Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier

[Karl Henning]

Survey said: Not Insane

[Mandryka]

Out of the 170(almost) recordings in WTC's 85 years old history, the choices for the musically sane should simply be among:
Harpsichord: Gilbert, Moroney, Jaccottet, Leonhardt
Piano: Hewitt, Schiff, Richter
Clavichord: Kirkpatrick
Organ: Lagace

So that's one recommendation for  Legacé. Is it all good, as good in Bk 1 as in Bk 2? I listened to Louis Thiry play the B minor fugue from book 1 today but I didn't like it at all. (But I preferred him in the prelude to Legacé)

[Sammy]

Out of the 170(almost) recordings in WTC's 85 years old history, the choices for the musically sane should simply be among:
Harpsichord: Gilbert, Moroney, Jaccottet, Leonhardt
Piano: Hewitt, Schiff, Richter
Clavichord: Kirkpatrick
Organ: Lagace

Not a bad list at all. However, it's much too slim.

[Sammy]

Call me insane but I like Bob van Asperen's recording (that Sviatoslav Richter on RCA is excellent, though), Annie.

I'll second van Asperen's set and also add recordings from Wilson, Dantone, Belder, Fellner, Crossland, Fischer, Gould, Gulda, Verlet, Schepkin, Vieru, Watchorn, Schornsheim, Sheppard, Tureck, Woodward, Aldwell, Koroliov, Parmentier, Feinberg, Ross, Sellergren and Crochet.  I'd also include all from Annie's list except for Legace and Hewitt.

Bach's WTC and Goldberg Variations are my favorite works.  I like a wide selection to satisfy my hunger for this music.

[Sammy]

If you add Gould for WTC(too long for idiosyncratic playing) you can add the other 150+ recordings you have left out as well...as I said I recommend any of those for the musically sane without exception...

I already added my favored versions.  Sorry that you don't seem to care for the Gould recordings.  Any thing in those notes of yours as to why Gould does not appeal to you besides the generalized "idiosyncratic" theme?

[milk]

Robert Levin mixes it up with harpsichord, organ, clavichord, and even fortepiano in book II.

[Mandryka]

I'll second van Asperen's set and also add recordings from Wilson, Dantone, Belder, Fellner, Crossland, Fischer, Gould, Gulda, Verlet, Schepkin, Vieru, Watchorn, Schornsheim, Sheppard, Tureck, Woodward, Aldwell, Koroliov, Parmentier, Feinberg, Ross, Sellergren and Crochet.  I'd also include all from Annie's list except for Legace and Hewitt.

Can you say why these recordings appeal to you?

[Mandryka]

Out of the 170(almost) recordings in WTC's 85 years old history, the choices for the musically sane should simply be among:
Harpsichord: Gilbert, Moroney, Jaccottet, Leonhardt
Piano: Hewitt, Schiff, Richter
Clavichord: Kirkpatrick
Organ: Lagace

Have you heard Verlet?

[Wakefield]

Can you say why these recordings appeal to you?

This link could be useful:

http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/bachjs/keyboard/wtc/wtc1-01.php

[Que]

I'll second van Asperen's set and also add recordings from Wilson, Dantone, Belder, Fellner, Crossland, Fischer, Gould, Gulda, Verlet, Schepkin, Vieru, Watchorn, Schornsheim, Sheppard, Tureck, Woodward, Aldwell, Koroliov, Parmentier, Feinberg, Ross, Sellergren and Crochet.  I'd also include all from Annie's list except for Legace and Hewitt.

Bach's WTC and Goldberg Variations are my favorite works.  I like a wide selection to satisfy my hunger for this music.

Don't know if they are mentioned in order of your preference but on harpsichord it is Wilson and Dantone for me, with Belder in the shopping cart.

(For the record: on the piano I have Gould and Fischer)

I remember listening to Van Asperen once (the recording from his EMI/Virgin years, right?), but I do not recall being blown away. Definitely check it out once more. Though his early years were not his best IMO.

Q

[North Star]

I remember listening to Van Asperen once (the recording from his EMI/Virgin years, right?), but I do not recall being blown away. Definitely check it out once more. Though his early years were not his best IMO.

Q

That's the one.
[asin]B00002ZZ55[/asin]
[asin]B008BT105G[/asin]

[Beale]

Piano: Hewitt, Schiff, Richter

Which Hewitt, 1999 or 2008?

[Mandryka]

Yes, I find it graciously unconventional...why do you ask?

I'm interested in these ideas like "unconventional" - how they came about in Bach performance. That's why I was struck by Don's  comment about the fugue being bleak.

I asked because I like it more at the moment than Asperen and Leonhardt.

[Mandryka]

That link praises Tureck's WTC recording which renders the other "opinions" useless. Very poorly written and biased

Part of what that article  seems to be about is to do with showing lots of different emotions in the music. I'm sympathetic to that objective in fact, it's one of the reasons I like Verlet in Bk 2, so I found the article quite interesting (I haven't read all of it yet.) I wasn't aware of it till Gordon  posted the link.

When you say other "opinions" what do you mean? Other perspectives on what's important in playing WTC? Or just other people's reviews? What do you think it's biased towards?

[Mandryka]

In your "emotions in the music" context, would you deny that emotions "arising from performances of Bach's WTC" and "performance of music based on Bach's WTC" are two different things? People tend to take simple things out of context here. Mechanical playing, a "tidy" performance, are objective in their context. You can't say you can't perform a composition mechanically, or you can't say classical music can not be performed emotionally messed... it's the same as saying I don't like rubato and trying to listen to Chopin. There is particular freedom in Bach but you have to play his choral works neatly. You can't(shouldn't) perform Beethoven tidily but you can't harm it's rhythm,etc.etc. Otherwise you are not enjoying the composer's composition, you are enjoying what's played. I'm not saying that I'm against any of those. All I'm saying is there are minimum obligations for performing most of the great composers works, then the performance should weigh in, i.e. I like many piano sonata recordings of Beethoven just for the pianist's quirky playing knowing that it has nothing to do with Beethoven's norms. But I'd never compare it to a Gilels Beethoven performance...to put it simply, I have a cadenza in front of me right now, I won't dare to say whose, for a Mozart's piano concerto...it requires the notes E7 and A#1 to be played...

The opinions in that particular "review". Memorization of popular opinions instead of analyzing what's and how it is played..

I don't understand the difference between a performance of music based on JSB's WTC and a performance of JSB's WTC, though (as you suggest) I think that playing (relative?) pitches as indicated on some text is at the heart of it. Beyond relative pitches, I dunno.

[Sammy]

This link could be useful:

http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/bachjs/keyboard/wtc/wtc1-01.php

It's hard to believe that I wrote that stuff over 10 years ago.  It was a lot of fun doing the write-ups and reaching various conclusions, but the major "kick" was just listening to hundreds of hours of fantastic keyboard music in a relatively short period of time.

[Sammy]

That link praises Tureck's WTC recording which renders the other "opinions" useless.

I'm happy to report that many Bach keyboard enthusiasts hear the excellence of versions from Tureck and Gould.  At the same time, there are plenty of folks who don't care for either of them.

It's a very big pond with plenty of room for different species.

[milk]

Well, I found the reviews to be very useful and enjoyable to read. I still go back to them from time to time. 

[Sammy]

Oh my! Is that you???    . Do you plan revisiting it?

Yes, it's me.  No plans to revisit or rewrite - I got totally burned out on the whole process a few years ago.

[Sammy]

Yes of course it's a "review" from your view and I understand what you say. I'm not criticizing your view. And this : (Person A likes X. I don't like X. Therefore, I probably won't agree with A's tastes)? is not what it is. Taste is something else. There are certain ways to certain composers. Tureck's not it. If someone is praising Tureck's WTC, either he/she has no idea of Bach or he/she is just liking the performance of a piano piece which I'm sure she is a great player.

I can definitely be rigid at times, but you're close to the top of the list; I reserve top spot for folks like Hurwitz and Vroon.