# Favorite Bach pianists.



## Kjetil Heggelund

I'm wondering who you love playing Bach on a modern piano. I was raised on Gould playing Goldberg, but have kind of tired of his very personal style. When I put on Bach these days it's probably Angela Hewitt or Andras Schiff. BUT, I just discovered Roger Woodward playing WTC and think he plays very soulful & beautiful. This subject probably already has a thread somewhere...


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## Bulldog

My favorites include Koroliov, Gould, Woodward, Rubsam, and Gulda. My top pick is Tureck.


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## Mandryka

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> I'm wondering who you love playing Bach on a modern piano. I was raised on Gould playing Goldberg, but have kind of tired of his very personal style. When I put on Bach these days it's probably Angela Hewitt or Andras Schiff. BUT, I just discovered Roger Woodward playing WTC and think he plays very soulful & beautiful. This subject probably already has a thread somewhere...


There's something very good by Woodward, a live performance of the 6th partita, he was clearly in a good mood that night. On this CD


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## wkasimer

Off the top of my head, Koroliov, Dershavina, Schepkin, and Nikolayeva


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## millionrainbows

Gould for me, all the way. I actually like Brendel's version of the WTC on Philips; I agree with his tempi. Most of the Russians I've heard I've liked, from my Great Russian Pianists box sets. Also, I recently heard Marcelle Meyer doing Bach from her big box set, and I was very impressed.

My favorite Bach performance of all time:


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## Guest

I quite like Perahia, particularly his recording of the Goldbergs.


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## mikeh375

Schiff and Hewitt here.


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## wkasimer

millionrainbows said:


> I actually like Brendel's version of the WTC on Philips;


Did Brendel record the WTC? I've never seen or heard of it.


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## millionrainbows

wkasimer said:


> Did Brendel record the WTC? I've never seen or heard of it.


You're right! Good catch. I meant Gulda.

View attachment 126404


Right now, listening to Marcelle Meyer's Chromatic Fantasy. She does it with more restraint than anybody, and it works.


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## JayBee

I rarely see Zhu Xiao-Mei's name mentioned, and I wonder why that is. I find her _Goldberg Variations_ especially moving. One performance is available here:


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## wkasimer

JayBee said:


> I rarely see Zhu Xiao-Mei's name mentioned, and I wonder why that is.


Well, in my case, it's just because I forgot!!

In addition to her excellent recordings, I strongly recommend her autobiography "The Secret Piano":

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Piano-Labor-Goldberg-Variations/dp/1611090776


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## premont

We had a similar thread here:

https://www.talkclassical.com/52704-bach-pianists.html?highlight=bach+on+the+piano


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## BiscuityBoyle

So many... Of the lesser-known ones, I love Sviatoslav Richter's friend, the Soviet virtuoso Anatoly Vedernikov. He doesn't try imitating the harpsichord but his attack is so precise and the tone so transparent.


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## Kjetil Heggelund

premont said:


> We had a similar thread here:
> 
> https://www.talkclassical.com/52704-bach-pianists.html?highlight=bach+on+the+piano


Thank-you for guidance! I decided to leave out cembalo in this thread, although I really love it. I believe that with cembalo, the musicians have almost less to say than the instruments...Is that a crazy idea? A bit like organ, where the instruments really differ in sound according to the church/room they're in...


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## Bigbang

Bulldog said:


> My favorites include Koroliov, Gould, Woodward, Rubsam, and Gulda. My top pick is Tureck.


With regard to Rubsam--are you referring to mostly Naxos label or other labels?


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## Bulldog

Bigbang said:


> With regard to Rubsam--are you referring to mostly Naxos label or other labels?


I'm referring to Naxos.


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## Rogerx

For today it's Perahia and Schiff, tomorrow will see.


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## Mandryka

Bulldog said:


> My favorites include Koroliov, Gould, Woodward, Rubsam, and Gulda. My top pick is Tureck.


I listened to Koroliov play the fifth French suite a couple of weeks ago. Interesting ornamentation in the allemande.


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## Mandryka

This was released quite recently, and it has an almost complete live Well Tempered Clavier, just about listenable sound. I've only listened to BK 2. She takes a bit of time to settle down but when she does it's a strong force of nature, powerful enough to make it worth enduring the sound quality.


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## joen_cph

The Scribendum Yudina 26 CD set also has WTC, sometimes it's not very expensive:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/Mar/Yudina_art_SC813.htm
http://www.scribendumrecordings.com...sc813-26cd---the-art-of-maria-yudina/11333768

The Yudina 10 CD set mentioned above:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8668343--maria-yudina-anniversary-edition

Some often played favourites:

Goldberg - Schiff/decca

WTC - Feinberg, Richter

French Suites - Gavrilov/emi

English Suites 2+3 /Pogorelich/DG

Concertos. piano version - Gavrilov/Marriner, Gould/Golschmann etc.


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## flamencosketches

DrMike said:


> I quite like Perahia, particularly his recording of the Goldbergs.


Ditto this. Also András Schiff, Sviatoslav Richter (my favorite WTC), and I have begun to appreciate Rosalyn Tureck lately, though she is very idiosyncratic. I suspect that Walter Gieseking's Bach is worth exploring. Martha Argerich and Ivo Pogorelich have recorded a couple of excellent Bach recordings each. Finally, the man who started it all for me: Glenn Gould, of course. I hope I never tire of his style... though his was never the last word on Bach.


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## Blancrocher

A favorite not mentioned is Charles Rosen's Art of Fugue (available in a double-album with Tureck's Italian Concerto & other works).


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## Dimace

João Carlos Martin and the Sir. The first is the biggest Bach expert / maniac / devoted, ever lived, because he is playing only Bach.


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## Varick

I can't imagine ever tiring of Gould's Bach. I have every recording he has done of Bach. However, I am always interested in hearing other Bach interpretations.

I find it odd that so many people combine their likes with Hewitt and Schiff. I am not a fan of Hewitt's Bach (I know, I'm an outlier, especially given the fact that I used to manage her back in the '90s - Lovely woman), but I must concur with the Schiff enthusiasm on this thread. I also enjoy Yudina (Took me a few listens to warm up to, but I am now firmly on board with her), Feltsman I also believe does Bach well and one (imo) OUTSTANDING Golberg is by Andrei Gavrilov. I believe it is one of the greatest "newer" recordings of this epic piece of music. I will be listening to his French Suites and Keyboard Concertos in this coming week. If they even come close to his Goldberg, it will be most enjoyable.

V


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## Larkenfield

At the top of my 21st-Century playlist of _contemporary_ Bach interpretations (rather than the metronomic, HIP Bach playlist approach on period instruments) are the Toccatas by Amandine Savary. Not like Gould's at all, which I have also enjoyed... She gets so much out of each one with such a beautifully refined and expressive touch. Some will call these "Romantic" interpretations, but I don't care. I call them _expressive_ interpretations because there's something more human about them. I think even Bach would have come to enjoy her inspired playing. I cannot take lifeless rote performances of Bach's great works and I like his Toccatas as much as anything else he ever wrote, perhaps more. There's something entirely human about them as secular works, and Amandine brings out what seems like another side of his personality... To proclaim Bach simply a great composer does not do him justice. He was a bottomless pit of inspired creativity and inventiveness, and his Toccata's performed as Amandine does here are for me unique and addictive despite not being performed as Gould does. She finds something deliciously fresh and new in these marvelous works though it took me a while to get used to them.


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## Larkenfield

Another marvelously expressive Bach interpreter: Alfred Brendel:

From a great CD:






This is another example of non-metronomic, non-robotic Bach that sounds human and played more flexibly and expressively than usual in more conservative interpretations. It's played more lyrically and flowing and he builds it marvelously. But not every keyboard player can do this where it works (it works for me).


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## joen_cph

Dimace said:


> João Carlos Martin and the Sir. The first is the biggest Bach expert / maniac / devoted, ever lived, because he is playing only Bach.


I have the Partitas in his recording, but LP only.


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## DavidA

I heard Angela Hewitt in concert playing Book 2 of the WTC. At the end I wondered if JSB would have thought we were all mad listening to it all at one sitting.


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## howlingfantods

Sokolov, Gould, and Schepkin are my favorites, but I also have a number of Bach piano recordings I treasure from Feinberg, Yudina, Richter, Zhukov, Pogorelich, and Argerich.



DavidA said:


> I heard Angela Hewitt in concert playing Book 2 of the WTC. At the end I wondered if JSB would have thought we were all mad listening to it all at one sitting.


There are pianists who I would happily hear perform Book 2 of WTC in one sitting. Hewitt is definitely not one of them.


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## Kjetil Heggelund

I'm surprised at the resent for Hewitt...Whatsamatter? I think she is astonishing


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## howlingfantods

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> I'm surprised at the resent for Hewitt...Whatsamatter? I think she is astonishing


*shrug* I find her pretty boring and tedious. I'm not sure I've heard a more boring and less impressive chromatic fantasy and fugue than this one: 




Listen to this Yudina as contrast: 




Yudina, I could listen to her playing all of WTK in one sitting. Hewitt not so much.


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## Bulldog

I have mixed feelings about Hewitt's Bach. One thing she isn't is a "power" pianist who growls when needed, and Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue finds her missing when those elements are in front of her. On the other hand, she's an elegant and charming pianist; I have all her Bach recordings, and I'm glad to have them.


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## howlingfantods

I think the main thing I look for in a Bach pianist is a strong feeling for counterpoint, and the use of dynamics, agogics, articulation for bringing out the different voices in a swirl of multivoiced textures. Thus my favorites Sokolov, Gould, Schepkin who excel where that type of contrapuntal clarity is concerned.

What I most dislike in a Bach pianist is the feeling of hearing a melody and accompaniment, especially an overly gentle and lyrical melody and accompaniment as if the pianist was playing Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte or something, and that's what I mostly hear from Hewitt and Perahia for instance.


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## wkasimer

howlingfantods said:


> *shrug* I find her pretty boring and tedious.


I'd call her Bach "bland". It's all very well played, and Hyperion has always provided her with excellent sonics, but I don't sense a strong personality behind her playing.


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## Mandryka

What do you make of this?


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## Bulldog

Mandryka said:


> What do you make of this?


I've had the above disc for many years. Her Italian Concerto is one of her best efforts, especially the stunning 2nd movement.


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## Mandryka

I think a similar thing happened to Perahia -- a very promising start with some Schumann and Chopin and even some of the earliest recordings of the Mozart concertos.


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## tdc

In general I very much like both Schiff and Hewitt for Bach on piano. I'm not crazy about the Hewitt version of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue posted in this thread, but I'm not really into any piano version I've heard of it. That particular work I think just works better on a harpsichord.


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## Mandryka

The paradox is that the chromatic fantasy has been so much adopted by modern piano players, I have recordings by the likes of Artur Schnabel and Claudio Arrau and Wilhelm Kempff and Ivan Moravec and Maria Tipo and Rosalyn Tureck and Maria Yudina and others, all using big bad concert grands tuned equally.

But more interesting than that, Chris Hogwood recorded it with a clavichord! And a clavichord has some things in common with a piano - percussive sound production, some dynamics variation possibilities for individual notes and short phrases. I don't have the booklet to his _The Secret Bach_ to hand, I don't know if he discusses his choice.


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## premont

I agree with TDC that the chromatic fantasy and fugue is best served by the harpsichord. The weak tonal color of the piano works against the brilliance of the piece, which must be seen in the light of works like Buxtehude's organ toccatas and minor mode preludes. Also the chromatic parts of the piece are stressed by an unequal tuning. And the clavichord tends to dwarf the piece into something intimate and domestic, which it isn't.


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## damianjb1

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> I'm wondering who you love playing Bach on a modern piano. I was raised on Gould playing Goldberg, but have kind of tired of his very personal style. When I put on Bach these days it's probably Angela Hewitt or Andras Schiff. BUT, I just discovered Roger Woodward playing WTC and think he plays very soulful & beautiful. This subject probably already has a thread somewhere...


For me it's Richter. It's his recording of the 48 that I return to more than any other


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## Josquin13

J.S. Bach is one of my top three favorite composers, & I've collected a great many recordings over the years, on both piano & harpsichord. Here's a list of my favorite Bach pianists put more or less in order of preference, for each of the following keyboard works:

1) 6 Partitas:

--1st choice: I'm keen on the 6 Partitas set by pianist turned harpsichordist now turned back to pianist, Virginia Black, released by CRD: 



--1st choice (tie): Vladimir Feltsman, on Camerata: 



--2nd choice: Ivo Janssen, on VOID: 



--3rd choice: Jean Louis Steuerman, on Philips: 



--4th choice: Maria Tipo, for her more 'romantic' view: 



.

For a more unusual take on these works, Rosalyn Tureck is interesting, too: 



. However, when I'm in the mood to hear a more individualistic interpretation of the Partitas, I tend to reach for Glenn Gould over Tureck: 



. I also prefer Gould to Carl Seemann, who I can find too rhythmically strict and inflexible in Bach. Despite the excellence of his playing, Seemann rarely seems to take a breathe or pause. His Bach is continually in forward motion, and I find it fatiguing to listen to: 




Yet, I also partly agree with harpsichordist Scott Ross's remark about Glenn Gould's Bach in the documentary film, "Scott Ross, Playing & Teaching":

"When I hear nutcases like Glenn Gould who do: [Ross plays a staccato version of J.S. Bach's Partita no. 1, BWV 825, Allemande], I say he understood nothing of Bach's music! I've listened carefully to his records: he didn't understand. He was very brilliant; I respect him up to a certain point. For me, the fact that an artist doesn't appear in public poses a problem. But at least he was a guy with the courage not to do things like other people. All the same, he was wide off the mark, so wide off the mark that you'd need a 747 to bring him back."

In defense of Gould's idiosyncratic Bach interpretations, I should point out that Gould freely admitted he was making "transcriptions" of Bach's keyboard music for the piano, and therefore taking liberties. I'm reminded of the opening sentence of an article by Alex Ross for The New Yorker in 2018 (titled, "The Rebel Harpsichordists"), where Ross humorously writes, "If you know Bach's Goldberg Variations only through the eternally best-selling recordings by Glenn Gould, you have not really heard the work." To my mind, one could substitute the "6 Partitas" or "French Suites" or "English Suites", etc., for the "Goldberg Variations" here and Ross's sentence would still make sense and be valid. Although Gould may have been trying to mimic the pinpoint accuracy of a harpsichord by resorting to such staccato effects on the piano.

Alexis Weissenberg is another pianist that can be challenging in the 6 Partitas, due to his occasional fast (even breakneck) tempi, which can give the impression of aloofness, & may not be for all listeners (on EMI, nos. 1-6--1966, & DG nos. 4 & 6--1980s): 



. Nevertheless, Weissenberg was a student of the great Wanda Landowska and his Bach has its admirers.

Among the well reviewed recordings that I don't know, I've not heard Igor Levit's 6 Partitas, but would imagine they're very good, considering that Levit plays late Beethoven with a baroque-like touch & sensibility: 



. Nor have I heard Craig Sheppard, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Andras Schiff (ECM), or Richard Goode, either. In Nikolayeva's case, I don't think her 6 Partitas have ever made it to CD, as they were only ever available in a 4-LP Victor set, as far as I know.

Historically, there's a brilliant recording of the Paritita no. 1 played by Rosita Renard live at Carnegie Hall in 1949: 



. Dinu Lipatti's studio & live at the Besançon Festival recordings of the Partita no. 1 are favorites, too: 



. I'm also partial to Dubravka Tomsic in the Partita no. 1, on the discount Pilz label (a digital recording).

(On harpsichord, Pascal Dubreuil is presently my #1 choice for the 6 Partitas, & I think he's great!: 



. Pieter-Jan Belder is likewise excellent, but not nearly as well recorded.)

2) 6 French Suites:

--1st choice: My first pick is Ingrid Haebler, whose French Suites 1-6 were recorded for Philips in 1981-82. As you might expect, Haebler's Bach, like her Mozart & Haydn, is more refined and classically restrained than it is Romantic or highly expressive. Her phrasing is second to none. The set has been reissued by Tower Records Japan, and the sound quality is first class. Strongly recommended:





https://www.amazon.com/Bach-French-Suite-Ingrid-Haebler/dp/B00RUF9810

--2nd choice: Among recordings of recent years, I've most enjoyed pianist Andrea Bacchetti's 6 French Suites on Sony, which I'd also strongly recommend: 




--3rd choice: Bacchetti's interpretations make for an interesting comparison to Edward Aldwell's Hänssler set, as Aldwell interprets the music in a way that I find more similar to Gustav Leonhardt's view, albeit with the music transposed to a piano & with a bit of Schenkarian analysis applied to the score. As a result, Aldwell's rhythms aren't always entirely steady (similar to Wilhelm Furtwängler's conducting, who likewise used Schenkarian musical analysis to develop his interpretations): 



.

--4th choice: Andras Schiff, on Decca: https://www.amazon.com/Bach-French-...h+french+suites&qid=1573610199&s=music&sr=1-1 (though I've not heard Schiff's more recent live blu ray/DVD set: 



)

In addition, I wouldn't want to be without Emil Gilels' insightful French Suite no. 5, which was recorded in the studio for RCA Victor: 



. Murray Perahia is also good in the French Suites, on DG: 



.

In contrast, I can find parts of Glenn Gould's French Suites odd interpretatively: 



. Here, I concur with Ross's reaction to Gould's use of weird staccato effects & the need for a 747 jet airplane: 



. Gould also takes some unusually fast tempi, such as his speedy opening allemande to the French Suite no. 1--which I dislike, and arguably in parts of the French Suite no. 5, as well. It can take some adjusting to, and I wouldn't be surprised if some listeners aren't able to accept what Gould does in these movements. In my view, Gould's French Suites are among his more personal Bach performances.

Audiophile choice: For a more youthful alternative to the above pianists, Caspar Frantz, is also very good in the French Suites, and has been recorded in state of the art audiophile sound by Ars Produktion: 



.

Andrei Gavrilov is another pianist that is well regarded in the French Suites, which he has recorded twice: first for EMI, where his interpretations are in a similar style to Sviatoslav Richter's Bach (indeed Richter once remarked that it was difficult to tell the difference between himself and his protégé Gavrilov in their shared recordings of Handel's 16 keyboard Suites): 



, and secondly for DG, where Gavrilov was arguably more Gould influenced: For example, take note of the speedy opening allemande of Gavrilov's French Suite no. 1, as well as the more clipped phrasing in other movements throughout the DG set: 



 Interestingly, Gavrilov once said that Richter & Gould were his two major influences in Bach during his formative years. While neither of Gavrilov's sets is a top choice of mine, I can see his EMI set being a favorite for those listeners looking for a well played set that takes a more 'romantic' view.

Speaking of Richter, late in his career, Richter made a series of live concert recordings of selected French Suites for the Philips, Stradivarius, & Live Classics labels, which were recorded in the 1980s to early 1990s. These performances show Richter's Bach in a good, substantive light. However, I tend to prefer Richter's playing from the 1960s to the mid-1970s over the recordings he made in his later years (with some exceptions): 




I've not heard Tatiana Nikolayeva's French Suites 1-6--reissued by Scribendum, which she recorded in 1965, but her set is likely among the top picks: 









(On harpsichord, I've most liked Bob van Asperen and Gustav Leonhardt in the French Suites, along with Christophe Rousset, and for alternative views, Blandine Rannou & Ton Koopman:

--Bob van Asperen: 



--Gustav Leonhardt, Sony:https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Suites-...h+french+suites&qid=1575582158&s=music&sr=1-4)

3) French Overture in B minor:

1st--Edward Aldwell, on Biddulph: 



2nd--Konstantin Lifschitz, on Denon: 



3rd--Alexis Weissenberg, on EMI: 



4th--Jean Louis Steuerman, on Philips: 



5th--Ivo Janssen, on VOID: 



6th--Piotr Anderszewski, on Harmonia Mundi: 




4) Two & Three Part Inventions, or 15 Inventions & Sinfonias:

--1st choice: Tatiana Nikolayeva, recorded in April 1977, and released on CD by Harmonia Mundi, Olympia, & Mezhdunarodnaya Knig: 



. 
--2nd choice: Peter Serkin, RCA: In certain movements, Serkin takes a more leisurely view than others, but I find his interpretations very beautiful, and wouldn't want to be without this recording. Plus, he doesn't pound on the keys in Bach as he does in Mozart: 



--3rd choice: Evgeni Koroliov, on Hänssler--more masterful Bach playing: 



--4th choice: Vladimir Feltsman, on Camerata: 




https://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Par...amerata&qid=1573247972&s=music&sr=1-1-catcorr
--5th choice: Andras Schiff, on Decca: Schiff's Inventions & Sinfonias are certainly well played, but I'm not a huge fan of Schiff's ornamentation in this music, which at times can seem contrived, superficial, & needless decoration to my ears: 



--6th choice: Glenn Gould, on Columbia/Sony: It's a shame that Gould's Inventions & Sinfonias don't come in better sound, as his piano tone has been compromised as a result. Of all of Gould's Bach, this is the recording that could most use a "Zenph re-performance": 




I've not heard the East German pianist Amadeus Webersinke's 1978 recording: 








https://www.amazon.com/BACH-INVENTI...ke+bach&qid=1575560660&s=music&sr=1-4-catcorr

(On harpsichord, Bob van Asperen is magnificent in the Inventions & Sinfonias, and he's been recorded in state of the art audiophile sound. Plus, he generously includes the Little Preludes as a coupling: 



)

5) 6 English Suites:

--1st choice: Ivo Pogorelich--English Suites 2 & 3, on DG: This recording isn't likely going to be for everyone, but I like Pogorelich's imagination & verve in Bach (& Scarlatti): 



--2nd choice: Murray Perahia, on Sony--I'm still waiting for a great set of the 6 English Suites to be recorded on the piano, but in the meantime, Perahia offers a very good, reliable survey: 




Perahia's current competition:
--Ivo Janssen, on VOID: 



--Andras Schiff, on Decca: Schiff's 6 English Suites recording won a Grammy award, but he does some odd things here & there, interpretatively, which don't always make sense to me: 



--Vladimir Feltsman: 



--Andrea Bacchetti: I've not heard Bacchetti's Decca set, which is hard to find now.
--Amadeus Webersinke: I've not heard this set, either.

For a different take on the English Suites, Glenn Gould is unusual & quirky, but interesting: 



.

(On harpsichord, my #1 choice is Christophe Rousset in the 6 English Suites, but I also like Bob Van Asperen & Pascal Dubreuil:

Rousset:



Dubreuil: 



)

6) Goldberg Variations:

--1st choice: Glenn Gould, 1981 CBS--Along with Gould's late Toccatas, this is my favorite Bach recording by him: 



. In an interview with Tim Page, given late in Gould's life & career, Gould told Page that he didn't like or agree with his early Bach interpretations, which he called "the sins of my youth". So, evidently Gould would have agreed with my preference for his late Bach recordings & final Goldberg Variations. Here's the interview: 




--1st choice (tie): Tatiana Nikolayeva--The great Russian pianist recorded the Goldberg Variations five times. I've most liked Nikolayeva's 1st recording made in February, 1979, released by Melodiya/JVC Victor Japan, and her 2nd recording made live in Denmark in April, 1983, released by the Classico label. I've least liked her 1992 Hyperion studio recording, where she can sound challenged in the faster movements, possibly due to poor health. Nevertheless, it's a fine performance:

1st--1979 Melodiya (often mistakenly labeled 1971): 



2nd--Live in Denmark, 1983, Classico: 



3rd--Live in St. John's, Smith Square, London, 1986, BBC: 




I've not heard Nikolayeva's 1987 live recording at Berwald Hall, Stockholm, released by the Bluebell label. But I see that it's been posted on YT twice:









--2nd choice: Ivo Janssen--IMO, this is one of the best recordings from Janssen's complete survey on VOID. There are times when I prefer Janssen's Goldbergs to Gould's, which is saying something: 



https://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Goldberg-Variations-Janssen/dp/B004N4I36W
--2nd choice (tie): Edward Aldwell, on Biddulph. I've also liked Aldwell's quieter, less extroverted approach, & admit that this may be more what Bach had in mind for Count Kaiserling's late night listening (unfortunately, the opening aria is missing on the YT link): 



--3rd choice: Konstantin Lifschitz, on Denon (though I've not heard Lifschitz's later Orfeo recording):
Opening aria: 



Variations: 



--4th choice: Glenn Gould, on Columbia/Sony: 1955, Zenph re-performance: 



--5th choice: Murray Perahia, on Sony: 



--6th choice: Rosalyn Tureck. People tend to disagree about which is Tureck's best recording, between her 1957 Goldbergs, the 1998 DG recording, and this VAI CD recorded live in the 1980s, which is my preference: 



. Granted, it's an occasionally quirky (though beautiful) interpretation.

Last but not least, my top historical pick for the Goldbergs is Maria Yudina's recording, which was included in Philips' Great Pianists series: 



.

(I've not heard David Jalbert, Evgeni Koroliov, Peter Serkin, Charles Rosen, or Beatrice Rana in this music.)

(On harpsichord, Pascal Dubreuil's Rameé label recording is the finest I've heard; at least, I can't imagine the Goldbergs played any better than by Dubreuil, who is well recorded, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvX...hdtQJjl_V_5_zc. But I also like Bob van Asperen, Pierre Hantai 1 & 2, and Ketil Haugsand in this music; as well as Blandine Rannou and Fabio Bonizzoni for their more individualistic interpretations.)

Well, that's all for now, as I've used up my allowed space. I'll return to this thread later to write another post that covers my favorite pianists in the Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 & 2, Toccatas, Art of the Fugue, etc., and my most treasured 'desert island' CDs of selected Bach keyboard works; as well as my top picks for recordings of Bach's complete Keyboard Concertos.


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## Heliogabo

Vikingur Olaffson's recent album (DG) deserves attention. Don't miss it!


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## wkasimer

Thanks for a great survey!



> (I've not heard David Jalbert, Evgeni Koroliov, Peter Serkin, Charles Rosen, or Beatrice Rana in this music.)


One name whose absence I note is Sergey Schepkin. Is that because you haven't heard any of his recordings, or because his playing doesn't appeal to you?


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## Mandryka

Josquin13 said:


> J


Haebler's French suites are nice, I agree.

The thing that gets my goat about all these pianists, or nearly all of them, is their barefaced arrogance in overlaying modern piano effects on Bach's clavichord and harpsichord music. Gilding the lily. This is just a way to draw attention to themselves, a total absence of humility, modesty. And the result for me is that I become distracted by the ****-ing pianism. Haebler is no exception to this. I HATE PIANO PLAYERS.

But yes, Haebler's French suites are nice. A nice travesty.


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## Mandryka

Re Haebler's French Suites, I take back what I just said. They suffer from the usual piano players' problem of making the music sound too sunny and smooth and sweet and agreeable all the time, even in those sombre and tortured gigues. The result is something that's nice and sweet and shallow. like a big piece of Viennese apple strudel. Where's the dark night of the soul? Where's the spikiness and acerbity? This is baroque -- it should be twisted. 

As usual, the gugues are revealing.


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## Kjetil Heggelund

Mandryka said:


> Haebler's French suites are nice, I agree.
> 
> The thing that gets my goat about all these pianists, or nearly all of them, is their barefaced arrogance in overlaying modern piano effects on Bach's clavichord and harpsichord music. Gilding the lily. This is just a way to draw attention to themselves, a total absence of humility, modesty. And the result for me is that I become distracted by the ****-ing pianism. Haebler is no exception to this. I HATE PIANO PLAYERS.
> 
> But yes, Haebler's French suites are nice. A nice travesty.


Drawing attention to themselves! Exactly! I don't care so much (as you), but this is one thing I'm concerned with.


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## Josquin13

Mandryka said:


> Re Haebler's French Suites, I take back what I just said. They suffer from the usual piano players' problem of making the music sound too sunny and smooth and sweet and agreeable all the time, even in those sombre and tortured gigues. The result is something that's nice and sweet and shallow. like a big piece of Viennese apple strudel. Where's the dark night of the soul? Where's the spikiness and acerbity? This is baroque -- it should be twisted.
> 
> As usual, the gugues are revealing.


Haebler's Mozart Piano Sonatas have been criticized for a similar reason--their "Dresden China" effect (which is perhaps the German equivalent of "Viennese apple strudel"...). I don't think it's always a fair criticism, at least not on her later Denon set. Though it may be more evident on her earlier Philips Mozart set. It's not that Mozart & Bach didn't suffer, or express darker moments in their music, as they did, but I don't think of either composer as self-indulgent or wallowing in their personal suffering, at least not in the way that Beethoven might be criticized for, or perhaps Schubert, or other Romantic era composers. To my mind, they were more imperturbable. I don't hear their music becoming unhinged or tortured, & for me, that's a core part of their music. So, I don't hear it as "twisted"--but I'll have to listen more carefully to Bach gigues now. Maybe I've missed those elements, or haven't heard them brought out clearly enough by the keyboard players that I've been listening to. Can you suggest a harpsichordist that particularly brings out these more "twisted" or "sombre and tortured" elements in Bach's gigues? I'd like to compare them to what the pianists are doing so that I can better understand what you're talking about...

With that said, I do recall thinking that the alternative tuning Peter Watchorn used in his recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier Bks 1 & 2--which was done in accordance with scholar Bradley Lehman's theory about Bach's tuning--made the music surprisingly darker to me than I'd ever heard it before. Suddenly, I felt there was more of a crisis in Bach, or at least glimpses of a dark night of the soul than I had encountered before in other recordings. Is that something you'd agree with?

As for Haebler, I don't think she's draws attention to herself in her playing. I don't see her as an ego driven pianist. Her approach is too classically restrained and chaste for all that. It may not be your idea of Bach, or the Baroque, but I think it works on its own terms.

I should add that Haebler's French Suites are a recent discovery for me. I haven't lived with them for a long time. So, I don't know what I'll think about them in a year. Plus, I admit to occasionally being guilty of getting overly enthusiastic about a new recording (or a musician that is new to me) at the start & then over time finding that I don't like the recording (or recordings) quite as much as I did on my early impressions.

WKasimer asks, "One name whose absence I note is Sergey Schepkin. Is that because you haven't heard any of his recordings, or because his playing doesn't appeal to you?"

I actually bought one or two of Schepkin's recordings about 15 years ago, but it was around the time that I had to move, and as a result I was forced to put them in a storage unit. I recall that I listened to them once in my car, and haven't heard them since. So, I can't really comment about Schepkin's Bach, or recommend or not recommend it. I don't know the recordings well enough. One day I'll retrieve those CDs from my storage locker, and give them a listen. Although I have noted over the years that you think highly of his Bach playing. I'll check to see if they're on You Tube, & if so, have a listen.


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## wkasimer

Josquin13 said:


> I actually bought one or two of Schepkin's recordings about 15 years ago, but it was around the time that I had to move, and as a result I was forced to put them in a storage unit. I recall that I listened to them once in my car, and haven't heard them since. So, I can't really comment about Schepkin's Bach, or recommend or not recommend it. I don't know the recordings well enough. One day I'll retrieve those CDs from my storage locker, and give them a listen. Although I have noted over the years that you think highly of his Bach playing. I'll check to see if they're on You Tube, & if so, have a listen.


His fairly recent recordings of the Partitas (his second) and French Suites are on Spotify. He's also recorded the WTC and the Goldberg Variations (the latter twice), although those don't seem to be on streaming services. The earlier Goldberg recording isn't hard to find (it shows up in Boston used CD stores with some frequency, since he's based here), although I think that the later recording, on the Japanese King label, is better.


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## Josquin13

Thanks.

I see that Schepkin's 6 Partitas are on YT. Is the Steinway & Sons release the second recording that you speak of?: 




His 6 French Suites & Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue are on YT, as well: 




& he has a YT 'topic' page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCapvj8pLdpt-sDqMam5AIHA


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## Mandryka

Here's Haebler in the gigue of French Suite 6






and here's Robert Hill, starting at 14.55






It's a pity Alan Curtis playing that gigue isn't on there!


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## wkasimer

Josquin13 said:


> I see that Schepkin's 6 Partitas are on YT. Is the Steinway & Sons release the second recording that you speak of?:


Yes; the earlier set was recorded about twenty years ago.


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## Josquin13

Mandryka--That's an interesting comparison, thanks.  I think I understand what you're talking about better. Okay, maybe Haebler does 'sugar coat' things a bit, but I also find a more human aspect to her playing, if that makes sense. The only Bach pianist that I've heard who might play the gigue in a similar way to Robert Hill is Alexis Weissenberg (although I don't recall that he ever recorded the French Suites). However, it might sound a lot more mad on a piano. In Hill's hands, the gigue has a frenetic, improvisational feel to it, with one idea coming so fast on top of another that there's little space to relax between them. That may only work on a harpsichord.

I've also noticed that Haebler occasionally resorts to the kind of odd staccato effects that Gould favors. I'm not sure that I like that.

wkasimer--do you favor Schepkin's most recent recordings of the 6 Partitas? I see the 1995 recording is on YT as well, and from what little I've heard of Partita no. 1 the interpretation sounds quite different to his Steinway & Sons recording:


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## Mandryka

It's as if Haebler moves the 6th French suite forward in time to Mozart, to classicism. That may not be a bad thing to do!

Here's Haerbler with the gigue to the first, much darker music, but to my mind this isn't a particularly successful performance, as if she isn't so comfortable with the music. This is just my response now, you understand, nothing more interesting than that.






Here's one I've never heard before from a guy who's trying to make the piano play counterpoint like a harpsichord. Someone called Fred Thomas -- something to investigate there for me.


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## hoodjem

Perahia, Hewitt, Xiao-Mei, and Schiff (ECM).

(I also appreciate Gavrilov, Schepkin, Feltsman, Aldwell, Hill, and Woodward.
Not Gould! Yuck.)


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## hoodjem

Sorry, I cannot stand Gould playing Bach. He plays like an over-caffeinated robot.


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## Tom Formanek

I will not fall into the trap of "best". I will certainly share most appealling to me. But before that, I will dismiss Gould. There is this sense that this is ego driven showing off. I am sure Bach had more to suggest than an excuse for technical prowess. For much the same reason I found early Horowitz grating outside of Scriabin. Just a sense that techique trumped interpretation.

My favorite overall Bach pianist is Vladimir Feltsman on small label Nimbus. He is also a professor and usually takes the time to explain his approach. He seems like a virtual unknown on these posts despite much critical acclaim. He and Perahia are great friends and play together occasionally. I love his French Suites above all others especially. The sonority of Nimbus' recordings is sumptuous. I love Schiff and Perahia as well. But I say this not as a poster looking to dazzle with an overlooked nugget of a recording, but with some befuddlement why Feltsman is not better known.


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## cybernaut

My brother just introduced me to Andras Schiff's playing of Bach this evening. We watched some videos on Youtube, and I was mesmerized!! I have no idea where Schiff ranks, according to the cognoscenti, but I am now a fan.


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## cybernaut

hoodjem said:


> Sorry, I cannot stand Gould playing Bach. He plays like an over-caffeinated robot.


Not on the recordings I've heard.


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## Mandryka

cybernaut said:


> Not on the recordings I've heard.


Listen to this then


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## JackRance

Gould is GOD. But I like also Schiff and Perrahia. Today we have also Vikingur Olafsson who seems to be good...


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## tdc

Mandryka said:


> Re Haebler's French Suites, I take back what I just said. They suffer from the usual piano players' problem of making the music sound too sunny and smooth and sweet and agreeable all the time, even in those sombre and tortured gigues. The result is something that's nice and sweet and shallow. like a big piece of Viennese apple strudel. Where's the dark night of the soul? Where's the spikiness and acerbity? This is baroque -- it should be twisted.
> 
> *As usual, the gugues are revealing*.


Ahh yes, the gugues! I love gugues.

But seriously for the French Suites Joseph Payne on harpsichord is very good, and Schiff's live DVD recording on piano for EuroArts is outstanding! But the latter is admittedly not that _spiky_, I would guess probably not spiky enough for your tastes.


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## AClockworkOrange

My go-to pianists for JS Bach are Angela Hewitt, Murray Perahia, Glenn Gould and more recently I’ve found and have been listening to Tatiana Nikolayeva who has made a strong, positive impression.

My main sticking point with Gould is humming accompaniment, which can become irritating when listening through headphones. 

In terms of an order of preference I would say it’s Hewitt, Perahia/Nikolayeva tied then Gould at the time of posting.


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## SanAntone

Schiff (ECM)
Xiao-Mei
Tipo
Tureck
Gould


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## Roger Knox

The French Suites especially require style, grace, and tasty ornaments. My God, thinking of the difference in playing the Gigue from the English Suite No. 2 in A minor to that of the French Suite No. 3 in B minor -- it's like day and night.


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## Michael122

Lang Lang and Murray Perahia.


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## 96 Keys

I like Vikingur Olafsson, Piotr Anderszewski, Evgeni Koroliov, Angella Hewitt, and Joao Carlos Martins, to name but a few. I _admire_ Gould more than I _enjoy_ him: too much staccato for my taste.


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## mollig

For the WTC and Goldberg Variations I'm a great fan of Koroliov.
Habe a soft spot for Richter in the WTC.
Schiff I like live, for some reason I find the recordings underwhelming.


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## Kreisler jr

Koroliov has also the Bonus of great recorded sound. If I am not mistaken the Partitas and English suites are still missing among the major works. GBV, Inventions/Sinfonias, CU II on Hänssler, AoF, WTC, French suites on Tacet.


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## mollig

Kreisler jr said:


> Koroliov has also the Bonus of great recorded sound. If I am not mistaken the Partitas and English suites are still missing among the major works. GBV, Inventions/Sinfonias, CU II on Hänssler, AoF, WTC, French suites on Tacet.


Yes, as an amateur pianist I value his recordings of the inventions and sinfonias as well. Far preferable to the recordings Gould did of them with awful sound and worse humming.


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