The 'Emperor' concerto recording on this album was only the second recording of the concerto and the first to be made electrically.
Recording & Production
Wilhelm Backhaus was a gramophone pioneer, making his first recordings in 1908 and the premiere recording of a piano concerto (Grieg A minor) in 1909, albeit drastically abridged.
Performer Biography
At age twelve, Wilhelm Backhaus could instantaneously transpose Bach's Preludes and Fugues at tempo into any key.
Performer Biography
Wilhelm Backhaus considered his 1927 recording of Beethoven's 'Emperor' concerto the one recording he'd most like to leave behind for posterity.
Performer Biography
Wilhelm Backhaus, the pianist on this album, had one of the longest careers among 20th-century pianists, performing from age fifteen in 1899 until a week before his death in 1969.
Recording & Production
HMV originally approached Wilhelm Backhaus, not Artur Schnabel, to make the first recorded cycle of all thirty-two Beethoven sonatas, but Backhaus refused.
Performer Biography
Wilhelm Backhaus won first prize in the 1905 Anton Rubinstein competition in Paris, beating Béla Bartók, with Otto Klemperer also an early contender.
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