Kempff plays Schubert Piano Sonata in A Major D959

Franz Schubert:
Piano Sonata in A Major D959:
I. Allegro 00:00
II. Andantino 10:49
III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace 18:23
IV. Rondo. Allegretto 23:46
Wilhelm Kempff: piano

[@fabioferra116]

Beyond words , Mr kempf goes to the heart of what Schubert wants to tell us…..

[@mirakor1]

What a brilliant interpretation! Kempff was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. How lucky we are to enjoy the music of great world musicians! Lucky and grateful.

[@JoePalau]

Thank DG for their masterful recordings long before industry reached its technical standards.

[@Marinavalerevna]

Как я люблю Кемпффа! Предпочитаю Шуберта в его исполнении.

[@Marinavalerevna]

У Кемпффа великолепное камерное звучание. И какой красивый звук.

[@fabioferra116]

The trio section of the third movement prepares us for the swan song ,and what a sending off!

[@WhosExperimental]

That fourth movement is simply fantastic. Schubert was a magician.

[@keithhulks7049]

I had the great privilege of seeing Kempff perform in London and it was a magical experience

[@keithhulks7049]

Much to my regret I only saw him live towards the end of his performing career. The onset of Parkinsons disease forced him to retire from public performances. He would have been into hs 80s then

[@Cayres18]

@@keithhulks7049 oh o was born in 3096...

[@keithhulks7049]

@@Cayres18 1895

[@daniloogrisek8246]

Eccezionale, secondo movimento magico!

[@jonathanwhitehouse2998]

One of the master's golden moments.

[@noabaak]

i started this morning with you, Franz.

[@Marinavalerevna]

А для меня красивое окончание сегодняшнего дня.

[@Sileoism]

This fourth movement should be forbidden to play, it is too much beautiful! Thank you Schubert!

[@MarcusHK1]

It's even worse than you say, all the movements are too beautiful-)

[@filippotenisci5175]

beatifull sound in the second movement.... thank you Kempff.

[@JoePalau]

I’m a big lover of his sound - ringing tones, solid and mighty.

[@laupet55]

His not-so-vivace tempo in the third movement contributes to a fantastic, unique austrian playfulness, never heard quite like this! He is really PLAY-ing.

[@oscarignacioolavarriaaquev8363]

jajajajj tiene un aire españolao, parece una jota!! hermosa versión, por sobre Brendel, Pollini y demás !!!

[@MNKorsak]

So wonderful!

[@滝川岬一]

ケンプのシュ-ベルト１９番のソナタの演奏。これほど人の温かさと優しさを感じた事は無い。素晴らしい盤石の基礎と。高い音楽性のなせる技か？

[@liquiditey]

Finally found my fav sonata on the tube .:))))))

[@danielpincus221]

Well, listen to his last piece, Sonata in Bb for Piano. You won't regret it.

[@marcvincenti6720]

The long, middle digression in the second movement, quasi una fantasia, has to be one of the strangest stretches in all of classical music. Brendel describes it as a panic attack. I don't know what to make of it but Kempff comes closest for me. But I still have never heard it played so that it makes sense. But I notice in Kempff's playing, in the third movement, that the ferocious Movement Two plunges down the keyboard have there echo. I have the feeling that this sonata has all kinds of inner, motivic echoes that one doesn't consciously hear, and probably it is quite modern in that. Even the funeral, left-hand plodding of the second movement has weird sorts of rhythmic echoes--though major -key--elsewhere in the sonata. Weird. I don't understand it.

[@4Topwood]

I have come to love that long stretch in the Andantino. It is as typically Schubertian for me as, say, one of his more famous Lieder. After reading the Deutsch volumns and some other biographies, I think that section is a rare glimpse into the most private regions of Schubert's imagination. I hear as less an expression of panic than of uncanny rage. Schubert was both unworldly and otherworldly. I love the ambiguity and mystery he so effortlessly evokes.

[@marcvincenti6720]

Ann, I'm very glad to have come across a sensible comment here; they are rare. Your amount of knowledge sounds wonderful-biographical knowledge and familiarity with his songs. (I only know "Die Wintereisse.") What a life of struggle he had, poor soul! What are "the Deutsch volumes" and can you recommend the best, most readable biography? In addition to all my reading about schools and education, I sometimes have time to wander into other pastures.

[@4Topwood]

Thank you, Marc. I'm just as glad to have read your comment. In fact, I almost contacted you by private message but that seemed a little intrusive. Otto Erich Deutsch compiled all the extant material relating to Schubert's life in what he called a "documentary biography". (He also compiled Schubert's friends memories of him and images relating to Schubert's life.) You can read it for free in German on the internet. I have the biography and friends' memories translated into English. It is a revelation to read Schubert's private correspondence. I would definitely recommend the Deutsch volumns, though they are expensive in English. archive.org/details/franzschubertdie21deut Christopher Gibbs wrote a short biography of Schubert, The Life of Schubert, , not in depth but a very good intro to his life, I think. The older biographies can be read for free on Google books. (The drawback is they contain a lot of inaccuracies and are based on conjecture and myths as well as on primary sources.) Also I find it worthwhile to read the lyrics to Schubert's Lieder in English. You can find the lyrics and translation on the LiederNetArchive. www.lieder.net/lieder/ Thank you so much for your kind comment. If my long-winded reply hasn't put you off, I'd love to discuss more about Schubert.

[@benoistveillerette1221]

Many thanks Marc and Ann for your comments... Though I love his music, I know almost nothing about Schubert's life, except it was short and not so happy. However, when I hear this second movement, I can only see the death, the nostalgy of a painful/short life that ends (the beginning of second movement), then the anger / rage in front of the inevitable end... then again the deep sadness of leaving this world... Obviously, this is only my fantasy but... what a sonata!

[@Caravaggio44]

Agreed. To me, the middle of the ternary sounds like an improvised cadenza. As if Schubert wanted to play with form and create the sense of a middle movement concerto.

[@ESilva-qv1uv]

KZbin, vhy ads in the middle of the music? Listeners deserve some respect.

[@davidrosenman1889]

He’s incredible on the German and Austrian Composers.🥀

[@englishfromatoz8970]

I totally agree.

[@arturozeballos1]

perfecto, exquisito, musicalmente uno de los mejores.

[@EvaYoungPianist]

It's really too much beautiful too!

[@MrBaroquer]

The beautiful climate of early Romanticism. :)

[@4Topwood]

Well said! Much of Schubert's music is really too beautiful to play--or to hear. What could he have been thinking when he inflicted such beauty on us??

[@4Topwood]

Obviously you cannot hear in Schubert's music what I--and others--hear. I'm sorry for that. You are really missing a lot. But perhaps it would be wasted on you in any case.

[@Marinavalerevna]

​@@4Topwood да, бывает люди называют свои ощущения от музыки релакс. Представьте, просто релакс!

[@4Topwood]

​@@Marinavalerevna Lol! I'd rather not imagine. If I want to relax, I can listen to white noise.

[@Marinavalerevna]

​@@4Topwood о да! В споре на эту тему я потеряла подругу.

[@quaver1239]

Thank you. Beautiful indeed.

[@AntonioCastagna]

A beautiful execution!

[@Amywithlove148]

Indeed❤

[@MetroDuroc]

The return to life at 15:52...

[@iconicshrubbery]

MetroDuroc movement 2 is like a slow, moribund waltz with death.The middle is like the throes of despair, but as you comment, he returns to life, and in the 3rd, fully human again.His old self!

[@theonesaracen6289]

with the rumbling trill in the bass reminiscent of the end of the storm in the Pastoral symphony

[@shirleyerdos9889]

Those three are the best : 598 599 and 590 at least to my tast to my taste , I have a rocord of A. Brendel playing the three of them and it is not bad !!!!!

[@JumpDiffusion]

блестяще

[@ratzlp0li]

33:00 Hello Beethoven!

[@nurkaya1240]

Türkler uğramamış mı buralara🇹🇷🙋🏻‍♀️

[@Piflaser]

They have their own music.

[@PamelaKS]

This recording is not played by Kempff. The pianist is Walter Klien. kzbin.info/aero/PLw9P1YvWpRFM_QiUw-V6wIyJO1LmC8DZ4

[@JumpDiffusion]

Just compared. Definitely not the same performance.

[@englishfromatoz8970]

It doesn't sound like Kempff to me

[@afaramazian]

what will you say for the second movement?

[@4Topwood]

There are no words in this world for the second movement. It would need an entirely new language from some other world altogether.

[@cynic150]

The best Beethoven player I have heard. A bit disappointing in the first movement of this Schubert. Sounds rather too much like a walk in the park with too much freedom and no tension, unlike Brendel who has too much tension..in his whole body. At least Kempff sounds as though he is enjoying himself! The other three movements are better. He tends to mix up staccato and legato with absent minded pedalling sometimes. I really like the pianoforte sound. Perhaps it is a Bosendorfer? Most suitable for Viennese music. The last movement is the best, fresh and stylish. It does not sound too preconceived.

[@roberteady8576]

Kempff has nothing to prove except to reveal the whimsical world of Franz Schubert which he succeeds at admirably. This is pianistic Zen meditation.

[@cynic150]

@@roberteady8576 Why do you compare things which cannot be compared? I think that Schubert's music was not always whimsical, but contained many differing moods.

[@victorbuehring8295]

Somehow this doesn't sound like Kempff

[@roberteady8576]

I listened to Kempff on LPs as a kid in the 1960s. His style/ spirituality is indelibly etched in my consciousness. This is the first time I have heard this sonata played by him, but can say with total assurance, this recording is performed by Wilhelm Kempff. Magic.

[@dundoderdumme3044]

What the hell? He made a nice little joke and you ruin it with your hate... ( if your comment wasn't a joke too, if it was, sorry)

[@ullapoule7419]

ads in the middle of this music that is CRAP and sheer vandalism

[@timkeenan8287]

@@radiotelegram Totally agree. I am on a D959 binge and Kempff's performance is right up there, especially the 'panic' section in the second movement. I enjoyed the whole piece without a single ad, presumably because of Ad Blocker. :)

[@klausknulp]

jokes seems to be forbidden either.........

[@klausknulp]

to be forbidden? are you from Germany where everything is forbitten what is not allowed?

[@danielpincus221]

...that is not allowed.

[@dundoderdumme3044]

Well bad jokes are forbidden. Your sentece was also wrong.

[@danielpincus221]

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