Kempff, Wilhelm (Walter Friedrich)

Kempff, Wilhelm (Walter Friedrich), distinguished German pianist, pedagogue, and composer; b. Juterbog, Nov. 25, 1895; d. Positano, Italy, May 23, 1991. He studied piano with his father, also named Wilhelm Kempff; at the age of 9, he entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, where he studied composition with Robert Kahn and piano with Heinrich Barth; also attended the Univ. of Berlin. He began his concert career in 1916; in 1918 he made the first of many appearances with the Berlin Phil.; from that time he toured throughout Europe, South America, and Japan, featuring improvisation as part of his programs. From 1924 to 1929 he was director of the Stuttgart Hochschule für Musik; from 1957 he gave annual courses in Positano, Italy. He made his London debut in 1951 and his American debut in N. Y. in 1964. He continued to appear in concerts well past his octogenarian milestone; in 1979 he was a soloist with the Berlin Phil., after having had an association with it for more than 60 years. Kempff epitomized the classic tradition of German pianism; he eschewed flamboyance in his performances of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and other masters. He publ. a book of memoirs, Unter dem Zimbelstern (Stuttgart, 1951).

Works

dramatic:Opera: König Midas (Königsberg, 1930); Familie Gozzi (Stettin, 1934); Die Fasnacht von Rottweil (Hannover, 1937). orch.: 2 piano concertos (1915, 1931); 2 syms. (1923, 1926); Violin Concerto (1932); Arkadische Suite for Chamber Orch. (1939); Epitaph for Strings (1946); Legende for Piano and Orch. (1947). chamber: 2 string quartets (1942); piano pieces. other:Von der Geburt des Herrn, scenic mystery (1925); Te Deum (1926).

Bibliography

B. Gavoty and R. Hauert, K. (Monaco and Geneva, 1954).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire