Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier

[prémont]

Sorry, but that is truly unfair to Belder. I admit that he failed to convince me with his Scarlatti or his Bach, but he sounded like a very good harpsichordist in both.

Well, Belder has improved considerably since his Erasmus years, and I do not think I shall get tired of his honest and well-considered no-nonsense style, deprived of any superficial effects. This is certainly true of his Bach. Scarlatti sometimes seems to ask for superficial effects, but I think he can do without them.

[Coopmv]

Well, Belder has improved considerably since his Erasmus years, and I do not think I shall get tired of his honest and well-considered no-nonsense style, deprived of any superficial effects. This is certainly true of his Bach. Scarlatti sometimes seems to ask for superficial effects, but I think he can do without them.

I thought a few discs from that mammoth 155-CD Complete Bach Works set released by BC where he played the harpsichord, the performance was quite good ...

[FideLeo]

Taiwan also makes higher quality products than China anyway.    

[Coopmv]

The WTC by the late Christiane Jaccottet on harpsichord is excellent.

[FideLeo]

In general, Levin prefers faster than average tempi.  This is not really out of line though, as, if CPE Bach is to be trusted in his testimonies, JS actually was one fast player among his contemporaries.  An assortment of instruments were used in this recording, including an original Baroque organ in Wassenaar, NL.

[jwinter]

Just last week I picked up the WTC by Vladimir Feltsman, still haven't broken the shrink-wrap.  Any thoughts on his set?

[dirkronk]

Just last week I picked up the WTC by Vladimir Feltsman, still haven't broken the shrink-wrap.  Any thoughts on his set?

On the strong urging of a former poster to this and similar boards, I bought Book 1 by Feltsman several years back. I have Feltsman doing a couple of concerts of other composers and so was already favorably disposed toward his playing, but the WTC is especially impressive when done well. I listened to it twice, found it good to very good, perhaps a shade higher than that in some individual pieces, but at the end of the day decided not to bother tracking down Book 2. I wish I could be specific for you, but while my overall impression was good, I didn't find it quite distinctive enough to make me swoon. If it helps to know what standards I judge by, I still prefer my personal faves: Richter (esp. in Book 1) and Samuil Feinberg (esp. in Book 2) on piano get the most play, on rare occasion some Gould or Martins (first recording), E. Fischer for historic piano perspective, and when I listen to harpsichord (it isn't frequent, I confess) it's to Jaccottet or Moroney.

I'd be interested to know YOUR impressions once you get a chance to listen.

Cheers,

Dirk

[dirkronk]

While writing the response above, a thought occurred to me. The WTC is a major work but not one that all pianists tackle...at least in recorded form. Of the pianists who HAVEN'T released their take, who would you most like to do so?

The name that popped into my head was Sergei Babayan.

I may think of others, as well...but who would YOU like to hear?

Dirk

[Bulldog]

While writing the response above, a thought occurred to me. The WTC is a major work but not one that all pianists tackle...at least in recorded form. Of the pianists who HAVEN'T released their take, who would you most like to do so?

The name that popped into my head was Sergei Babayan.

I may think of others, as well...but who would YOU like to hear?

Dirk

On harpsichord I'd love to hear David Cates record the WTC.  Cates, on Music & Arts, has the most compelling Bach French Suites in the catalogs.

[Scarpia]

On harpsichord I'd love to hear David Cates record the WTC.  Cates, on Music & Arts, has the most compelling Bach French Suites in the catalogs.

I'd be interested to hear Alfred Brendel.  He hasn't recorded much Bach, but I do have one disc of Bach pieces from him that I found rewarding to listen to.

[admiralackbar74]

I'm reviving this thread because I'm in the market for a complete (i.e. both books) recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier on piano. I don't mind a fair amount of expressiveness in this music; I want a pianistic take on the WTC. Suggestions?

[Joe_Campbell]

Well, you can listen to samples of both Angela Hewitt cycles on www.hyperion-records.co.uk. I just ordered the 2008 version.
After quite a bit of comparative listening between the two (though only through samples), I'm under the impression that Hewitt was a little bit more rhythmically flexible on the recent recording. I also noted a bit more distinctiveness in her voicing (i.e. larger dynamic separation). However, I don't think you could go wrong with either, and the earlier set has the added bonus of being about $8 cheaper!

[Josquin des Prez]

Just last week I picked up the WTC by Vladimir Feltsman, still haven't broken the shrink-wrap.  Any thoughts on his set?

It's my favored on piano (among modern pianists anyway), which means everybody here hates it. If you like it i recommend his recording of the harpsichord concertos (on piano), which is equally amazing.

[George]

I'm reviving this thread because I'm in the market for a complete (i.e. both books) recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier on piano. I don't mind a fair amount of expressiveness in this music; I want a pianistic take on the WTC. Suggestions?

My two favorites on the piano are Richter (RCA) [or the rare Live at Insbruck] OR Samuel Feinberg. Richter has better sound, but the Feinberg is something very special. I think you can sample it over at Russian DVD.com. The best transfers of these Feinberg performances are on the "Russian Compact Disc" label. This set has the "Talents of Russia" logo on the front.

[Bulldog]

I'm reviving this thread because I'm in the market for a complete (i.e. both books) recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier on piano. I don't mind a fair amount of expressiveness in this music; I want a pianistic take on the WTC. Suggestions?

Assuming you want both books in one package, I have three recommendations that fit your requirements:

Jill Crossland/Signum
Evelyne Crochet/Music and Arts of America
Rosalyn Tureck/DG

If admirable sound quality is a requirement, take Tureck off the list.

[Bulldog]

My two favorites on the piano are Richter (RCA) [or the rare Live at Insbruck] OR Samuel Feinberg. Richter has better sound, but the Feinberg is something very special. I think you can sample it over at Russian DVD.com. The best transfers of these Feinberg performances are on the "Russian Compact Disc" label. This set has the "Talents of Russia" logo on the front.

Although I find both Richter and Feinberg exceptional, my loyalties remain with Rosalyn Tureck.  The sound quality on all three leave much to be desired.

[admiralackbar74]

I listened to the Tureck on DG a few years ago. (Is there more than one?) The sound quality is quite poor. As a piano student, I found Tureck worth listening to, particularly in the pieces I was working on, but I'd like to have something with better sound quality for the collection, if possible.

I remember enjoying Hewitt's first set when I was listening a few years back. Maybe I'll purchase the re-release now that it's packaged together (and at a reasonable price).

Why does her new set have such a horrendous cover? What on earth is she wearing!?



Any thoughts on Schiff?

And I thought I heard that Perahia is going to record this. When might that be released?

[George]

Although I find both Richter and Feinberg exceptional, my loyalties remain with Rosalyn Tureck.  The sound quality on all three leave much to be desired.

Yes, I need to get to know that Tureck set in the coming months. I have it downloaded to my computer at work.

[bhodges]

Why does her new set have such a horrendous cover? What on earth is she wearing!?

Man, that is really below Hyperion's standards (and I'm a Hewitt fan, too).  A shame, since IMHO a good cover would encourage people to explore her take on the material.

--Bruce

[admiralackbar74]

The cover to the first set in its re-released form is actually quite appealing.