Pianist Wilhelm Kempff enjoyed a long career, and boasted an impressive catalog of LP recordings. Oftentimes, it is forgotten that he actually began his recording career during the 1920s in the acoustic period. During the pre-war period, Kempff recorded 24 of Beethovens 32 sonatas on 78s, and he was one of the most recorded Beethoven pianists during that time. He made the first recordings of the Beethoven sonatas Op81a, Op90, and Op101, which are included in this set. Kempff is known for his poetic and lyrical playing, which is brilliantly captured in these recordings, largely due to the fact that editing was not available during this period. None of the recordings featured in this set are available elsewhere, and the Op90 and Op101 have never been reissued since their original release.