Kempff plays Schubert, Wanderer Fantasy

Schubert, Wanderer Fantasy D.760 (Op.15)

Wilhelm Kempff (piano)

i) Allegro con fuoco, ma non troppo
ii) Adagio (5'51")
iii) Presto (11'55")
iv) Allegro (16'59")

The original recording was issued on LP in 1968. Online reviewer, James Leonard, wrote of the CD reissue:

"While not for everybody -- fans of flawless pianism should keep their distance -- Wilhelm Kempff's performances of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasie ... [is] nevertheless among the most honored and even loved performances of the work ever recorded. Although his technique had always been old-school "what's a few missed notes in the face of such profundities?" ... by the time these recordings were made in the late '60s, Kempff wasn't up to the rigors of the Wanderer Fantasie ... The big chords at the climax of the Wanderer's Adagio and the double octaves counterpoint of the closing Allegro were beyond Kempff by this point in his career, and in a lesser musician, such grievous deficiencies would be unpardonable. Yet there are such profundities in Kempff's interpretation that generations of listeners have embraced these otherwise fatal flaws as the signs of depth and insight. And they're right to do so ... "

Personally, I think that James Leonard is much too harsh because, to me, Kempff mostly seems comfortable with the technical challenges presented (perhaps just a little less so in the third movement). In any case, to dwell too much on the technical apects of this work is probably to miss the point - at least in part.

Apologies for the occasional needle jump.

Artwork for the fourth movement is by Glenn Grubbs
http://grubbsartist.wordpress.com/abo...