Ludwig van Beethoven - Emperor - Kempff Kempen, first,part 1

[behknqruxy]

not so good

[dyad2r1]

Somebody stop him before the piano explodes!

[DanielPianoForever]

he plays this like a BOSS like a KING!!

[spiritualf]

5:40 - 6:00 = magic!

[alexgomez83]

so this is what senator palpatine did in his free time?

[hotbebimauz]

this is brilliant!! i lvoe this concerto so much! theres such a passion and it always makes me happy when i listen to it =)

[staudtwerner]

@hotbebimauz that is realy funny, because van beethoven wrote it at a time, he was not able to hear anymore. besides this fact, he wrote it alos because napoleon was in vienna and van beethoven was sad and angry about this little man from france. he said about this concerto: if I was as good in military as i am in music now, i would defeat napoleon.

my favourite is kempf, conductor leitner and berlinorchestra 1961 on deutsche gramaphon. it is perfect and you hear the broken berlin heart 08.1961

[megjonaslove333]

This is the Emperor Concerto the way it's SUPPOSED to be performed. Excellent!

[pietstamitz1]

@kajohada

The BPO is very great here, by reason of conductor Paul van Kempen, who was

a true genius, but is still underestimated, partially because he conducted in Germany during WW2, there was no suitable place for him in Holland.

Listen to their Eroica, to me the greatest of all performances.

Holland should be more proud of him.

I'm glad you notice the beautiful orchestral playing, in this work, the conductor

is as important as the pianist, they are equal.

[BeowulfCav]

I love Kempff, I'm American. Am I weird?

[dyad2r1]

@BeowulfCav

No. I don't know about Jews, but Americans love German pianists.

[guyNbluejeans]

When I was a kid, 1968, the TV rock group The Monkees got into a lot of hot water because it was learned they didn't actually play their instruments (yet, somehow, the music they made came out beautiful). ("Stepping Stone," "I Saw Her Face," "Last Train to Clarksville," etc.) Now consider that a while back on the TV show The View, that heavy-set lady, Sherry, said to the rapper 50-cent when he came out on the stage, "What's it like to have reached musical super-stardom?"!! Standards have fallen.

[scyllabub]

Many years ago I had this version on tape :o It's great to find it here, thank you!

I've listened to this version many times and find it difficult to accept any another interpretation - me not being a musician. To me, it's perfection.

[classicvinylbiz]

@scyllabub I felt the same way for many years, but then I heard Glenn Gould's rendition (here on YouTube - watch?v=419h93TiCFg -- and while I would not really compare them per se (I see no particular validity in the exercise), I think you would enjoy the Gould performance, which fit with his overall philosophy, to wit (I paraphrase): because all the war horses had been performed in the orthodox, conventional ways, it was up the the artist to devise "new" interpretations to please the audience.

[IllIIllIIIlIIIlI]

I think he plays FABULOUSLY!!!! I like many of his performances.

[bitfuck]

Oh, I missed some comments - he is conducting, that is propably how the good balance between the piano and the orchestra has to be achieved. Having heard the movement to end, I'll have to listen to more from WK. Thx dude.

[bitfuck]

yes it is well performed, it's not clear for me if also conducting the orchestra - anyway my favourite beethoven piano players must be Alfred Brendel and Daniel Barenboim. Listening to the music while writing this, i'm very impressed of the total sound picture.

[ppchak77]

Also a Brendel fan, and do agree that this one is very impressive.. perhaps, deep down, the energy is even higher..

[TheZeroCoordinate]

fuck u buger... hehe

[snaebjorn53]

Wundervoll!

Thanks for this great version of a fantastic tune. Schön. Peace and Happiness to you.

[Lightning2117]

5: 46

my fav. part ^^

[patriciabrantjes1]

Lovely! Its really worth listening too. Just for the sheer beauty of the music

[nocturnecminor]

Wilhelm Kempff is the 'man' when it comes to Beethoven!!!

[fagottobrasil]

Kempff is truely an amazing performer of Beethoven!!!

[gzaenker]

fagotto I truly love Wilhelm Kempff''s playing. Not sure why. he is so much better than all the other players. I think he had a link to the composer. I can see in his face, when he is playing, he is connected to a higher power

[kajohada]

how amazing and truly like a hero on the piano kempff plays this 1st.mouvement,really really marvellous!

[abracca]

Rubinstein version is quite amazing also

[qtjittan00]

In a Japanese Manga, "The window of the orpheus",

a music school student play this music with orchestra.

Because of this I wanted hear and got a cassette tape one. That was Kempff's.

[shadecross]

i love this... especially the second theme its so beautiful!!

[billyguns2]

This joins my very select group of favorite "Emperors," and I find it vastly superior to Kempff's stereo remake. By the way, the sound is fantastically good! Kudos to Maestro Van Kempen and his magnificent orchestra, too; he is almost unknown in the USA. I also love Moiseiwitsch/Szell, Fischer/Furtwangler, and Cliburn/Reiner; this one is their equal and in some ways superior.

[aneg24]

In US Kempff never got a braektrough. Unfortunately! I know american piano professors who think Kempff is boring and flat! But he had more personality than the pianists have today I think. I also like Moiseiwitsch, Edwin Fischer, Annie Fischer and I am also fascinated of Glenn Gould.

[fuckyoubugger]

Yes, you are so right. Unfortunately, we live in a time where personality and character does not count - even the opposite is true! One has to hide large parts of their personality and virtues to be successful. Having virtues or gifts easily rises suspicion that you are an outsider.

What counts, is looks and status symbols. Maybe that's the reason why K. never got an audience in America. I don't want to be iniquitous, but I have the notion that the downfall of occidental humanism started there.

[PeopleRFragileThings]

err I'm american and I like kempff, but I kinda stumbled across him on Youtube, otherwise I would have never heard of him :-(

[gregbboy619]

@fuckyoubugger Yes i agree.

[gregbboy619]

@aneg24 Wilhem Kempfff = genius

I don't have any other better arguments.

[pietstamitz]

Its not only Kempff , but also the great conducting of van Kempen, which makes this into a very great performance.

He is equally important.

It is a pity that he is so underestimated, he is one of the

very best Dutch conductors.

[PARISA7777]

Beautiful . . .

[kajohada]

...i am so proud listening to him many times deeply moved in concert,probably he´s the best beethoven interpreter ever on the piano.i admire him very much;))

btw the orchester is great!

[PAGATY]

my inspiration

[shadecross]

i love it... beethoven is the greatest composer ever...without him there would be no romantic era! and this piece proves it!

[harryhume]

Good god Ive never heard this before. Its breathtaking.

[themountaineer1987]

fantastico

[fuckyoubugger]

JAAAAAH

[wsic007]

Well Done.. Thank you

[chri86]

Merveilleuse version : souffle , majesté , elegance...

[NicoleKatri]

Congratulations! You're in the right place. Stay and listen. You won't be sorry you did.

[PJmusicFan]

YYYYYYAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!! Wilhelm did great on this concerto! ONE OF THE BEST VERSIONS THAT I'VE EVER HEARD!

[BobKy12]

Thank you for posting this great performance.Please post the rest of it ;)

[sab3156]

I don't disagree. This surpassed even Backhaus and Arrau, in my opinion.

[musikgeni]

one of the best versions does anyone disagree!