When it comes to German probity, German integrity, and German honesty, no piano player did it better than
Wilhelm Kempff. Because while it's true that
Kempff's technique was not in the same exalted virtuoso league as
Horowitz's or
Richter's, his profundity was second to none in the hardcore German repertoire. In this splendid two-disc collection in Universal's Steinway Legends series,
Kempff demonstrates again and again and again why he's the height of German depth. Try the three transcriptions of
Bach's chorale preludes: is there anything more serene, more sublime, more transcendent than
Kempff's playing? Or try
Schubert's Drei Klavier Stücke, D. 946: is there anything more poetic, more passionate, more true than
Kempff's playing? Or try
Brahms' Vier Klavier Stücke, Op. 119: is there anything more lyric, more romantic, more tragic than
Kempff's playing? Although the program falters with the inclusion of
Kempff's unidiomatic
Chopin and unconvincing
Liszt, for the most part this is as persuasive a case as has ever been made for the German greatness of
Wilhelm Kempff. No matter when it was recorded, from the 1936
Bach recordings to the 1971
Schubert recording, Deutsche Grammophon's sound is crisp, clear, and, to the degree that the then-current level of technology would allow, absolutely real.