Credits:

Wilhelm Kemp , Henrik Schelling , Pierre Fournier , Karl Leister

Description:

An eternal masterpiece featuring three of the 20th century's leading virtuosos, the complete Beethoven cycle commemorating the bicentennial of Beethoven's birth in 1970 has been reissued for the first time in many years!

This is a truly sumptuous masterpiece featuring Henrik Schelling (1918-88) on violin, Pierre Fournier (1906-86) on cello, and Wilhelm Kemp (1895-1991) on piano, all of whom represent their respective instruments and the 20th century. The legendary Casals Trio (Thibaud, Casals, and Cortot) recorded a masterpiece of Beethoven's "Grand Duke" in 1928.
The year 1970 marked the bicentennial of Beethoven's birth, and record companies competed to record new Beethoven works. Among them, Deutsche Grammophon's "The Complete Works of Beethoven" (MG9501-78), consisting of 78 LP recordings in 12 volumes, was unprecedented in both scale and content. The complete piano trios by Schelling, Fournier, and Kemp were also newly recorded as part of this project.
Fournier and Kemp had just recorded Beethoven's complete cello sonatas in 1965, Schelling had played a trio with Kemp on piano and Herscher on cello, and Schelling and Fournier had recorded a trio with Rubinstein after this recording, so it was clear from the recordings that the two musicians were close friends. The recordings show that Schelling and Fournier were close friends.
The three musicians play on a grand scale, and the music is sublime and full of rich nuances. Kemp's piano skillfully brings freshness and vitality to the music, from the soft singing of the melody in the right hand to the lively, bouncy rhythmic tapping in the left hand. Schelling and Fournier join in the delightful ensemble, both with their exquisite, rich, beautiful sound and fluid, powerful phrasing.
Another attraction of this set is the participation of the young virtuoso Carl Leister (1937-) in the Fourth "Songs of the City," which can be played on clarinet instead of violin. This recording was made about 10 years after he had already served as principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic under Karajan, and it shows a brilliant performance that proves that he was already a superb virtuoso.
In terms of sound quality, as in the previous concept, the CD master uses high-bit, high-sampling (192 kHz, 24 bits) digitized sound sources from the original master, so you can enjoy a higher resolution and smoother tone compared to the previous sound quality. A new preface commentary has been included in the commentary. This is a preservation disc that is appropriate to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Kemp's birth. This Vol. 1 will be released simultaneously with a total of six titles.