Great Performers: Wilhelm Backhaus

The bulk of the pianist's discography consists of Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, and the great volume of discs he produced in the LP era has overshadowed his earlier groundbreaking records, which include some repertoire that is surprising to those familiar with his later output. The familiar image of the old white-haired man from LP covers is at odds with his blazing traversal of Chopin's complete Etudes, yet Backhaus's 1928 cycle was the first ever on disc. His expansive discography shows a remarkable evolution of style, permitting the listener to appreciate myriad qualities of his inspired music-making.

The music of Bach features less prominently than might be expected, a 1927 recording of Bach's first Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier demonstrating the qualities for which Backhaus is best known: a burnished sonority, singing line, clear textures and judicious pedalling. His Mozart follows in the same vein, with directness and a sense of restraint enabling the music to speak for itself, as evidenced in Salzburg broadcasts of the Sonata No.5 and Piano Concerto No.27.

It is Beethoven for whom Backhaus was best known, his recorded performances of the composer's works spanning nearly half a century. Even aged 68, he brought youthful effervescence to his reading of the joyful Piano Concerto No.2, with a spritely rhythmic bite and crisply defined articulation. His reverential approach to the composer is evidenced by a broadcast recording of the transcendent Sonata No.30 in E Major Op.109, a glorious fusion of intellect and heart, with moments of robust abandon alternating with classical restraint. In his Schubert too we hear this blend of earthbound reality and otherworldly evocation, the Impromptu in B flat Major D.935 brimming over with tenderness and passion.

While Backhaus was less known for his Chopin, his recordings demonstrate an evident affinity for this composer's oeuvre. In his early account of the Etudes and other popular works, such as the Grande Valse Brilliante Op.18 and Fantaisie-Impromptu Op.66, there is soaring phrasing, a vibrant rhythmic pulse, and elegant timing and voicing; his crystalline tone and evenness of articulation in the dazzling Etude Op.10 No.1 are mesmerizing. His Schumann also reveals his affinity for Romantic phrasing and inflection, a 1937 traversal of the towering Fantasy in C Major Op.17 being particularly bold and heroic, while a decade earlier the pianist produced a scintillating recording of Liszt's legendary Hungarian Rhapsody No.2.

Next to Beethoven, it was Brahms for whom Backhaus was most known – hearing the composer in concert clearly left a great impression on him – and his 1930s recordings feature tremendous robustness, as in his marvellous 1932 account of the Scherzo Op.4. However, even aged 84 in a live 1968 performance of the towering Piano Concerto No.2, Backhaus plays with both remarkable abandon and cohesiveness, his seven decades on the concert stage infusing his interpretation with wisdom tempered with joyful exuberance.

On June 28, 1969, Backhaus gave what was to be his last recital. When he was unable to finish Beethoven's 'Hunt' Sonata, he played three encores, one of which was Schumann's Warum? ('Why?') – a moving end to the glorious career of an artist as revered half a century after his death as he was during his lifetime.