# Kempff and Beethoven, Stereo or mono?



## Kito (Mar 31, 2020)

It's always asserted that Kempff's earlier mono cycle of the Beethoven piano sonatas are a step above the later stereo cycle. I'm curious if there are other outlier opinions, believing that not only better sound but artistic expression can be found in the stereo cycle. What do you think?


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Better sound maybe, but in performance terms I too prefer the earlier set. To me the musicmaking there has a freshness and vigour that I miss in his later readings.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Definitely the earlier mono version for me. He puts way more articulations in his earlier versions. His stereo remake is smoother, less idiosyncratic with a larger dynamic range. The same with the concertos. i was always disappointed with the Tempest 3rd movement, and Appassionata in the stereo remake in particular.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

It is received wisdom that th3 earlier set is better. Kempff’s technique was steadier.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Phil loves classical said:


> Definitely the earlier mono version for me. He puts way more articulations in his earlier versions. His stereo remake is smoother, less idiosyncratic with a larger dynamic range.


About the time of the recording of the stereo version I attended a recital with Kempff playing four sonatas by Beethoven (nos. 18,23,24 and 28). The interpretation was very similar to the ten years older mono version. The main difference was that his technical power was a bit - but not much - weaker. So I would say that a certain cautiousness is at play in the stereo set compared to the mono set.


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## UniversalTuringMachine (Jul 4, 2020)

The ealier set is much better than the stereo set.


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## rice (Mar 23, 2017)

In case someone doesn't aware of this already....


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## UniversalTuringMachine (Jul 4, 2020)

rice said:


> In case someone doesn't aware of this already....
> View attachment 140877


Excellent find!


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## ribonucleic (Aug 20, 2014)

I've never been certain to what degree the critical consensus for mono is due to critics generally favoring the more obscure/less accessible option.

You can avoid the controversy by going with Annie Fischer instead.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

The truth is, both sets are very similar and provide hours of wonderful Beethoven. I suspect if you mixed the stereo set down to mono, and set up a blind listen, most people would not be able to reliably guess which is which. In any case, what is different about the stereo set is slightly less emphasis on virtuosity and a slightly more introspective quality at times, but really nothing objectively inferior. Both sets are recommendable in their own right, and both have terrific insights into this music.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

ribonucleic said:


> I've never been certain to what degree the critical consensus for mono is due to critics generally favoring the more obscure/less accessible option.
> 
> You can avoid the controversy by going with Annie Fischer instead.


I can't hear Fischer as an alternative to Kempff. They are so different that I couldn't choose between them. But of the Kempff sonata sets I do think the mono set is the better. The critical consensus for that started long ago and there was nothing obscure about the mono set. The stereo set is also very good, though, and I think there is a critical consensus for that view as well.

For the Beethoven concertos there is a similar choice - the earlier mono recordings and the later stereo ones - and with these the two are quite different. Again I love both but with these I cannot join the critical consensus that the earlier is much better.


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## Russell Chee (Dec 3, 2019)

You might even want to check out Kempff's pre-war/wartime recordings on APR! A very quirky, unique style that (imo) reflects more clearly what all the fuss was about with Kempff before the war. His post-war style was equally valid and wonderful, but less suffused with personality in my view.


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## Kito (Mar 31, 2020)

....and I have always enjoyed the booklet that came with the original stereo set comprising Kempff's thoughts on each sonata, quite as poetic as his playing.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Enthusiast said:


> I can't hear Fischer as an alternative to Kempff. They are so different that I couldn't choose between them.


Au contraire - they're so different that it's easy for me to choose between them.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

wkasimer said:


> Au contraire - they're so different that it's easy for me to choose between them.


They are so different that one needs both.


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