Wilhelm Kempff
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German
pianist
and composer
. Although his repertory included Bach
, Liszt
, Chopin, Schumann
, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven
and Franz Schubert
, both of whose complete sonatas he also recorded. He is considered to have been one of the great pianists of the 20th century.
, Brandenburg
, in 1895. He grew up in nearby Potsdam
where his father was a royal music director and organist
at St. Nicolai Church. His grandfather was also an organist
and his brother Georg became director of church music at the University of Erlangen. Kempff studied music at first at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik at the age of nine after receiving lessons from his father at a younger age. Whilst there he studied composition with Robert Kahn
and piano with Karl Heinrich Barth
(with whom Arthur Rubinstein
also studied). In 1914 Kempff moved on to study at the Viktoria gymnasium in Potsdam before returning to Berlin to finish his training.
. Kempff toured very widely in Europe
and much of the rest of the world. Between 1936 and 1979 he performed ten times in Japan
(a small Japanese island was named Kenpu-san in his honor). Kempff made his first London
appearance in 1951 and in New York
in 1964. He gave his last public performance in Paris
in 1981, and then retired for health reasons (Parkinson's Disease
). He died in Positano
, Italy
at the age of 95, five years after his wife, whom he had married in 1926. They are survived by seven children.
Wilhelm Kempff recorded over a period of some sixty years. His recorded legacy includes works of Schumann
, Brahms
, Schubert
, Mozart
, Bach
, Liszt
, Chopin
and particularly, of Beethoven
.
He was among the first to record the complete sonatas
of Franz Schubert, long before these works became popular. He also recorded two sets of the complete Beethoven sonatas (and one early, almost complete set on shellac 1926-1945), one in mono
(1951–1956) and the other in stereo
(1964–1965). He recorded the complete Beethoven piano concerto
s twice as well, both with the Berlin Philharmonic; the first from the early 1950s in mono
with Paul van Kempen
, and the later in stereo from the early 1960s with Ferdinand Leitner
. Kempff also recorded chamber music
with Yehudi Menuhin
, Pierre Fournier
, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Paul Grummer
, and Henryk Szeryng
, among others.
The pianist Alfred Brendel
has written that Kempff "played on impulse... it depended on whether the right breeze, as with an aeolian harp, was blowing. You then would take something home that you never heard elsewhere." (in Brendel's book, The Veil of Order). He regards Kempff as the "most rhythmical" of his colleagues. Brendel helped choose the selections for Phillip's "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" issue of Kempff recordings, and wrote in the notes that he regarded Kempff "achieves things that are beyond him" in his "unsurpassable" recording of Liszt's first Legende, "St. Francis Preaching to the Birds."
When pianist Artur Schnabel
undertook his pioneering complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas in the 1930s, he told EMI that if he didn't complete the cycle, they should have Kempff complete the remainder - even though the two pianists took noticeably different approaches to the composer (for example, Schnabel preferred extremely fast or slow tempos, while Kempff preferred moderate ones). Later, when Kempff was in Finland
, the composer Jean Sibelius
asked him to play the slow movement of Beethoven's 29th Sonata, the Hammerklavier; after Kempff finished, Sibelius told him, "You did not play that as a pianist but rather as a human being."
In 1957 Wilhelm Kempff founded “Fondazione Orfeo” (today: Kempff Kulturstiftung) in the south-Italian city Positano and held his first Beethoven interpretation masterclass at Casa Orfeo, which Kempff had built especially for this reason. Until 1982 he continued teaching there once a year. After his death in 1991, Gerhard Oppitz taught the courses from 1992-1994 until John O'Conor
continued till today. Oppitz and O’Conor had both been outstanding participants of Kempff's masterclasses and were personally closely connected with Wilhelm Kempff.
Other noted pianists to have studied with Kempff include Jörg Demus
, Norman Shetler
, Mitsuko Uchida
, Peter Schmalfuss
, Idil Biret
and Carmen Piazzini.
has recorded a CD of his piano works. His second symphony premiered in 1929 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus
by Wilhelm Furtwängler
. He also prepared a number of Bach transcriptions, including the Siciliano from the Flute Sonata in E major
, that have been recorded by Kempff and others.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Although his repertory included Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
, Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
, Chopin, Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
and Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
, both of whose complete sonatas he also recorded. He is considered to have been one of the great pianists of the 20th century.
Early life
Kempff was born in JüterbogJüterbog
Jüterbog is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, located in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is located on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin.-History:...
, Brandenburg
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...
, in 1895. He grew up in nearby Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
where his father was a royal music director and organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
at St. Nicolai Church. His grandfather was also an organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and his brother Georg became director of church music at the University of Erlangen. Kempff studied music at first at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik at the age of nine after receiving lessons from his father at a younger age. Whilst there he studied composition with Robert Kahn
Robert Kahn (composer)
Robert Kahn was a German composer, pianist, and music teacher.- Life :Kahn was born in Mannheim, the second son of Bernhard Kahn and Emma Eberstadt. One of his seven siblings included financier Otto Kahn. His parents belonged to a distinguished family of bankers and merchants...
and piano with Karl Heinrich Barth
Karl Heinrich Barth
Karl Heinrich Barth was a noted German pianist and pedagogue.-Biography:He was born in Pillau, East Prussia . His teachers included Hans von Bülow, Hans von Bronsart and Carl Tausig. All three were leading musicians of the era and had close associations with Franz Liszt...
(with whom Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
also studied). In 1914 Kempff moved on to study at the Viktoria gymnasium in Potsdam before returning to Berlin to finish his training.
As a pianist
In 1917, Kempff made his first major recital, consisting of predominantly major works, including Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata and Brahms Variations on a theme of PaganiniPaganini Variations (Brahms)
The Variations on a Theme of Paganini are a set of theme and variations for solo piano, written by Johannes Brahms .The theme that is the basis for the work is that of the Caprice No. 24 in A minor by Niccolò Paganini....
. Kempff toured very widely in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and much of the rest of the world. Between 1936 and 1979 he performed ten times in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(a small Japanese island was named Kenpu-san in his honor). Kempff made his first London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
appearance in 1951 and in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1964. He gave his last public performance in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1981, and then retired for health reasons (Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
). He died in Positano
Positano
Positano is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast , in Campania, Italy. The main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.-History:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
at the age of 95, five years after his wife, whom he had married in 1926. They are survived by seven children.
Wilhelm Kempff recorded over a period of some sixty years. His recorded legacy includes works of Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
and particularly, of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
.
He was among the first to record the complete sonatas
Piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement , two movements , five or even more movements...
of Franz Schubert, long before these works became popular. He also recorded two sets of the complete Beethoven sonatas (and one early, almost complete set on shellac 1926-1945), one in mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
(1951–1956) and the other in stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
(1964–1965). He recorded the complete Beethoven piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
s twice as well, both with the Berlin Philharmonic; the first from the early 1950s in mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
with Paul van Kempen
Paul van Kempen
Paul van Kempen was a Dutch conductor.Van Kempen was born in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands, and later studied at the Amsterdam conservatory from 1910 to 1913, including composition and conducting with Julius Roentgen and Bernard Zweers, as well as violin with Louis Zimmerman...
, and the later in stereo from the early 1960s with Ferdinand Leitner
Ferdinand Leitner
Ferdinand Leitner was a German conductor. Leitner studied under Franz Schreker, Julius Prüwer, Artur Schnabel and Karl Muck. He also was a composition student with Robert Kahn. Starting as a pianist, through the help of Fritz Busch, he became a conductor in the 1930s...
. Kempff also recorded chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
with Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, Pierre Fournier
Pierre Fournier
Pierre Fournier was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists," on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound....
, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Paul Grummer
Paul Grümmer
Paul Grümmer was a German-born cellist.Grümmer was born in Gera in Thuringia. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory with Julius Klengel.He was well-known as a member of the Busch Quartet, founded by Adolf Busch....
, and Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng was a Polish violinist.-Early years:He was born in Żelazowa Wola, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy family....
, among others.
The pianist Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, born in Czechoslovakia and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is also a poet and author.-Biography:...
has written that Kempff "played on impulse... it depended on whether the right breeze, as with an aeolian harp, was blowing. You then would take something home that you never heard elsewhere." (in Brendel's book, The Veil of Order). He regards Kempff as the "most rhythmical" of his colleagues. Brendel helped choose the selections for Phillip's "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" issue of Kempff recordings, and wrote in the notes that he regarded Kempff "achieves things that are beyond him" in his "unsurpassable" recording of Liszt's first Legende, "St. Francis Preaching to the Birds."
When pianist Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel was an Austrian classical pianist, who also composed and taught. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura...
undertook his pioneering complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas in the 1930s, he told EMI that if he didn't complete the cycle, they should have Kempff complete the remainder - even though the two pianists took noticeably different approaches to the composer (for example, Schnabel preferred extremely fast or slow tempos, while Kempff preferred moderate ones). Later, when Kempff was in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the composer Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
asked him to play the slow movement of Beethoven's 29th Sonata, the Hammerklavier; after Kempff finished, Sibelius told him, "You did not play that as a pianist but rather as a human being."
Technique
As a performer he stressed lyricism, charm, and spontaneity in music, particularly effective in intimate pieces or passages. He always strove for a singing, lyrical quality. He avoided extreme tempos and display for its own sake. He left recordings of most of his repertory, including the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert. He performed to an advanced age, often concertizing past his eightieth birthday. He appeared in 1979 with the Berlin Philharmonic, marking an association with them that spanned over sixty years.As a teacher
In 1924–1929 Wilhelm Kempff took over the direction of the Stuttgart College of Music as a successor of Max Pauer. In 1931 he was co-founder of the Summer courses at Marmorpalais Potsdam.In 1957 Wilhelm Kempff founded “Fondazione Orfeo” (today: Kempff Kulturstiftung) in the south-Italian city Positano and held his first Beethoven interpretation masterclass at Casa Orfeo, which Kempff had built especially for this reason. Until 1982 he continued teaching there once a year. After his death in 1991, Gerhard Oppitz taught the courses from 1992-1994 until John O'Conor
John O'Conor
John O'Conor is an Irish pianist and pedagogue, and former director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He is frequently cited as the greatest living interpreter of the piano music of Beethoven, having recorded his entire repertoire, including the sonatas, concerti, and bagatelles...
continued till today. Oppitz and O’Conor had both been outstanding participants of Kempff's masterclasses and were personally closely connected with Wilhelm Kempff.
Other noted pianists to have studied with Kempff include Jörg Demus
Jörg Demus
Jörg Demus is an Austrian pianist.At the age of six, Demus received his first piano lessons. Five years later, at the age of 11, he entered the Vienna Academy of Music, studying piano and conducting. He graduated in 1945, then 17 years old...
, Norman Shetler
Norman Shetler
Norman Shetler is a pianist, puppeteer and puppett constructor, and piano professor with Austrian nationality and American origin.-Life and career:...
, Mitsuko Uchida
Mitsuko Uchida
, born 20 December 1948, is a Japanese naturalized British classical pianist.-Career:Born in Atami, a seaside town close to Tokyo, Japan, Uchida moved to Vienna, Austria, with her diplomat parents when she was twelve years old, after her father was named the Japanese ambassador to Austria...
, Peter Schmalfuss
Peter Schmalfuss
Peter Schmalfuss was a German classical pianist born in Berlin, Germany.He studied with Walter Gieseking, Adrian Aeschbacher and, at the Beethoven-Class Positano, with Wilhelm Kempff...
, Idil Biret
Idil Biret
İdil Biret is a Turkish concert pianist, renowned for her interpretations of the Romantic repertoire.-Education:...
and Carmen Piazzini.
Composition
A lesser-known activity of Kempff was composing. He composed for almost every genre and used his own cadenzas for Beethoven's Piano Concertos 1-4. His student Idil BiretIdil Biret
İdil Biret is a Turkish concert pianist, renowned for her interpretations of the Romantic repertoire.-Education:...
has recorded a CD of his piano works. His second symphony premiered in 1929 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...
by Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
. He also prepared a number of Bach transcriptions, including the Siciliano from the Flute Sonata in E major
Sonata in E-flat major for flute or recorder and harpsichord
Sonata in E-flat major for flute or recorder and harpsichord, probably by J. S. Bach , is a sonata in 3 movements:* Allegro moderato* Siciliano* Allegro-Media:- External links :...
, that have been recorded by Kempff and others.
Recordings
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 12, 19, and 20 (DGDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
LPLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
138 935; released 1965; recipient of Grand Prix du DisqueGrand Prix du DisqueThe Grand Prix du Disque is the premier French award for musical recordings. The award was inaugurated by l'Académie Charles Cros in 1948 and offers prizes in various categories. The categories vary from year to year, and multiple awards are often made in any one category in the same year...
)
Autobiography
Kempff, Wilhelm. Unter dem Zimbelstern: Jugenderinnerungen eines Pianisten ["Under the Cymbal Star: The Development of a Musician" (1951)]. Laaber: Laaber Verlag, 1978.External links
- Obituary for Wilhelm Kempff, by B. John Zavrel
- A discussion of Kempff's work, with a special emphasis on Beethoven, by Christopher Breunig, in Jeunesses Musicales
- Wilhelm Kempff discography by Frank Forman
- Video recordings of Kempff performances, youtube.com
- Wilhelm Kempff playing the 3rd movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.
- Kempff home page, in German