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Tue, 24 Aug 1999 09:54:42 +1200 |
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Gerardo Constantini wondered why Kempff is so little mentioned on
this list. He singled out for special praise the Beethoven sonatas
and some Schumann. I think Kempff is a strange case: his playing
can be very imaginative and even visionary - there is a very attractive
combination of philosophical depth and a mediterranean 'light touch' in his
interpretations. I heard some wonderful Schubert sonatas, and some of the
Liszt interpretations on his 'Great Pianists of the 20th Century' disc are
supposed to be musically transcendental. But on the other hand, he could
be very inconsistent - especially technically - and there never seems to
be much tension in his interpretations, particularly because he favours
relaxed speeds in fast movements. Related to that is that I enjoy his
recordings more moment-to-moment than as a whole - structurally they
often seem to me rather loose. Those elements sometimes disturbed me
when I listened to his Beethoven sonatas a few years ago. Same thing
with Schumann - although according to Joachim Kaiser his recorded Schumann
was only a shadow of his live performances, and furthermore Kempff appears
to have changed a lot over the years. I need to listen to him again,
especially to his earlier recordings from the '50's, which I'm not
familiar with.
Felix Delbruck
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