильгельм Кемпфф. Очень его люблю, он нежный и сентиментальный. Мне кажется, никто не исполняет Бетховена так органично, как этот немец.
Acabo de oír otra de mi querido Barhemboim, una no desmerece la otra. El problema creo que está en que la gente piensa que la vida es un concurso en Disneylandia.
@@Timmy21Spurs www.saturn.dti.ne.jp/~arakicho/wien60/wien6009.html ※in Japanese フルトヴェングラーの言葉に、「ケンプの一分間の演奏のためなら、バックハウスの一時間を引きかえにしてもいい」というのがある。 Furtwängler said, "I can replace one hour performance by Backhaus with one minute performance by Kempff."
@@Timmy21Spurs This article is mostly about Backhaus. In that context, it is written that Backhaus were not considered German in Germany around the time of World War II. As an example, the words of Furtwängler are quoted. In fact, Furtwängler seems to have liked playing by Kempff. He also saying, "Tonight, I will listen to Kempff's Beethoven record!"
Existen seres protohumanos que viven en la idiocia, capaces de dar un voto negativo a esta interpretación...qué decir...me quedo roto. Tiene mi reconocimiento y todo lo que yo puedo agradecer desde mi adolescencia... cuando yo era eso... adolescente. Han pasado muchos años y es una interpretación formidable por los siglos... el que quiera que aprenda.
Definitely Wilhem Kempf was the pianist. His interpretations of Beethovem and Brahms are superior. He was the best interpreter of Beethoven piano compositions ever.
Help needed!! Can anyone identify what metronome number Kempff uses in the third movement? Or for that matter the rest of his Beethoven recordings. His tempos are always perfect!
My sense is that most, including Kempff, choose to play this way faster than allegro. This piece has 210 measures at 4/4 for 840 beats total. Even a fast allegro should not be faster than 168 bpm, implying 5 minutes minimum playtime if played a tempo. However, the general pianist consensus seems to be a playtime of about 4:30-4:40, meaning it is typically played as a presto with north of 180 bpm.
@@valuations520 Kempff's 60's recording of the Beethoven 32 Sonatas was the first recording I heard of the piano sonatas. An indelible impression was made!
@@rossabraham1991 Kempff is for Beethoven Schubert, and and Schumann, what Rubinstein is for Chopin. Once you have heard it, you feel like you can't have it any other way. Try Kempff's recordings of Beethoven's piano concertos with either Paul van Kempen (mid 1950s) or Ferdinand Leitner (early 1960s). The 4th under van Kempen and the 5th under Leitner are utterly perfect. Fair warning: you cannot "unhear" them and will measure any future performance against them. When Kempff first went to Carnegie Hall in the mid or late 1960s he was nearly 70 years old. The American critic huffed at his lack of technical perfection. With the French and Japanese, on the other hand, he was hugely popular for the quality of sound and the dynamics that were uniquely his own. They appreciated the uniqueness of his sound over any technical (im)perfection that compounded with age.
@@valuations520 Beautiful! Thanks for sharing and recommending! I'll take a look at those. I'm curious as to whether there are any masterclasses recorded with Kempff. That quality of sound is so unique I find. I have been enjoying his recordings of the Beethoven violin sonatas with Menuhin.
CAUTION: this is a note note to SELF, so DO NOT expect this to be good/wonderful!!! :P :D xP xD :O :) (: | | DO NOT OPEN!!!! >:( \|/ Sonata No.8 Op13 (Pathétique) movement 3= 12:12 Edit: Bar 60= 13:32 Bar 119-20= 14:47 Bar 170= 15:50
Don´t really understand the "Best of all" enthusiasm... I like many of his Beethoven interpretations, but when you listen to the interpretations of the Pathetique by Annie Fischer, Maria Yudina, also Friedrich Gulda, you might reconsider ... but in the end it´s always a matter of taste.
If everyone here claiming that this is the best interpretation of the Sonata pathetique disregards Beethoven's Tempo intentions than you might be correct. However, as usual Kempf is not even close to Beethoven's Tempo marking. It is a half note equals 152. It's quite a bit faster then he plays it. To hear amore correct and appropriate interpretation please listen to Andras Schiff.
MasiukA i cant stand lisistsa version i haye almost everything i hear her plays she sucks the emotion dry if everything she plays she doesnt seem to understand theres music underneith the surface if the score that must be played as well
