Wilhelm Kempff was one of the most famous pianists of the 20th century, whose programming could be sometimes surprising. Kempff rarely performed music by Handel and French Baroque composers. Schubert and Beethoven’s works, however, were part of Kempff’s core repertoire, which he interpreted with straightforward, transparent brilliance. Re-release of an SWR music bestseller (93.720).

At his 1962 recital in Schwetzingen, Wilhelm Kempff demonstrated his unique ability to embed searching, dreamy piano music within his wider repertoire, mindful of its demands for fine, stylistic gradations. With his Schwetzingen programme, he stepped outside the safe territory of works by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, which were usually expected by concert organisers and audiences alike. The opening pieces are likely to surprise even those familiar with Kempff as a performer of wide-ranging piano repertoire. Rarely heard miniatures by Jean Philippe Rameau and François Couperin, forgotten by most soloists, teachers and their students, highlight Kempff’s versatility and his engaging handling of colours, even on French territory.