From the archives
Andrew Mcgregor takes in some of the extraordinary recorded legacy of German pianist Wilhelm Backhaus
What an extraordinary life Wilhelm Backhaus (Decca 483 4952; 38 CDS) had on record, from his first acoustic recordings in 1908 to his final Decca LPS in 1969, the year he died. Born in Leipzig in 1884, Backhaus began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory aged six. Aged 11, he heard Brahms conduct both his piano concertos with Liszt pupil Eugen d’albert and became d’albert’s pupil aged 15. When he started touring in 1900 the critics noticed a young man who was already dedicated to music rather than to self-promotion, a seriousness of purpose that’s a hallmark of his six decades of recordings.
From 1908 to 1948 Backhaus was on HMV; his relationship with Decca began in 1950 with their first cycle of Beethoven Sonatas. They’re still a window into the essence of Backhaus’s musicianship: clear, accurate technique, rugged tone, an essential simplicity of approach, a self-effacing dedication to his favourite composer. ‘I try to play Beethoven as I feel it,’ Backhaus said in interview. ‘I want to make Beethoven alive...it is modern.’ It still feels that way in the later stereo cycle, Backhaus’s playing remarkably undiminished, just the Hammerklavier unrecorded when he died. The Beethoven Concertos from the late ’50s with the Vienna Philharmonic and Hans Schmidt-isserstedt sound firm and fresh; the Brahms Concertos are extraordinary documents of a powerful technique undimmed by age. The Brahms Cello Sonatas with Pierre Fournier in 1955 are lovely things, more so than Backhaus’s rather humourless Haydn Sonatas. There’s a simple joy to his Mozart, impeccable but slightly unyielding Chopin and solo Bach playing of real elegance and style.
There are two special live recitals right at the end: magisterial Beethoven sonatas at Carnegie Hall in 1954, plus a delightful sequence of encores. And we can eavesdrop on Backhaus’s final performance, for Austrian Radio in June 1969, released complete for the first time. The Schubert A major Impromptu was the last thing Backhaus played; he died a week later.