Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Wilhelm Kempff was the premier German pianist of the postwar period, so it's no surprise that he was considered one of the supreme interpreters of Beethoven. He recorded complete sets of the sonatas and concertos twice, and just about all the rest of the chamber music with piano as well. Kempff was a classicist by nature, and his approach to Beethoven was clear and poised rather than impulsive, but it was never lacking in sheer power or virtuosity when necessary. His last cycle of Beethoven sonatas is rightly regarded as his musical testament. Even if the mono recordings offered a few more exciting moments in a couple of works, you can't go wrong here--there isn't a dud in the lot. --David Hurwitz









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Disc 1:

1. Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 1. Allegro - Beethoven
2. Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 2. Adagio - Beethoven
3. Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 3. Menuetto. Allegretto - Beethoven
4. Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 In F Minor: 4. Prestissimo - Beethoven
5. Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 1. Allegro vivace - Beethoven
6. Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 2. Largo appassionato - Beethoven
7. Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegretto - Beethoven
8. Sonata No. 2, Op. 2 In A Major: 4. Rondo. Grazioso - Beethoven
9. Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 1. Allegro con brio - Beethoven
10. Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 2. Adagio - Beethoven
11. Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegro - Beethoven
12. Sonata No. 3, Op. 2 In C Major: 4. Allegro assai - Beethoven

Disc 2:

1. Sonata No. 5, Op. 10 In C Minor: 1. Allegro molto e con brio - Beethoven
2. Sonata No. 5, Op. 10 In C Minor: 2. Adagio molto - Beethoven
3. Sonata No. 5, Op. 10 In C Minor: 3. Finale. Prestissimo - Beethoven
4. Sonata No. 6, Op. 10 In F Major: 1. Allegro - Beethoven
5. Sonata No. 6, Op. 10 In F Major: 2. Allegretto - Beethoven
6. Sonata No. 6, Op. 10 In F Major: 3. Presto - Beethoven
7. Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 1. Presto - Beethoven
8. Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 2. Largo e mesto - Beethoven
9. Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 3. Menuetto. Allegro - Beethoven
10. Sonata No. 7, Op. 10 In D Major: 4. Rondo. Allegro - Beethoven

Disc 3:

1. Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 1. Allegro molto e con brio
2. Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 2. Largo, con gran espressione
3. Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 3. Allegro
4. Sonata No. 4, Op. 7 In E Flat Major: 4. Rondo. Poco allegretto e grazioso
5. Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 'Pathetique' In C Minor: 1. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio
6. Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 'Pathetique' In C Minor: 2. Adagio cantabile
7. Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 'Pathetique' In C Minor: 3. Rondo. Allegro
8. Sonata No. 9, Op. 14 In E Major: 1. Allegro
9. Sonata No. 9, Op. 14 In E Major: 2. Allegretto
10. Sonata No. 9, Op. 14 In E Major: 3. Rondo. Allegro comodo
11. Sonata No. 10, Op. 14 In G Major: 1. Allegro
12. Sonata No. 10, Op. 14 In G Major: 2. Andante
13. Sonata No. 10, Op. 14 In G Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegro assai

Disc 4:

1. Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 1. Allegro con brio
2. Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 2. Adagio con molta espressione
3. Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 3. Menuetto
4. Sonata No. 11, Op. 22 In B Flat Major: 4. Rondo. Allegretto
5. Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 1. Andante con Variazioni
6. Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 2. Scherzo. Allegro molto
7. Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 3. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe
8. Sonata No. 12, Op. 26 In A Flat Major: 4. Allegro
9. Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 1. Andante - Allegro - Tempo I - attaca:
10. Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 2. Allegro molto e vivace - attaca:
11. Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 3. Adagio con espressione - attaca:
12. Sonata No. 13, Op. 27 In E Flat Major: 4. Allegro vivace
13. Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 'Mondschein-Sonate' In C Sharp Minor: 1. Adagio sostenuto - attaca:
14. Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 'Mondschein-Sonate' In C Sharp Minor: 2. Allegretto - attaca:
15. Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 'Mondschein-Sonate' In C Sharp Minor: 3. Presto agitato

Disc 5:

1. Sonata No. 16, Op. 31 In G Major: 1. Allegro vivace - L.V. Beethoven
2. Sonata No. 16, Op. 31 In G Major: 2. Adagio grazioso - L.V. Beethoven
3. Sonata No. 16, Op. 31 In G Major: 3. Rondo. Allegretto - L.V. Beethoven
4. Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 'Sturm-Sonate' In D Minor: 1. Largo - Allegro - L.V. Beethoven
5. Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 'Sturm-Sonate' In D Minor: 2. Adagio - L.V. Beethoven
6. Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 'Sturm-Sonate' In D Minor: 3. Allegretto - L.V. Beethoven
7. Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 1. Allegro - L.V. Beethoven
8. Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 2. Scherzo. Allegretto vivace - L.V. Beethoven
9. Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 3. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso - L.V. Beethoven
10. Sonata No. 18, Op. 31 In E Flat Major: 4. Presto con fuoco - L.V. Beethoven

Disc 6:

1. Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 1. Allegro
2. Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 2. Andante
3. Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
4. Sonata No.15, Op. 28 'Pastorale' In D Major: 4. Rondo. Allegro, ma non troppo
5. Sonata No. 19, Op. 49 In G Minor: 1. Andante
6. Sonata No. 19, Op. 49 In G Minor: 2. Rondo. Allegro
7. Sonata No. 20, Op. 49 In G Major: 1. Allegro, ma non troppo
8. Sonata No. 20, Op. 49 In G Major: 2. Tempo di Menuetto
9. Sonata No.21, Op. 53 'Waldstein-Sonate' In C Major: 1. Allegro con brio
10. Sonata No.21, Op. 53 'Waldstein-Sonate' In C Major: 2. Introduzione. Adagio molto - attaca:
11. Sonata No.21, Op. 53 'Waldstein-Sonate' In C Major: 3. Rondo. Allegretto moderato
12. Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Apassionata' In F Minor: 1. In tempo d'un Menuetto
13. Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Apassionata' In F Minor: 2. Allegretto

Disc 7:

1. Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Appasionata' In F Minor: 1. Allegro assai
2. Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Appasionata' In F Minor: 2. Andante con moto - attaca:
3. Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 'Appasionata' In F Minor: 3. Allegro, ma non troppo - Presto
4. Sonata No. 24, Op. 78 In F Sharp Major: 1. Adagio cantabile - Allegro, ma non troppo
5. Sonata No. 24, Op. 78 In F Sharp Major: 2. Allegro vivace
6. Sonata No. 25, Op. 79 In G Major: 1. Presto alla tedesca
7. Sonata No. 25, Op. 79 In G Major: 2. Andante
8. Sonata No. 25, Op. 79 In G Major: 3. Vivace
9. Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a 'Les Adieux' In E Flat Major: 1. Das Lebewohl (Les Adieux): Adagio - Allegro
10. Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a 'Les Adieux' In E Flat Major: 2. Abwesenheit (L'Absence): Andante espressivo
11. Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a 'Les Adieux' In E Flat Major: 3. Das Wiedersehn (Le Retour): Vivacissimamente
12. Sonata No. 27, Op. 90 In E Minor: 1. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
13. Sonata No. 27, Op. 90 In E Minor: 2. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen

Disc 8:

1. Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 1. Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung: Allegretto, ma non troppo
2. Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 2. Lebhaft, marschmassig: Vivace alla Marcia
3. Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 3. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll: Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto - attaca:
4. Sonata No. 28, Op. 101 In A Major: 4. Geschwinde, doch nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit: Allegro
5. Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 1. Allegro
6. Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 2. Scherzo. Assai vivace
7. Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 3. Adagio sostenuto. Appasionato e con molto sentimento
8. Sonata No. 29, Op. 106 In B Flat Major: 4. Largo - Allegro risoluto

Disc 9:

1. Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 In E Major: 1. Vivace, ma non troppo - L.V. Beethoven
2. Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 In E Major: 2. Prestissimo - L.V. Beethoven
3. Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 In E Major: 3. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung (Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo) - L.V. Beethoven
4. Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 In A Flat Major: 1. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo - L.V. Beethoven
5. Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 In A Flat Major: 2. Allegro molto - L.V. Beethoven
6. Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 In A Flat Major: 3. Adagio, ma non troppo - Fuga. Allegro, ma non troppo - L.V. Beethoven
7. Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 In C Minor: 1. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato - L.V. Beethoven
8. Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 In C Minor: 2. Arietta. Adagio molto semplice e cantabile - L.V. Beethoven

Rating: - Kempff at his best
How wonderful to hear Herr Kempff doing Beethoven again! I don't know how many recordings he's made of the complete piano sonatas - "not enough" comes to mind. He's in no hurry and the "virtuoso" element is thankfully nowhere in sight so we're left with the music itself and it never sounded better. The earlier sonatas in particular are clear and to the point without frills or too much soul searching. The music stars here and the vehicle, Wilhelm Kempff, is completely in tune with it.
The way the line is treated is magnificent. Kempff has a narrative quality in his playing like no one else. He can spin a yarn and we're almost afraid to look away for fear of missing a key ingredient.

Curtis Stotlar

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Rating: - Kempff's unique style
Like all of the music he recorded, Wilhelm Kempff has a way of applying his own unique interpretive style to these sonatas and making them his own, without taking away from the composer's intention. Unlike some of the recordings by today's artists, who play at speeds that tend to blur the notes, Kempff articulates each line clearly, cleanly and accurately. Now, I'm not saying that each one of these sonatas is my favorite interpretation, but several are. Two that I'm not particularly fond of are his readings of Nos. 21 & 23, both of which I prefer Gilels. He takes the Hammerklavier at a much slower tempo than any other I've heard, but he pulls it off remarkably. To my ears, of the more conventional approach to No.29, Serkin and Soloman do it a little better. As for the rest of the late sonatas, which I feel is the weakest part of this set (if I had to pick a weakness), my personal taste leans more towards Pollini, Arrau or Richter. Of the complete sets of 32 that I own (this one, Arrau, Schnabel, Barenboim [EMI], Annie Fischer and Gilels [nearly complete]), this one is my all around favorite. The sound is also very good.

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Rating: - First class.
These are my favourite interpretations of the thirty two piano sonatas although Brendel's collection of the same mid '60s period comes a very close second.

I have heard many of the other sonata sets and own a few, but musical gravity invariably pulls me back to Kempff. For me, he provides the most satisfying interpretations and performances of one of Beethoven's two most significant non-symphonic contributions to music; the other being the string quartets.

The musical evolution between the first and last Sonatas is enormous - the authorship of the last cannot be guessed from listening to the first. The early works recognise his indebtedness to those who had gone before and for whom Beethoven had a profound regard. If Beethoven's Opus 2, Nr1 had been published as Haydn's sixty third Sonata, the attribution would not have been questioned and I suspect Bach's Chromatic Fantasia was buzzing around in his consciousness when he wrote the last movement of the second Sonata. Beethoven, whilst being determined to set his own course, was no iconoclast.

Kempff's playing, along with that of several of his contemporaries like Gieseking, Schnabel and Wuhrer, has a refinement inherited from the 19th century; a refinement I find lacking in some modern performances, aspects of which can be unpleasantly brash by comparison. He was 70 years old when he made these recordings and which may account for a more contemplative approach to some works but age has not dimmed the sparkle of bravura passages. I have lived with this collection of the "32" for a long time and love it.

The recording is fine with a bright treble but the lower registers occasionally seem a trifle short of punch. But this is to quibble . .

The choosing of which set/artist to purchase is a serious matter and price should be an irrelevance but it is difficult not to have one's judgment influenced by these nine discs being available in 3-disc jewel cases for as little as $42, brand spanking new! Extraordinary performances at extraordinary value.

I have no reservation in my recommendation - I think it's simply the best.

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Rating: - Master of masters!
These works are true state of art performances are like the great masterworks, they seem to change before us, but not they are, but us what we experience its infinite grandness every time we used to watch or even to approximate them.

This is the case of Wilhelm Kempff, regarded by many as the most authentic "voice of Beethoven."

His cantabile line was so natural, that flew organically, effortless with that peerless refinement and unique fingering, that really shaped every single musical idea contained in the score.

Although is easy to notice the tempos in general are slower respect the set of the Fifties (mono), there are Sonatas (like Moonlight or The tempest) that are played with cosmic approach. As a matter of fact, the main difference between him and the rest of the pianists is that he depicted the spirit of every work, through a smart dissection and then expressed all those pieces gathered systematically and then expressed with a symphonic lexicon, without affection and theatrical pose

A fundamental set that under no pretext must be in your priceless collection.

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Rating: - The Set to Own
This is the Beethoven piano sonata set to own, hands down. While Kempff was not perfect in interpreting all of Beethoven's piano works -- for instance, I never liked his playing of B's piano concertos -- he did an absolutely marvelous job with pretty every work in this set. (Note: the "complete" here means all of B's "regular" piano sonatas with opus numbers, e.g., op.6 is left out, as are WoO ones). Kempff's interpretation is both highly technical and enormously emotional. His most brilliance comes through in the more difficult late works, such as the Hammerklavier -- a piece I never liked as a young person but have come to appreciate as I approach middle age. The recording quality is also excellent, making this a pleasure to listen to anytime.