Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier | Johann Sebastian Bach

Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier | Johann Sebastian Bach | Music from the Highest Peak.

classical music:

Bach: Well-Tempere...

	Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Johann Sebastian Bach RCA Victor Europe, 1992 average customer review:based on 30 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Divine music

I was introduced to Bach's WTC by Glenn Gould, whose recording didn't interest me a lot (although I've come around to them now). But with Richter it was different: from the first bars of the C major prelude he creates a hypnotic spell that never loosens. This set is fantastic! Some have argued that Richter's approach is too romantic; that's definitely not my impression. He completely identificates with the music, and nearly everything sounds just *right* to me. The recording sessions were inside a castle (one with a historical background, as Richter's diaries tell), whose acoustics are perfectly suited to this music. The sound is extremely rich, and even a bit nostalgic. A sample of the C major prelude should be enough to convince you. Many other great performers have given the WTC a try, and some (like Gould) will offer a completely different (and surely rewarding) view of this great music. Yet Richter is my favourite of all. You can't miss this one!

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Music from the Highest Peak.

I have just finished listening to the first disc of this four disc set. This CD included the preludes of fugues numbers 1-14. I have also finished returning to Glenn Gould for this set of Bach's masterpieces.

If Gould, whom I love and admire greatly, performs these works greatly, then there is no exaggeration in stating that Richter's performance is from beyond this realm.

It's not so much of a surprise, anyhow, since so much of what Sviatoslav has left us with is definitive; he is such a monumental and ethereal performer that there seems to be little if any interpretation going on here...he is so spiritual this guy! A Pisces!

Mr. Richter plays with surety and humility. He is a worker in the name of these divine works. There is no sense of self here. He is not making any personal statements or proclamations. He is simply playing the music, becoming the music.

This is no longer intellectual music to me, a simple excursion into the world of the fugal art form. No, this is spiritual music. After listening to this CD I put Gould's interpretation in the disc player, and finally uncovered an terrible element in his performing style - when he hums, he is patronizing the music.

Rosalyn Tureck is also very good!

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Simplicity is divine

What these performances show us is that when Bach is played by a master musician, adding almost nothing of himself to the music except the highest taste, technique, and ability to deliniate the lines without utmost clarity, the music that results is spiritually moving in a way that far surpasses the results achieved by a performer who TRIES to be moving by adding his or her own emotions to the performance. Bravo Richter... he never sounded better!

true beauty

When I got to Richter's version, I was delirious with joy. Highly intelligent and absolutely outstanding recording. Completely loyal to the work, disciplined, technically on the highest level, no perfectionism, no steering, very musical and passionate without dispensable sentimentality. He always has a comprehensive concept; full of verve but never exaggerated, meditative but not swank.

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purified playing reflects elevated personality

Perhaps it takes the highest level comprehension and technique to carry out a pure performance of well-tempered clavier, and so far, no one have done it better than Richter in this recording. It is pure music, pure Bach. Nothing else. Comparing to his recoring for the "Revelation" label, it is more spiritually free and relaxed, probably helped by better recording and excellent sounding piano.
This is a textbook, or a bible, in any classical piano fan's collection.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6

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