# Bach on the piano...your favorite recordings...



## Itullian

I absolutely love Bach on the piano.
What are your favorite recordings of
Bach played on the piano?

I'd appreciate no debates on piano vs Harpsichord
please.
:tiphat:


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## Bulldog

I have Rosalyn Tureck at the top - her WTC on both DG and BBC Classics. Also, her Goldbergs on DG.


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## joen_cph

I´ll mention some in my collection that I think stand out:

Piano Concertos: Gavrilov/EMI, Gould/cbs-sony, Perahia/cbs-sony 

WTC: Samuil Feinberg, Sviatoslav Richter. 
6 French Suites: Gavrilov/EMI
Goldberg Variations: Gould I-II, Yudina
English Suites 2,3: Pogorelich/DG
2. Partita, 2. English Suite, Toccata 911: Argerich/DG
Arie Variiert B989, Cappricio B992, Chromatische ...B903 etc.: Tureck/ermitage stereo


Less impressive, but kept, maybe subject to change:

Andras Schiff´s set;
Marcelle Meyer - many various works /mono 

Piano Concertos: Nikolayeva/melodiya
WTC: Tureck/Brunswick mono, Edwin Fischer/mono, Gulda/philips
Partitas: Steuerman, J.Martins
English Suites: Gould
French Suites: Gould
Goldberg: Kempff
Toccatas: Gould, Stöckigt

+ various individual recordings by Serkin, Richter, E. Fischer, Yudina, Brendel, Gieseking, Andrzewski, Gilels, Feinberg, Schnabel, Michelangeli, Tharaud.


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## Itullian

Bulldog said:


> I have Rosalyn Tureck at the top - her WTC on both DG and BBC Classics. Also, her Goldbergs on DG.


I have her WTC on DG and love it.
Guess I'll have to check out the Goldbergs now


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## Mandryka

There are some early Kempff recordings, more interesting than his DG









There's also a pretty expressive set of French suites by WOlfgang Rubsam


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## Ras

The backbone of my Bach piano collection is all of *Glenn Gould's Sony studio recordings* and all of *Andras Schiff's Decca recordings* in a fancy box. I also have all of *Murray Perahia's Sony Bach* recordings in a cheap box.

The best recent release for me is *Rudolf Buchbinder's*, but there is only one cd so far. *Wilhelm Kempf DG* recordings are excellent too, but on cd I only have some of WTC book 1 - there is more on Spotify though.

Pianists who does nothing for me in Bach are* Gavrilov and S. Richter.*

*Daniel Barenboim's complete WTC is surprisingly very, very good,* though you'll have to adjust your ears to the "chopinesque" sound of it 

The biggest problem for me though is the *Toccatas.* I have *Angela Hewitt and Glenn Gould*, but I am not very happy with any of them. Maybe Bach's Toccatas just isn't my thing.

*Alexander Tharaud* made a really nice cd with piano arrangements of Bach's organ settings of Italian composers.

*Till Fellner has recorded WTC book 1 + The Inventions & Sinfonias* very clean like Schiff and very good - also on *ECM* records


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## Guest

Bulldog said:


> I have Rosalyn Tureck at the top - her WTC on both DG and BBC Classics. Also, her Goldbergs on DG.


No comment on her EMI Goldberg?


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## Bulldog

Baron Scarpia said:


> No comment on her EMI Goldberg?


Excellent as are all her other versions. For me, the one on DG most wins my heart.


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## Dirge

Here are a few of my favorite J. S. Bach works/recordings for piano (with violin in the case of the Sonatas, of course) …

Sonatina from _Actus tragicus_ (arr. G. Kurtág)
:: Márta & György Kurtág [ECM '96]





Sonatas for violin & harpsichord (piano)
:: Frank Peter Zimmermann & Enrico Pace [Sony '06]





Partita No 4 in D major
:: Glenn Gould [Columbia Masterworks '62/'63]
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrnsjMis4n-PRctjHCwHMUQ_iBhHl_BOX

Ricercar a 6 from _Musikalisches Opfer_
:: Charles Rosen [Columbia Odyssey '67]





_The Art of Fugue_
:: Charles Rosen [Columbia Odyssey '67] ~ with "Olsen Archers"


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## Guest

Bulldog said:


> Excellent as are all her other versions. For me, the one on DG most wins my heart.


Now you have me wondering what I am missing.


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## Bulldog

Baron Scarpia said:


> Now you have me wondering what I am missing.


I know there are at least 2 Tureck versions on VAI Audio, and there's the one on the Philips Great Pianists series.


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## Heliogabo

A lot of mentioned, but recent releases as Nelson Freire's Bach album (Decca) and Perahia's English suites (DG) are simply great.


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## jegreenwood

Heliogabo said:


> A lot of mentioned, but recent releases as Nelson Freire's Bach album (Decca) and Perahia's English suites (DG) are simply great.


Do you mean the French Suites? (The English Suites are on Sony.) I have both, but I've spent more time with the French Suites, which are magnificent.


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## DarkAngel

Without any Gould mentions here are my top piano Bach selections:









WTC - Feinberg, hard to find as retail CD best to get Pristine XR download or disc, recorded in mono 1959-62










Goldberg - Derzhavina, she is a russian music professor that rarely records or performs in public, masterful insights

Two russians so far, let me think more about Fench & English suites plus the partitas.....

FYI - Derzhavina also released the best Haydn keyboard sonata set using piano


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## Heliogabo

jegreenwood said:


> Do you mean the French Suites? (The English Suites are on Sony.) I have both, but I've spent more time with the French Suites, which are magnificent.


Oh yes, you're right. My mistake. Have both too but I prefer the French suites. Beautiful played!


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## Heliogabo

Talking about russians (aside Richter) Yudina and Nikolaieva Bach’s is very impressive.


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## jegreenwood

DarkAngel said:


> Without any Gould mentions here are my top piano Bach selections:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> WTC - Feinberg, hard to find as retail CD best to get Pristine XR download or disc, recorded in mono 1959-62
> 
> . . .


I love the Feinberg performance, but cannot listen to the Pristine mastering. I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think I am simply being accurate when I say that this is the boomiest piano recording I own.

Tidal offers two other masterings for streaming or purchase (alas, only as MP3s). I like the one with the blue background best, but the one in the photo is OK too. I have not checked other services.


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## DarkAngel

jegreenwood said:


> I love the Feinberg performance, but cannot listen to the Pristine mastering. I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think I am simply being accurate when I say that this is the boomiest piano recording I own.
> 
> *Tidal offers two other masterings for streaming* or purchase (alas, only as MP3s). I like the one with the blue background best, but the one in the photo is OK too. I have not checked other services.


^^^^ As with all Pristine XR releases there is extended music samples for people to try first, I really like what I hear.

https://www.pristineclassical.com/products/pakm063

Andrew Rose notes:



> In preparing them for this release I've endeavoured to both clarify and fill out the rather flat sound of the original through XR remastering, bringing a greater sense of clarity to the sound. The instrument itself feels more solid with the application of pitch stabilisation, which has worked both on issues of flutter and more long-term pitch instability.
> 
> Ambient Stereo processing, when chosen, makes a good job of extracting the room ambience from the original recordings and giving it dimension, whilst retaining the mono image of the piano itself, and is my recommended listening format.


Fanfare Magazine Review:



> When the weekly email advertisement arrived from Andrew Rose of Pristine Audio, announcing this set as his latest release, I read through it as a kind of curiosity item and then clicked on the attached sample audio file. About 30 seconds later I was pounding out an email to Joel Flegler, begging for a review copy to be sent to me, as I stared at my computer speakers in dumbfounded amazement.
> 
> Several weeks later, after receiving this set and listening to it multiple times, I can still find myself staring at my stereo system speakers in dumbfounded amazement. Simply put, the playing here is interpretive genius of the highest order.


Ralph Moore (amazon and musicweb)



> First, I confess to reviewing not the issue here but the re-mastered set from Pristine Audio, who have worked their usual magic by cleaning up the mono sound and processing it using Ambient Stereo to give the sound air and warmth without undue interference, and I recommend it heartily.
> 
> However, if you can obtain a Russian import - the original recordings were made between 1959 and 1962, only a year before Feinberg died - you will still be acquiring what is perhaps the finest version ever made, as long as you respond to Feinberg's way with the music.
> 
> This is extraordinarily sensitive and refined pianism, astonishingly fleet and fluent for a man who made these recordings in his late sixties and early seventies. He is more poetic than any other pianist I know without ever sounding affected; his speeds are invariably on the fast side without sounding rushed and he is a master of rubato. He uses little or no pedal, relying instead upon touch and phrasing; there is no hint of the aggressive, percussive Russian style prevalent amongst some pianists active during the Soviet years. You could call these Romantic interpretations were it not for the fact Feinberg is so classically poised and restrained.


As noted above also available as Tidal music streaming service (without Pristine XR remaster)


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## jegreenwood

DarkAngel said:


> ^^^^ As with all Pristine XR releases there is extended music samples for people to try first, I really like what I hear.
> 
> https://www.pristineclassical.com/products/pakm063
> 
> Andrew Rose notes:
> 
> Ralph Moore (amazon and musicweb)
> 
> As noted above also available as Tidal streaming service (without Pristine XR remaster)


As always YEMV (your ears may vary).


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## Josquin13

Here are the Bach solo keyboard recordings (played on piano) that I've enjoyed most over the decades (an asterisk* indicates special favorites, or most enthusiastic recommendations, if anyone's interested--although of course tastes & expectations will vary):

6 Partitas--*Virginia Black: 



, *Dubravka Tomsic (No. 1):



, *Rosita Renard (No. 1, live from Carnegie Hall, January 19, 1949): 



), Mario Joao Pires (No. 1), Dinu Lipatti (No. 1), Vladimir Feltsman, Glenn Gould, Maria Tipo (if you like your Bach on the romantic side, Tipo's is a good set: 



), Rafal Blechacz (Nos. 1 & 3), David Fray (Nos. 2, 4, 6), & despite having some minor reservations about his Bach (which tends to be a tad too strict & unrelaxed for me--at least in comparison to Gould's Partitas, which breathe more), Carl Seeman. (I've yet to hear Igor Levit's set; nor have I heard Richard Goode's set either.)

6 French Suites--*Andrea Bacchetti:https://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-French-Suites/dp/B00OX447B2, *Edward Aldwell:



, Casper Frantz, Murray Perahia, Maria Joao Pires (No. 2), *Emil Gilels (No. 5), Mieczyslaw Horszowski (No. 6), Andrei Gavrilov (on DG--Gavrilov's EMI set is a bit more romantic), & Sviatoslav Richter (Stradivarius).

6 English Suites--*Ivo Pogorelich (Nos. 2 & 3):



, Ivo Janssen, Sviatoslav Richter (Stradivarius, Delos Great Hall), Murray Perahia, Vladimir Feltsman, and Piotr Anderszewski, whose interpretations are a bit more individualistic or idiosyncratic than others, but he makes them work. (I'd also like to hear Andrea Bacchetti's early out of print Decca recording, but it's hard to find now.)

Art of the Fugue--*Ivo Janssen:



, *Edward Aldwell, *Charles Rosen, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Zoltan Kocsis, Hans Petermandl, and Tatiana Nikolayeva. (I'd like to hear Angela Hewitt's latest recording too.)

Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 & 2--*Samuel Feinberg: 



, Tatiana Nikolayeva (*Moscow 1971-73, on the Melodiya, Scribendum, or Aulus labels, Live in Japan 1984-85: on JVC Victor/Olympia), *Edward Aldwell:



, *Valery Afanassiev:



, *Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Pietro De Maria, Peter Hill, & Sviatoslav Richter (*DG--selections, Russian Revelation--Book 1, RCA/Eurodisc). I've not heard Andras Schiff's 'pedal-less" set on ECM (or any of his other ECM Bach recordings); nor have I heard Pierre-Laurent Aimard's Book 1, or Sviatoslav Richter's well regarded WTC live in Innsbruck, Austria, either.

Goldberg Variations--*Ivo Janssen:



, *Edward Aldwell (Biddulph), *Glenn Gould *1981 & 1955 (Zenph), Tatiana Nikolayeva (*1979 Moscow, *1983 Denmark, 1986 London): 



, *Charles Rosen,, *Murray Perahia, *Andre Gavrilov DG, Konstantin Lifschitz (Denon). (& I'd like to hear Beatrice Rana's recent award winning recording.)

Italian Concerto--*Dubravka Tomsic:



, *Glenn Gould, *Alfred Brendel, Rafal Blechacz, Cyprien Katsaris.

https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Italian...&sr=1-1&keywords=dubravka+tomsic+Bach+partita (Tomsic's Scarlatti on Pilz is also remarkable).

Toccatas--*Glenn Gould:



, *Amandine Savary:



, and *Angela Hewitt.

Overture in the French Style--*Edward Aldwell:https://www.allmusic.com/album/aldwell-plays-bach-mw0001371255, Konstantin Lifschitz, Piotr Anderszewski, & Ivo Janssen.

Two & Three Part Inventions--*Andrea Bacchetti:



, *Tatiana Nikolayeva: 



, *Glenn Gould, *Peter Serkin:



, Vladimir Feltsman, Till Fellner, and Evgeni Koroliov.

The Musical Offering (on piano)--Konstantin Lifschitz: 



, Tatiana Nikolayeva (partial), and Charles Rosen (partial).

Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother, BWV 992: *Rudolph Serkin: 



, Leon Fleisher: 



, Andras Schiff: 




Bach Transcriptions, etc.--*Wilhelm Kempff: 



, *Cyprien Katsaris ("Italy in Bach"):



), *Alexandre Tharaud: 



, & Emil Gilels in the Bach-Siloti Prelude in B minor, BWV 855a: 



 (*my favorite version by Gilels is the live Carnegie Hall recital from the late 1960s, where he opens the concert with the Bach-Busoni Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 and concludes with an encore of the Bach-Siloti Prelude in B minor:



).

Keyboard Concertos: *David Fray: 




https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Keyboar...D=516cPOwTnkL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail, and Andrei Gavrilov, with the Academy of St. Martin's in the Fields.

P.S. EDIT: Two more favorite Bach piano discs that I neglected to mention above (but have now added to my list):

https://www.amazon.com/Bach-J-S-Par...id=1536001338&sr=1-3&keywords=David+Fray+bach








https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Italian...536002543&sr=1-1&keywords=Alfred+brendel+bach


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## wkasimer

Baron Scarpia said:


> (re Tureck) Now you have me wondering what I am missing.


Not a thing, in my opinion...


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## wkasimer

Goldberg Variations: Dershavina, Schepkin, Giovanni Mazzocchin, Lori Sims, Koroliov
WTC: Nikolayeva, Feinberg
Partitas: Weissenberg, Schepkin
French Suites: Dershavina, Schepkin 
English Suites: Schiff by default, but I really haven't found a complete satisfactory recording
Keyboard Concerti: Bahrami/Chailly


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## Itullian

wkasimer said:


> Goldberg Variations: Dershavina, Schepkin, Giovanni Mazzocchin, Lori Sims, Koroliov
> WTC: Nikolayeva, Feinberg
> Partitas: Weissenberg, Schepkin
> French Suites: Dershavina, Schepkin
> English Suites: Schiff by default, but I really haven't found a complete satisfactory recording
> Keyboard Concerti: Bahrami/Chailly


How about Perahia's English suites?


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## howlingfantods

WTC - Feinberg, Richter
Goldberg - Yudina, Sokolov, Gould (55)
Partitas - Sokolov, Weissenberg, Gould, Gieseking
English - Richter, Sokolov, Gould, Anderszewski
French - Richter, Gould
Art of Fugue - Sokolov
Chromatic Fantasy & Fugue - Feinberg, Yudina, Brendel
Italian Concerto - Sokolov, Weissenberg
French Overture - Richter, Sokolov, Gieseking


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## Josquin13

"English Suites: Schiff by default, but I really haven't found a complete satisfactory recording."

I feel the same way. If you noticed above, I could only give Pogorelich's recording of the 2nd & 3rd English Suites an asterisk, or strong recommendation (which was rare for me). As I too have heard many sets of the 6 English Suites that I'm not 100% on. The English (and French) Suites are such different music when played on a harpsichord (such as by Dubreuil, Asperen, or Rousset)--content-wise--more so than other solo keyboard works by Bach, in my view. It may be that, as music, they simply make more sense that way. I've also noticed pianists take more liberties with the English Suites than with other Bach keyboard works (except for maybe Perahia & Janssen, who are more straightforward). I'd say some of the strangest Bach playing I've heard on a piano, interpretatively, has been in the English Suites. Several of the choices that Schiff makes, for instance (in certain movements), are just plain bizarre. Yet he won the Grammy awards for that recording. The English & French Suites also encouraged Gould make some unusually weird choices, interpretatively (& esp. in the French Suites).

Maybe David Fray will get around to recording the 6 English Suites. I've liked his Bach Keyboard Concertos enormously (see above link), along with his Partitas. I'd also be very keen to hear Virginia Black play the English Suites, given her background (as a pianist turned harpsichordist turned back to pianist).


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## DarkAngel

wkasimer said:


> Goldberg Variations: *Dershavina*, Schepkin, Giovanni Mazzocchin, Lori Sims, Koroliov
> WTC: Nikolayeva, *Feinberg*
> Partitas: Weissenberg, Schepkin
> French Suites:* Dershavina*, Schepkin
> English Suites: Schiff by default, but I really haven't found a complete satisfactory recording
> Keyboard Concerti: Bahrami/Chailly


*WK you have a very good list there*, I am listening to Dershavina French Suites on main stereo as I type......
Are you intentionally omitting Gould, or is he not a top performer for you?

I am surpirsed no mention by anyone of newest Bach sensation *Beatrice Rana for Goldberg*, there was a thread here not long ago where people said she was a revelation, for me very good but not exceptional Bach artist

Outside of Gould there is a temptation to default to Schiff, Perahia or Angela Hewitt for piano versions......10 years ago the critics were all gaga over Hewitt but that has really cooled off now especially as she branches out to other composers

Like Josquin13 and many others here I mainly listen to Bach performed on harpsicord, so I have to go back and revisit piano performances as I am doing now to refresh my memory

Itullian - normally I am not a huge Perahia fan but I think his newer Bach piano work is actually better than Schiff and Hewitt, exploring more over next several days.....nice Sony Bach boxset of main keyboard works for $23 at Amazon (shipping alone costs more individually used)


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## Itullian

*"Itullian - normally I am not a huge Perahia fan but I think his newer Bach piano work is actually better than Schiff and Hewitt, exploring more over next several days.....nice Sony Bach boxset of main keyboard works for $23 at Amazon (shipping alone costs more individually used)"*

I have that Perahia box and love it. 
I also bought his new French suites on DGG and love those too.


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## wkasimer

Itullian said:


> How about Perahia's English suites?


I'm not much of a Perahia fan, although his "First Forty Years" set, bought when it was $55 on Amazon, is on my shelf. I think that I'll try his English Suites tomorrow.


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## wkasimer

DarkAngel said:


> *WK you have a very good list there*, I am listening to Dershavina French Suites on main stereo as I type......
> Are you intentionally omitting Gould, or is he not a top performer for you?


I started my Bach piano collection with some of Gould's recordings, but I've grown a little tired of his approach. I actually prefer him in Mozart :devil:.



> I am surprised no mention by anyone of newest Bach sensation *Beatrice Rana for Goldberg*, there was a thread here not long ago where people said she was a revelation, for me very good but not exceptional Bach artist


"Good but not exceptional" is about right, IMO.


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## Bulldog

Just my view of some of the pianists mentioned in the past couple of days:

Tureck - fantastic.
Gould - almost fantastic.
Rana - same as Gould.
Schepkin's Goldbergs - obsessed with trills. Much prefer his WTC.
Perahia - average.
Hewitt - better than average.
Koroliov - sensational WTC


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## Larkenfield

*Brendel Plays Bach*. Completely natural and expressive playing. Bach himself might have loved it. A personal favorite. Other tracks can be found online. What a shame that Brendel didn't record more Bach. He plays him as music and not stuff, regimented, or mechanical. Joyous and uplifting. I doubt if Bach would have cared what instrument it was played on: "It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself." Lol.


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## wkasimer

Bulldog said:


> Just my view of some of the pianists mentioned in the past couple of days:
> 
> Tureck - fantastic.
> Gould - almost fantastic.
> Rana - same as Gould.
> Schepkin's Goldbergs - obsessed with trills. Much prefer his WTC.
> Perahia - average.
> Hewitt - better than average.
> Koroliov - sensational WTC


Based on these, I'd say that you and I have very, very different taste in Bach pianists. I do like Koroliov's Bach, though.

As for Schepkin, have you heard his Goldberg remake? Much as I enjoy the first one, the second one is a better performance and better recording. Hard to find, though...


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## Bulldog

wkasimer said:


> Based on these, I'd say that you and I have very, very different taste in Bach pianists. I do like Koroliov's Bach, though.
> 
> As for Schepkin, have you heard his Goldberg remake? Much as I enjoy the first one, the second one is a better performance and better recording. Hard to find, though...
> 
> View attachment 107469


No, I haven't heard it. Yes, our tastes are quite different and are fortunately accommodated through a wealth of recorded interpretations.


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## Mandryka

Bulldog said:


> No, I haven't heard it. Yes, our tastes are quite different and are fortunately accommodated through a wealth of recorded interpretations.





wkasimer said:


> Based on these, I'd say that you and I have very, very different taste in Bach pianists. I do like Koroliov's Bach, though.
> 
> As for Schepkin, have you heard his Goldberg remake? Much as I enjoy the first one, the second one is a better performance and better recording. Hard to find, though...
> 
> View attachment 107469


There's a pianist I've been interested in recently, maybe you can get him on NML, see what you think - Risto Lauriala, He did AoF and Goldberg Variations.


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## Bulldog

Mandryka said:


> There's a pianist I've been interested in recently, maybe you can get him on NML, see what you think - Risto Lauriala, He did AoF and Goldberg Variations.


He is on NML and I just finished listening to his Goldbergs. The aria was very slow and comforting, giving me no idea how energetic and vibrant he would be in the rest of the work. I liked the performance greatly and found it life-affirming. My sole quibble is that he had a little tendency to bang away at the piano; the only time it bugged me was in the second section of variation 30.

Thanks for the reference. Because of demands on my time, I'll have to hold off on the AoF for a couple of days.


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## wkasimer

Mandryka said:


> There's a pianist I've been interested in recently, maybe you can get him on NML, see what you think - Risto Lauriala, He did AoF and Goldberg Variations.


I don't have access to NML, and his Goldbergs aren't on Spotify, but his recording of the Partitas is. I'm listening right now, and enjoying it - very imaginative playing. The snippets of the Goldbergs on Amazon are very tempting, but the CD is a little rich for my wallet.


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## Josquin13

Mandryka--Thanks for the introduction to Finnish pianist Risto Lauriala. I checked out his web page on You Tube, and on first impression think his Bach playing is fantastic--he really allows you to hear the full contrapuntal dialogue, which, as you know, is a big plus in my book (he's also done a Naxos CD of Bach Transcriptions--wonderful stuff):










Two more excellent Bach piano recordings that I forgot to mention in my lengthy post above: from pianists Martha Argerich and Elena Kuschnerova:










I like Argerich's Bach playing, but she has such a heavy, forceful piano touch at times, maybe too much so for Bach? What do others think?





https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Italian...&sr=1-1&keywords=elena+kuschnerova+bach+orfeo

Elena Kuschnerova also has a slightly heavier touch for Bach than some of my favorite Bach pianists (such as Fray, Bacchetti, Aldwell, & Black)--but again, I think her Bach playing is very good, nonetheless.


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## DarkAngel

Josquin13 said:


> Mandryka--Thanks for the *introduction to Finnish pianist Risto Lauriala*. I checked out his web page on You Tube, and on first impression think his Bach playing is fantastic--he really allows you to hear the full contrapuntal dialogue, which, as you know, is a big plus in my book (he's also done a Naxos CD of Bach Transcriptions--wonderful stuff):


Best free music samples of Goldberg & Partitas at Presto UK, Tidal streaming fortunately has both releases in lossless CD quality

Agree very worthy, played with brio the tempos are rather swift (especially compared to Tureck) and nicely sprung without feeling rushed, very refreshing I would buy these if cost were reasonable, but these CDs seem to be oop currently......better than Beatrice Rana without the hype


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## DFlat

I like Tureck's recording of the Partitas on EMI from the late fifties. And Gould's French Suites from the early seventies.


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## johnlewisgrant

DarkAngel said:


> Without any Gould mentions here are my top piano Bach selections:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> WTC - Feinberg, hard to find as retail CD best to get Pristine XR download or disc, recorded in mono 1959-62
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Goldberg - Derzhavina, she is a russian music professor that rarely records or performs in public, masterful insights
> 
> Two russians so far, let me think more about Fench & English suites plus the partitas.....
> 
> FYI - Derzhavina also released the best Haydn keyboard sonata set using piano


Wow! That's incredible. And I thought no one else had ever heard Derzhavina's Goldbergs, which are beautifully recorded, and (dare I say this) the best I have ever heard (OK let's say, equal to any one of Gould's three epic renditions)!

Feinberg's WTK Bk 2 ..... well.... what can you say? Never been equalled in the raw pianism, go-for-it, no-holes-barred category. I could listen to it over and over, all day long. (Sure, the intepretation is hardly for purists. I have to make that proviso, or I'll be eaten alive.)


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## johnlewisgrant

I have just discovered the entire set, Bks 1 and2, recorded with something like an ipad, but quite wonderful.

Nathan Carterette. Don't know him, but these are EXCELLENT, I think!

bk 1 




bk 2


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