Gramophone Magazine
December 2018
Archive/Re-Issue of the Month

Wilhelm Backhaus (piano)

Chopin: Études (12), Op. 10
Chopin: Études (12), Op. 25
Chopin: Preludes (24), Op. 28, No. 1, Prélude in C Major
Chopin: Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57Chopin: Waltz No. 1 in E flat major 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 18
Chopin: Waltzes, Op. 64, No. 1, Waltz in D-Flat Major, "Minute"
Chopin: Impromptu No. 4 in C sharp minor, Op. 66 'Fantaisie-Impromptu'
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream - incidental music, Op. 61, No. 1, Scherzo (Arr. for Piano)
Smetana: České tance (Czech Dances) for piano, Book 1, No. 3, Polka in F Major
Delibes: La source "Naïla, die quellenfee", etc.

Wilhelm Backhaus (1884–1969) left a 60-year recorded legacy which began in 1908, but the champion of Beethoven and Brahms we know from his later years performed a much wider repertoire before the war. This set focuses on this more ‘romantic’ repertoire – his Chopin études from 1928 were the first complete recorded cycle and still astonish with their virtuosity. His Schumann Fantasy is another landmark recording, the 78rpm era benchmark, and what a delightful surprise it is to hear him in his own spectacular transcriptions or in works by Albéniz and Moszkowski.