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I listen mainly to Schiff, Richter, Gulda and Fellner. I wouldn't want to choose just one but if push came to shove I think Fellner is closest to my heart.I can't wait for him to record book two.
I don't think there is a particular 'best', but I'm surprised that Edwin Fischer wasn't mentioned at all. Here is his recording of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue:
I listen mainly to Schiff, Richter, Gulda and Fellner. I wouldn't want to choose just one but if push came to shove I think Fellner is closest to my heart.I can't wait for him to record book two.
Delightful video by Fellner. I love threads like this because I find out about artists I wouldn't know about otherwise. Marvelous tone from that instrument as well.
I often wish that recordings were accompanied by - in addition to the artist, of course - the: 1. type of piano 2. type of actions 3. type of hammers 4. type of tuning temperament 5. name of the technician/tuner (or both if not the same)
as credits, the same way that recording engineers are given credits on albums.
Forrest
Mompou, Cancion y Danza #6 some Chopin, some Bach (always), Debussy My beliefs are only that unless I can prove them.
oh my gosh.. how could i decide.? I go to Gould for 'research' purposes... own the BBC's DVD of the WTCs. (way to many breaks between the recordings - i wish i could skip them).
I saw Schiff perform the Goldberg Variations and it was one of the best experiences in my life.
accompanist/organist.. a non-MTNA teacher to a few
If you can get past the smug perfection and incessant ornamentation, Schiff's Bach is a delight. The range of colors and contrasts he gets is truly astounding - the exact opposite of Gould's equally incredible x-ray vision contrapuntal clarity.
Sokolov's Art of Fugue is absolutely magnificent, probably the finest single non-Gould Bach recording I've ever heard. Stylistically he occupies the middle ground between Gould and Schiff, and yet his idiomatic view of Bach on the piano is entirely his own.
Up to recently, I've been fairly ambivalent about Art of fugue as performed on the piano. I've been most content to hear it played on harpsichords, organs, and even (gasp!) by string quartets. There's no rhyme nor reason to this predilection - though as I gradually warm up to Pierre-Laurent Aimard's recording, I feel the resistance fading..
So thank you for that little shove, AldenH, towards Sokolov's recording - which I've just sampled on YouTube. So that's what I've been missing? It sounds wonderful - and has just been placed on my "to buy" list.
I, too, am partial towards Schiff's Bach.
Nowadays, I tend to treat many of Gould's Bach recordings as ultra-fascinating curiosities: It's probably just a phase.
I go to Gould for 'research' purposes... own the BBC's DVD of the WTCs.
What? I have a feeling I won't like the answer.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
I listen mainly to Schiff, Richter, Gulda and Fellner. I wouldn't want to choose just one but if push came to shove I think Fellner is closest to my heart.I can't wait for him to record book two.
I love this....
Justin ------- Bach English Suite #5 Scarlatti Sonata K141 . L422 Mozart Sonata K333 Schubert Impromptu opus 90 D899 Schubert Moment Musicaux opus 94 D780
For my taste, Sokolov makes heavy weather of Chopin's 24 Preludes....
Is that good?
I don't think bennevis thought so. Myself, I haven't heard Sokolov in the Chopin, so cannot comment, though I have admired other recordings of his.
His Chopin (on his CD of live performances at any rate - almost all his recordings are live) tend to labor excessively in the slow Preludes and Etudes - over-egging the pudding, or investing them with excessive gravitas (almost as if they are Last Testaments, or the slow movement of Beethoven's Hammerklavier), when a simpler flowing interpretation is required. He takes almost 10 minutes longer than most other pianists in the Preludes.
But in Russian repertoire, like Rach 3, as well as Bach, he really has few peers: what a pity one of his Rach 3 performances he recorded live for the BBC in the 1990s (including one from the BBC Proms) can't be put onto CD. And as you'd expect, he played the big cadenza magnificently.
I'm just a lowly adult beginner who recently started listening to classical music seriously. I must say that I absolutely love Angela Hewitt's Well-Tempered Clavier. I think she plays with grace, elegance, subtlety, and most of all, brings out the joyfulness in Bach's music. I saw her in concert last night and she was wonderful. I bought her "Bach Performance on the Piano" DVD and love it -- I have watched it three times already and probably will watch it many more times.
Also, I know that GG's '55 Goldbergs are supposed to be brilliant, but much of it just sounds like background music for a video game to me. I do really like his Italian Concerto though.
Finally, I am going to Bachfest Leipzig next month, and would appreciate any recommendations.
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