# Harpsichordist Isolde Ahlgrimm, anyone?



## deangelisj35 (9 mo ago)

Is anyone here familiar with her work?

She is said to have been the first harpsichordist to record most of Bach's works for that instrument and harpsichordist Peter Watchorn has written extensively about her, including the book "Isolde Ahlgrimm, Vienna and the Early Music Revival." Decca Eloquence had, at one time, been preparing a set of her Philips recording, but were hesitant to release it because they believed that sales would be minimal.

Here's some info on Alhgrimm:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolde_Ahlgrimm


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

She was a worthy pioneer. Isolde Ahlgrimm came to the harpsichord through playing the fortepiano of which she was one of the earliest proponents. She didn’t enjoy the recording business, complaining that too often directors told her how she should play whether she wanted to play that way or not. She also felt that the need to make recordings “perfect” was dishonest and that artists should be heard as they really are – music is human she would say, and musicians are human. For her there was no sense in making recordings that could not be duplicated on the stage. She also felt the acoustic of most recording studios in her time were purposely made as “dead” as possible and the dry sound did not suit the natural sound of the harpsichord. She preferred to record at home. Ms. Ahlgrimm once called herself a “Bach widow” because so much of her time was spent playing his work, which she did wonderfully well. By all accounts she was an excellent teacher who made significant contributions to harpsichord playing in the United States: through her teaching in Salzburg, Vienna, and during semester-long guest professorships at Oberlin and Southern Methodist University, as well as several American concert tours organized by managers, but aided and attended by her many grateful students.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

There’s an Art of Fugue on a label “Tudor”, she uses a revival pedal harpsichord. I thought it was quite expressive and self effacing, and of course the instrument is unusual to say the least. And there’s a Musical Offering with Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt where she plays the ricercar - I thought the a6 was not my sort of thing - grand manner à la Schweitzer - but the a3 was not so bad. I didn’t enjoy the metronomic trio sonata either. 

And that’s it, that’s all I know about her.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Ahlgrimm's complete Bach harpsichord set was recorded for Philips in the mid1950es on her own Ammer 16' revival harpsichord. This set was re-released on LP in two boxes around 1977. Later mostly in the 1960es she re-recorded much of the music for Belvedere/Tudor.

I have heard most of the Philips set and the second recording of AoF (for Tudor) as well as the Händel suites for Berlin Classics.

I find her approach old fashioned and rather stiff, reminding a bit of Zuzana Růžičková's. Her playing doesn't do much for me, and I do not listen to her recordings often, and when I do it uses to be the AoF, which I find is the most interesting of her recordings.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Never heard of hear, my fault, but that is such joy on a forum, one learn things every day. , so thank you .


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

The irony that a musician with such an epic Wagnerian name is a harpsichordist...


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

RobertJTh said:


> The irony that a musician with such an epic Wagnerian name is a harpsichordist...


About as piquant an irony as Adolph Busch defying the Nazis.


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## deangelisj35 (9 mo ago)

premont said:


> Ahlgrimm's complete Bach harpsichord set was recorded for Philips in the mid1950es on her own Ammer 16' revival harpsichord. This set was re-released on LP in two boxes around 1977. Later mostly in the 1960es she re-recorded much of the music for Belvedere/Tudor....I have heard most of the Philips set and the second recording of AoF (for Tudor) as well as the Händel suites for Berlin Classics.
> 
> I find her approach old fashioned and rather stiff, reminding a bit of Zuzana Růžičková's. Her playing doesn't do much for me, and I do not listen to her recordings often, and when I do it uses to be the AoF, which I find is the most interesting of her recordings.


Thanks for your thoughts. I actually have the Zuzana Růžičková Bach collection on Erato and i like it. I originally became familiar with Bach's keyboard works via Glenn Gould, so I'm enjoying going back and listening to more conservative treatments, whether it be Gustav Leonhardt or Angela Hewitt. Maybe I'm a bit stiff and old-fashioned myself.


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