Friedrich Kiel - Complete works for piano

[John Boyer]

Unless it is buried somewhere in the archives, a four-volume set of the complete piano music of Friedrich Kiel, issued by Verlag Dohr beginning in 2002 with Oliver Drechsel at the piano, seems to have escaped notice.

I have finished volume one, which is not bad, though I wish they had not chosen to record it on an historical piano, in this case an 1868 Theodore Stöcker. At least it is better than the 1838 Erard that sank a recent recording of the four-hand piano music of Reinecke. 

[John Boyer]

Correction: apparently these are only recordings of Kiel's music in the editions published by Verlag Dohr.  What the notes describe as his greatest work for piano, the Variations and Fugue, Op. 17, is not included. 

[Sharkkb8]

Just started looking for these cd's, at first glance all I find are the cd's at the performer's website.  But haven't yet found a path to acquire.  If others have better luck, would appreciate source.

[Wheesht]

You can get the CDs from the publisher's website (in German only) and you need to contact them for a quote if ordering from outside Germany.

[Alan Howe]

All four CDs are on sale at jpc:
https://www.jpc.de/s/friedrich+kiel+das+gesamtwerk

[John Boyer]

That's right, Alan.  I got mine from JPC. 

[Alan Howe]

If you had to choose just one CD out of the four, which one might you recommend, John?

[John Boyer]

I've only listened to 1.75 discs so far.  Right now disc 2 has it over disc 1.  More to come.

[Alan Howe]

Looking forward to your report(s).

[John Boyer]

The 2nd and 3rd volumes pleased me the most.  They include a number of attractive collections of 4-hand waltzes, and they did the best to tame any tendency toward a fortepiano twang.  The recordings having been made several years apart would be expected to have been made with slightly different engineering setups and with the piano in different states of voicing.

The absence of the Op. 17 variations is keenly felt (there is a performance by another pianist on YouTube); I wonder what its exclusion was all about, Dohr Verlag edition or not. 

One good side effect was to make me fish out from my give-away pile my recordings of the Reinecke four-hand piano music and the Bamberger performance of his String Quartet Op. 53, No. 1.  The 1839 Erard now sounds a little more bearable, and I am now willing to endure the intonation problems and lifeless tempos of the Bambergers until a better alternative comes along. 

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, John, for this assessment.