# Bach - Well tempered clavier & The art of fugue - which recordings



## Daimonion (Apr 22, 2012)

Hello,

I am looking for the recordings of Bach's Well tempered clavier & The Art of Fugue. As for my taste I do like Gould's Goldberg Variations (1981 ones!) but I am not somehow convinced by his interpretation of Well tempered clavier (I have mixed feelings about it. For the reasons I cannot recognize). I am a beginner. Any suggestions will be welcome. Yours,

Daimonion


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Harpsichord or piano for WTC? Perhaps organ or ensemble for AoF?


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## Daimonion (Apr 22, 2012)

I think I will start with piano WTC. As for the AoF I'd like to buy both piano and string quartet. For the string quartet, thought, I've already chosen Emerson String Quartet.


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## Daimonion (Apr 22, 2012)

P.S. I like the way Gould plays AoF here - 



 - but as far as I know it may be hard to find a complete and consistent recording of this kind. (The edition I found has both piano and organ tracks and they are taken from different sources, as far as I understand).


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Piano WTC:

Tureck
Koroliov
Aldwell
Richter
Crossland
Fellner
Gulda
Schepkin
Schiff (ECM)
Sheppard
Vieru

Happy hunting!!


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## ibrahim (Apr 29, 2017)

My go-to has been Andras Schiff. This set in particular.

https://www.amazon.com/Well-Tempere...1-2&keywords=andras+schiff+bach+well+tempered

https://www.amazon.com/Well-Tempere...1-3&keywords=andras+schiff+bach+well+tempered


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Schiff and/or Hewitt.
Hewitt's AoF is outstanding.


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## Schoenberg (Oct 15, 2018)

Personally, though through some questionable decisions made by Richter, I believe his recording of the WTC to be the gold standard of the best piano recording.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Edwin Fischer for WTC. Love his technique. Less pedal. Richter for a more pedalled version.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Daimonion said:


> P.S. I like the way Gould plays AoF here -
> 
> 
> 
> - but as far as I know it may be hard to find a complete and consistent recording of this kind. (The edition I found has both piano and organ tracks and they are taken from different sources, as far as I understand).


Maybe Thierry Mechler, which he's made available for free here


__
https://soundcloud.com/


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

WTC - Fischer & Feinberg on piano, Gilbert on harpsichord

Art of the fugue - Walcha


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Daimonion said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am looking for the recordings of Bach's Well tempered clavier & The Art of Fugue.


As you an see, you're getting lots of recommendations. I'd suggest that you go to Spotify and Youtube and sample what's there (there are dozens of recordings on Spotify) and decide what suits you.

My personal favorites for the WTC are Nikolayeva and Feinberg on piano (both may be hard to find at a reasonable price) and Koopman and van Asperen on harpsichord.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Go to youtube or a streaming site and listen for yourself. That's the only way to decide whose playing you prefer. Since you have mixed feelings about Gould you may prefer a slightly more romantic approach? More legato. I have both Gould and Richter for contrasting approaches. And there's all the more recent recordings if you want premium sound.


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## merlinus (Apr 12, 2014)

For The Art of Fugue on piano, I very much like Koroliov and Sokolov. Also Gould, but those are incomplete.


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## Daimonion (Apr 22, 2012)

Thank you very much for all the above answers. Most of them, though, concerns WTC. As for the latter, I decided to prolong the decision and to investigate the freely available fragments of the recording you mentioned.

What about the Art of Fugue? What are your suggestions? (As for the ones already mentioned I am mostly attracted by Hewitt, Koroliov, and Sokolov, with a very tiny preference for the first one)


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Just listed to AoF earlier today. It was Stokowski's orchestral version on Naxos.





The 1982 (??) Gould recording is good ... but that incessant humming 

AoF was also covered on this TC thread:
Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue), BWV 1080


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Ths may be from left field, but I find the AoF very palatable played by a brass ensemble -- very easy to follow the individual lines of music!


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## lextune (Nov 25, 2016)

I have three picks for WTC, Richter, Gould, and Schiff. All three are extremely authoritative, and yet completely different from one another.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

I prefer to listen to the WTC played in a harpsichord. The performances of Leonhardt and Walcha (1973) are my favorites.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

WTC - Kenneth Gilbert on harpsichord and Andras Schiff (ECM) Piano
AOF - Kenneth Gilbert on harpsichord


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

tdc said:


> AOF - Kenneth Gilbert on harpsichord


That's my favorite AoF as well, even though it is not complete.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> That's my favorite AoF as well, even though it is not complete.


Yes, frankly there are still plenty of recordings of AoF I need to explore, but thus far that one has my highest recommendation.


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2018)

Daimonion said:


> I think I will start with piano WTC. As for the AoF I'd like to buy both piano and string quartet. For the string quartet, thought, I've already chosen Emerson String Quartet.


I prefer Fretwork's recording of AoF if you want strings. For keyboard, I really love Walcha on the organ. But for something different, go for the New Century Saxophone Quartet.

I have Hewitt's WTC, and it is good.


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## Ras (Oct 6, 2017)

*"Art of Fugue" for string quartet or piano*



Daimonion said:


> I think I will start with piano WTC. As for the AoF I'd like to buy both piano and string quartet. For the string quartet, thought, I've already chosen Emerson String Quartet.


*For String Quartet:* You won't go wrong with the *Emerson String Quartet - there are other good ones by Delme Quartet on Hyperion, Julliard Quartet on Sony/Columbia and the Keller Quartet on ECM.* The Delme is kind of interesting, because they play a completion of the fugue that JS Bach left unfinished.

*On piano* my favorites are *G. Sokolov on Naive/Opus111 and Konstantin Lifschitz on Orfeo.* 
Sokolov is dark and deep and Lifschitz is light and elegant.
I wish Murray Perahia and Andras Schiff would both record the Art of Fugue on piano, but it hasn't happened yet...

You can hear most of these recordings on www.spotify.com


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2019)

WTCiano: Richter, Koroliov, Schiff
hps: Scott Ross, Rousset
AOFiano; Sokolov, Koroliov
hps:Leonhardt ,R.Hill (lute-hps)
sq: Juilliard Qt


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