Although Wilhelm Backhaus’ Beethoven ranked high among a certain generation of collectors, I’ve always felt his heartfelt, boldly communicative interpretations rather casual from a stylistic standpoint in regard to phrasing, dynamics, tempo, and linear motion. That said, the 1954 and 1956 Carnegie Hall performances preserved here showcase the 70-something pianist’s big, honest technique operating at pretty close to full capacity, most impressively in the “Les Adieux” finale, Op. 111’s first movement, and the Fourth concerto’s first-movement cadenza.
One selection, the Op. 10 No. 1 sonata, appears (I believe) for the first time on CD. Backhaus’ spacious conception of the first movement proves more temperate than what the composer’s Allegro molto e con brio implies, but the powerfully projected and animated finale comes closer to a true Prestissimo than in either of the pianist’s two studio versions.
In comparison to Philips’ deleted Great Pianists series reissue of the March 30, 1954 recital, Profil’s remastering engineers have beefed up the bass and mid-range. Do I detect artificial reverberation? The G major concerto aircheck sounds relatively bottom-heavy next to the more evenly equalized transfer once available from AS Disc.
The lovely non-Beethoven encores from the March 30th concert reveal Backhaus’ penchant for improvising interludes between numbers; you hear this right before the Schubert and the Brahms selections. But where is the Chopin Op. 25 No. 2 Etude that Backhaus played in between these two pieces, and included in the Philips release? It’s not as if Profil lacked room to spare….
