As in the first of the Kempff offerings in the Philips Great Pianists series (10/98), the items here have been chosen by Alfred Brendel. In his illuminating note Michael Steinberg as before quotes Brendel as saying that ‘when he is at his best he plays more beautifully than any of us.’ Even more than the earlier selection of Brahms, Schumann and Chopin, this one reveals Kempff at his most magical. Brendel is also quoted as saying that Kempff’s Liszt recordings are ‘the greatest we have’, and I would agree with Steinberg that the two Legendes, inspired by St Francis of Assisi and St Francis of Paola, are the ‘crown jewel’ of the collection. Like the other Liszt recordings here, Kempff made them for Decca in 1950 during the brief period when he forsook DG, and though there is a hint of clatter in the topmost register, Kempff’s re-creation of Liszt’s bird-sounds in the first of the two has never been matched on disc, wonderfully clear and transparent still. More than in any other Liszt recordings I can think of, the poetic side of the composer is consistently brought out, not just in the Legendes, but in the inspired selection from the Annees de pelerinage.
When DG has over the years kept most of its Kempff recordings in the catalogue, it is specially valuable that these and the other Decca recordings should be included here. It is fascinating to compare Kempff’s 1953 Decca recording of the Schubert A minor Sonata, D845, with the one he recorded later for DG in his Schubert sonata cycle. Here in the earlier version, with speeds marginally broader, he is lighter and more transparent, bringing out the poetry more intensely, yet emphasizing structural strength in his observance of the exposition repeat, ignored on DG. In that same year Kempff recorded the three Bach transcriptions, reflecting his early training as an organist in their warmth and weight, very freely romantic by latter-day standards but wonderfully persuasive in keyboard colourings. I am only sorry that the Handel Minuet in G minor in Kempff’s transcription was not also included.
Both of the DG recordings have long been staples of the catalogue, with Kempff again at his freshest and most poetic in the elusive little Op. 90 Sonata of Beethoven, making the music sing. He similarly gives a magical performance of Mozart’s A major Concerto, always phrasing with winning individuality, but never in a wilful way to draw attention away from Mozart. In all this material transfers are clean and fresh. I look forward to the third and last of Brendel’s selection of Kempff recordings for this series.EG